Intel confirms 10nm+ Ice Lake architecture

Deep inside Intel's website details were posted about the company's next CPU architectures. We already know Intel will reveal its Coffee Lake processors next week, these chips use the chip giant's third-generation 14nm++ process.

Next year we can expect Cannon Lake, which will be Intel's first processor made on a 10nm process. Cannon Lake will be for mobile computers exclusively, presumably because Intel's first 10nm process isn't well suited for larger chips with higher TDPs.

What's new here is that Intel confirms the existence of Ice Lake, this generation will include desktop chips and will be made on Intel's 10nm+ process. On its website, Intel says Ice Lake will succeed the 8th Generation Core processors. This suggests Intel counts both Coffee Lake and Cannon Lake as its 8th Generation Core.

Simply put, the first generation of 10nm requires small processors to ensure high yields. Intel seems to be putting the smaller die sizes (i.e. anything under 15W for a laptop) into the 10nm Cannon Lake bucket, while the larger 35W+ chips will be on 14++ Coffee Lake, a tried and tested sub-node for larger CPUs. While the desktop sits on 14++ for a bit longer, it gives time for Intel to further develop their 10nm fabrication abilities, leading to their 10+ process for larger chips by working their other large chip segments (FPGA, MIC) first.

There's no firm release date for Ice Lake but it will likely be either 2018 or 2019. Full details at AnandTech.