Intel’s desktop Comet Lake processors might debut on April 30

(Image credit: Future)

Intel will announce its long-awaited 10th-generation Comet Lake-S desktop processors on April 30, according to Spanish news outlet El Chapuzas Informatico.

While a launch could be just over a month away, the website, citing “international sources”, notes that the first benchmarks and reviews won’t arrive until the second week of May. 

Though unconfirmed, this tidbit adds weight to the rumors that the Comet Lake chips might not arrive as soon as Intel had originally hoped. This is reportedly due to the fact that the coronavirus outbreak is causing problems in the supply chain, with many manufacturers reducing their output or suspending production entirely. 

The processors also might not be as groundbreaking as many had hoped, as the Comet Lake-S CPUs will be based on Intel’s long-in-the-tooth Skylake 14nm architecture, a far cry from AMD’s 7nm Ryzen 3000-series chips.

Still, leaks have suggested the chips will deliver higher core counts and clock speeds than any previous desktop chips from Intel.

The Intel Core i9-10900K is expected to be the flagship processor in the Comet-Lake S lineup, replacing the current i9-9900K. It’s expected to boast 10 cores, 20 threads, a 125W TDP and base and boost frequencies of 3.7GHz and 5.1GHz, respectively, and according to El Chapuzas Informatico, it’ll retail for €504 (about $550, £440, AU$890) excluding VAT.

This will be followed by the Intel Core i7-10700K, a chip with 8 cores and 16 threads and a rumored €389 (about $427, £340, AU$690) price tag, and the 6-core, 12-thread Intel Core i5-10600K that will supposedly launch for €263 (about $288, £230, AU$470). At the bottom of the pile will sit the Intel Core i3 10320, a quad-core, 8-thread desktop processor that looks set to retail for €162 (about $177, £140, AU$287).

It’s worth noting that all of the incoming Comet Lake processors require new Intel 400-series motherboards built around the new LGA1200 socket, which are expected to offer support for new features including WiFi 6, 2.5Gb Ethernet and Thunderbolt 4.

These will launch alongside the new processors, likely at the end of next month if this latest rumor turns out to be true.

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Carly Page

Carly Page is a Freelance journalist, copywriter and editor specialising in Consumer/B2B technology. She has written for a range of titles including Computer Shopper, Expert Reviews, IT Pro, the Metro, PC Pro, TechRadar and Tes.