Intel Z390 Chipset Allegedly Launching In H2 2018 Supporting 8-Core, 16-Thread Enthusiast CPUs
Heads (and eyes) are probably rolling at Intel HQ, because a representative for Eurocom confirmed that Intel's Z390 chipset will be launching during the second half of 2018. That much was known thanks to leaked roadmaps that have made their way to the internet. An interesting tidbit of information that was also revealed, is that there will be enthusiast CPUs using this chipset that will feature 8 cores and 16 threads.
These chips will be in direct competition with AMD's Ryzen 7 family of processors, which are also available with up to 8 cores capable of executing 16 threads. AMD has gotten its mojo back with its Zen architecture, so it stands to reason that Intel is looking to knock AMD back on its heels.
Given that Coffee Lake has still yet to launch, we're assuming (or at least hoping) that these chips will be supported by Z390 when it launches. We can't see any reason why this wouldn't be the case, but we've been surprised before. Likewise, it's also quite possible that these 8-core/16-thread processors will be based on Intel's new 10nm+ Ice Lake architecture. It is expected that these will be ninth generation Core processors, whereas Kaby Lake-R, Coffee Lake and Cannon Lake are all eighth generation Core processors.
For those that simply can't wait until next year to upgrade their rigs, Coffee Lake should be launching next month (October 5th is the date that we're hear is being tossed around at this point). Early benchmarks show promising performance for the Core i7-8700K, which will serve as the flagship for the family. The chip reportedly has a base clock of 3.7GHz and a TDP of 95 watts.
