Alleged Intel Core i9-9900T 35W 8-Core, 16-Thread CPU Makes Cameo Appearance Online
Intel's 9th generation processor family culminates in the Core i9-9900K, a burly desktop CPU with 8 physical cores and 16 threads clocked at 3.6GHz to 5GHz. It also has 2MB of L3 cache per core, for a total of 16MB, and a 95W TDP. Apparently there is also a low power version of that same CPU in the wild, and it went up for auction over the weekend.
Over in China, Yahoo still runs an auction site, and it was there that a Core i9-9900T appeared. We obviously have no way of telling if it is real or fake, though according to the listing, it is an engineering sample (ES). These are pre-release chips that Intel sends out to OEMs and reviewers ahead of a final launch.
Specs can sometimes change by the time an ES chip is finalized into shipping silicon. That said, the auction claims it has the same number of cores and threads as the "K" model, but lower base and turbo clocks at 1.7GHz and 3.8GHz, respectively. It also has a much lower power draw, with a 35W TDP, compared to the K model's 95W TDP.
Assuming this chip is real, the lower clocks play a big role in the Core i9-9900T having a much lower TDP than its K brethren. We imagine that binning also plays a role. In essence, Intel can test batches of chips to see which ones can handle the reduced clockspeeds with less power, and then sell them as "T" variants.
Everything else about the T model is the same as the K version. Both are built on a 14-nanometer manufacturing process (Coffee Lake) and both have 16MB of L3 cache. Like the K model, it also features integrated graphics (Intel UHD 630), which is something the Core i9-9900KF model does not have.
The ES chip sold for 35,000 yen (~$320 in US dollars). That is not necessarily representative of what the retail price will be, when and if the Core i9-9900T launches. As points of reference, the Core i9-9900K has an MSRP of $488, and the Core i7-9700K is priced at $374.
Thumbnail/Top Image Source: Yahoo Auctions via Mehhe
