Intel unveils two new Comet Lake-H processors
Intel’s highly-anticipated launch of Tiger Lake processors puts the company in a rather comfortable position in the market of CPUs for thin-and-light laptops. But the semiconductor giant needs to offer something new for high-performance notebooks and compact desktops too, so it quietly added two new Comet Lake-H processors into its family.
The new CPUs are the quad-core Core i5-10200H (2.40 GHz/4.10 GHz, 8 MB, UHD 630, 45 W TDP) as well as the eight-core Core i7-10870H (2.20 GHz/5.0 GHz, 16 MB, UHD 630, 45 W TDP). The new Core i5-10200H part is 100 MHz ~ 400 MHz slower than the Core i5-10300H model, whereas the new Core i7-10870H SKU is 100 MHz slower than the Core i7-10875H CPU.
Intel does not disclose recommended customer pricing of its Core i7-10870H processor, though the chip will sit between the eight-core Core i7-10875H ($450) and the six-core Core i7-10850H ($395), so it is possible to make some guesses. It is unlikely that the launch of the Core i7-10870H will make Intel’s mobile eight-core processors significantly cheaper (if at all), but the release of a new SKU gives some additional freedom to PC makers and Intel itself. Meanwhile, the Core i5-10200H costs $250, the same recommended price that Intel charges for the Core i5-10300H.
Intel released its Comet Lake-H processors for high-performance laptops in early April. The family’s flagship CPU is the eight-core Core i9-10980HK that features a 2.40 GHz base clock, a 5.30 GHz maximum turbo frequency, and an unlocked multiplier to enable overclocking. A little after the lineup was introduced, Intel quietly added the Core i9-10885H CPU — which features the same specifications as the top-of-the-range model, but lacks an unlocked multiplier — into the family.
Some market observers believe that demand for certain Intel mobile processors exceed supply, which is why the chip giant has to introduce new SKUs with slightly reduced clocks in a bid to improve supply. While Intel has confirmed that it had certain troubles meeting demand, it has never confirmed that it released any new models just because of that.