Intel Rocket Lake-S specifications slide leaks

Posted on Wednesday, March 10 2021 @ 12:16 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
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VideoCardz came across some leaked Intel slides on Chinese social media website Weibo. The site does note it's a little strange that the slides use Intel's old fonts and styling -- which either means these slides are either a bit older are could be fake.

Either way, below you can see an overview of the Rocket Lake-S Core i7 and Core i9 processor specifications. This new 14nm chip from Intel is expected to be rolled out just before the end of this month. Unfortunately, the slide contains no pricing information. Rocket Lake-S is basically a backport of Intel's 10nm with Xe-based integrated graphics.

Rocket lake s specifications

Intel: Up to 14 percent higher gaming performance

There's also a slide that shows gaming performance. Intel compares its 11900K versus the current-gen 10900K in a variety of video games. Tests were performed at 1080p with High graphics settings in Total War: Three Kingdoms, Gears 5, GRID 2019, and Microsoft Flight Simulator. Depending on the game, Intel claims you get 8 to 14 percent more performance. The slide is pretty slim on details and shows relative performance so we don't know what's being compared here.

AnandTech recently managed to score a retail sample of the Intel Core i7-11700K that was sold a couple of weeks early in Germany. The site concludes that in terms of gaming performance, the Rocket Lake-S platform is a disappointment. Supply is a big problem right now for a lot of computer hardware, so Intel will likely still ship a lot of Rocket Lake-S CPUs because it's able to bring a lot more product to the marketplace than AMD.

Samsung 3nm MBCFET expected in 2022

On a slightly related note, IEEE Spectrum reports Samsung is expected to go ahead with its 3nm nanosheet transistor process in 2022. TSMC is sticking with proven FinFET technology for its 3nm node while Samsung will adopt multibridge channel MOSFETs (MBCFET). The nanosheet transistor technology promsises higher design flexibility, higher performance in a smaller area, and power efficiency improvements.
But, as early nanosheet developers explained in IEEE Spectrum, the new device structure adds a degree of design flexibility that FinFETs lack. The key here is the “effective width”, or Weff, of the transistor channel. Generally, a wider channel can drive more current through it for a given voltage, effectively reducing its resistance. Because you can’t vary the height of the fin in a FinFET, the only way to boost Weff with today’s transistors is to add more fins per transistor. So with a FinFET you can double or triple Weff, but you can’t increase it by 25 percent or decrease it by 20 percent. You can, however, vary the width of the sheets in a nanosheet device, so a circuit using them can be composed of transistors with a variety of properties.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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