Leaked Intel roadmap hints at new hexa-core laptop CPU

AMD and Intel have both been at each other’s throats over the past few months, fighting each other for more share in the laptop market. However, if a leaked CPU roadmap is to be believed, Intel may have a silver bullet for enthusiasts and power users. The CPU manufacturer’s first hexa-core CPU designed for laptops may be shipping soon.

German tech site ComputerBase posted a screenshot of what they claim to be a roadmap for Intel’s various CPU lines that was released in January. While many of the CPUs on the chart are expected to launch, two new additions are of particular interest. The Core i5-8400H and Core i7-8550H, both 45 W CPUs aimed at consumers in need of series power on the go, may be on the way soon. The i5-8400H is a quad-core Coffee Lake CPU clocked at 2.5 GHz with a 4.2 GHz boost. The 8400H is hyperthreaded (meaning it can process 8 threads) and features 8 MB of L3 Cache, which is a bump over the Kaby Lake Core i5-7300HQ’s 6 MB. The Core i7-8550H packs a bit more punch, featuring a 2.6 GHz clock with a 4.3 GHz boost and 9 MB of L3 Cache. The kicker, though, is that the 8550H is a hexa-core hyperthreaded CPU capable of powering through 12 threads at a time.

This leak coincides with previous reports about Intel’s 8th generation CPUs being the first laptop silicon to feature hexa-core models. The 8550H specs are similar to the previously leaked details of the forthcoming Core i7-8700HQ. It’s interesting that the 8550H’s clock speed is higher than the 8700HQ’s purported frequency (2.6 GHz base vs. 2.4 GHz base, 4.3 GHz boost on one core vs. 3.6 GHz boost on one core). The X700HQ line has been Intel’s fastest locked CPU for laptops since the 4th generation Haswell processors.

Remember to take this all with a grain of salt. We obviously won’t be able to confirm the existence of the Core i5-8400H or Core i7-8550H until we here an official announcement from Intel themselves.

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