Intel 14th Gen CPUs vs 13th Gen: What’s New and Different
Intel recently announced its 14th generation Core processors, codenamed “Meteor Lake”, which will succeed the company’s 13th gen “Raptor Lake” CPUs launching later this year. The 14th gen chips will bring several notable changes and improvements over the previous generation.
Manufacturing Process
While the 13th gen Core CPUs are still based on Intel’s Intel 7 process (10nm Enhanced SuperFin), the 14th gen chips will utilize the newer Intel 20A manufacturing technology. Intel 20A is expected to provide improved transistor density and performance compared to Intel 7.
Architecture
The 14th generation Core processors will be the first from Intel to utilize a disaggregated “tile-based” design. This modular architecture will combine four different chips/tiles into a single processor package:
- Performance cores built on the new Intel Ocean Cove architecture
- Efficiency cores based on the existing Gracemont architecture
- Graphics tiles featuring Intel Xe-LP architecture
- I/O and memory tiles
The hybrid architecture is expected to deliver gains in performance, power efficiency, and scalability compared to the more monolithic design of the 13th gen.
Performance Improvements
Intel is touting over a 15% single-threaded performance increase for 14th gen Core CPUs compared to 13th gen. Multi-threaded performance is expected to receive a boost as well, thanks to higher core counts, increased L2 cache, and enhanced thread director technology.
14th gen will also introduce support for faster DDR5-5600 memory compared to DDR5-5200 in 13th gen. Faster clock speeds, larger L2 cache, and higher memory bandwidth should all translate to real-world performance gains.
Efficiency
The new Intel 20A process node and disaggregated design will allow 14th gen chips to scale power and performance more efficiently. This could lead to improved battery life for laptops along with reduced cooling needs for desktop PCs.
Intel is also promising better integrated graphics performance with the new Xe-LP architecture, which could result in a significant boost over the Xe graphics in 13th gen.
Release Timeframe
Intel aims to launch its 14th gen Core processors in 2023. The 13th gen lineup will begin rolling out later in 2022. So within the next year or so, consumers can expect to see the next-generation Meteor Lake chips hit the market and continue Intel’s annual CPU cadence.