Intel launches 32 10th Gen Core desktop processors (Comet Lake-S), most of them with Hyper-Threading

Intel announced the launch of their 10th Gen Core Comet Lake-S series desktop processors today. Unlike the 9th Gen launch, we get to see the entire lineup being announced at one go with 32 processors in all ranging from the 10 core/20 threaded Core i9-10900K to the budget-friendly Celeron G-5900. Also making a comeback are the T-series processors with TDP capped at 35W for low power configurations. The 10th Gen Intel desktop processors are still based on the 14nm process node that debuted with Skylake.

What's new in Intel 10th Gen Core desktop processors

For starters, the core counts have increased and you can now get up to 10 cores / 20 threads and there are plenty of SKUs with this configuration. Clock speeds have also received a major bump thanks to Intel's TVB (Thermal Velocity Boost). The top SKU i.e. the Intel Core i9-10900K can hit 5.3 GHz under TVB making it the highest clocked stock processor in the market. These processors also feature a slightly thinner die. Intel has added solder thermal interface material to the high-end SKUs along with slightly thicker IHS. Apparently, this configuration helps improve thermal performance. The 10th Gen desktop processors are only compatible with Intel 400 series chipsets. Board partners will be announcing Intel Z490, B460 and H470 chipset based motherboards soon. These are all LGA1200 socketed motherboards.

Aside from the F-variants which don't have any integrated graphics, all processors launched today will have Intel UHD Graphics 630. The Celeron processors will have Intel UHD Graphics 610. Memory support has also been improved and all Intel processors will now handle DDR4-2933 out of the box whereas the Pentium Gold and Celeron processors will support DDR4-2666 out of the box. Lastly, all Comet Lake-S CPUs will support 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes from the platform.

Improved Overclocking support

Another key announcement was the addition of several new "knobs" for overclocking enthusiasts to play with. The Intel Extreme Tuning Utility will allow users to disable/enable per-core Hyper-Threading, overclock PEG/DMI and even play around with Voltage/Frequency curves.

Intel 10th-gen Core (Comet Lake S) desktop processors

Here’s the list of all the new 10th Gen Comet Lake S desktop processors that were announced today. There’s also an image at the bottom for folks who want it that way. The entire lineup is categorised into the mainstream desktop Core processors which include F and K series processors, T-series processors with lower TDP and entry-level Pentium Gold and Celeron processors. As usual with Intel’s nomenclature, K-series processors are all unlocked and F-series processors do not have integrated graphics. The T-series have their TDP locked to 35W making them not as powerful as their K and F counterparts which are rated for much higher TDP. There are 17 processors with higher TDPs and Hyper-Threading enabled. It’s been a really long time since Intel released such a lineup where all processors had Hyper-Threading enabled. Call it a role-reversal of sorts as AMD used to have multi-threading across the stack until recently.

• Core i9-10900K: 10 cores, 20 threads; 3.7 GHz base; 5.1 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 5.2 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.8 GHz All core turbo; 5.3/4.9 GHz TVB; 125W; $488
• Core i9-10900KF: 10 cores, 20 threads; 3.7 GHz base; 5.1 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 5.2 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.8 GHz All core turbo; 5.3/4.9 GHz TVB; 125W; $472
• Core i9-10900: 10 cores, 20 threads; 2.8 GHz base; 5.0 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 5.1 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.5 GHz All core turbo; 5.2/4.6 GHz TVB; 65W; $439
• Core i9-10900F: 10 cores, 20 threads; 2.8 GHz base; 5.0 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 5.1 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.5 GHz All core turbo; 5.2/4.6 GHz TVB; 65W; $422
• Core i7-10700K: 8 cores, 16 threads; 3.8 GHz base; 5.0 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 5.1 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.7 GHz All core turbo; NA 125W; $374
• Core i7-10700KF: 8 cores, 16 threads; 3.8 GHz base; 5.0 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 5.1 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.7 GHz All core turbo; NA 125W; $349
• Core i7-10700: 8 cores, 16 threads; 2.9 GHz base; 4.7 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 4.8 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.6 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $323
• Core i7-10700F: 8 cores, 16 threads; 2.9 GHz base; 4.7 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 4.8 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.6 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $298
• Core i5-10600K: 6 cores, 12 threads; 4.1 GHz base; 4.8 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.5 GHz All core turbo; NA 125W; $262
• Core i5-10600KF: 6 cores, 12 threads; 4.1 GHz base; 4.8 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.5 GHz All core turbo; NA 125W; $237
• Core i5-10600: 6 cores, 12 threads; 3.3 GHz base; 4.8 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.4 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $213
• Core i5-10500: 6 cores, 12 threads; 3.1 GHz base; 4.5 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.2 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $192
• Core i5-10400: 6 cores, 12 threads; 2.9 GHz base; 4.3 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.0 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $182
• Core i5-10400F: 6 cores, 12 threads; 2.9 GHz base; 4.3 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.0 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $157
• Core i3-10320: 4 cores, 8 threads; 3.8 GHz base; 4.6 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.4 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $154
• Core i3-10300: 4 cores, 8 threads; 3.7 GHz base; 4.4 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.2 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $143
• Core i3-10100: 4 cores, 8 threads; 3.6 GHz base; 4.3 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 4.1 GHz All core turbo; NA 65W; $122

Intel 10th-gen “T” Series 35W TDP desktop processors

In the initial lineup, Intel has announced 10 T-series processors with capped TDP. These processors also feature Hyper-Threading across the stack with the sole exception of the Celeron processor. You do get the choice of picking whatever core count you require but none of these processors are unlocked. Given their lower TDP, these chips consume less power and thus, can be cooled using less-exotic air coolers. T-series processors were also announced in the 9th Gen lineup but the major difference over there was that only one processor had Hyper-Threading enabled whereas it’s exactly the opposite case here.

• Core i9-10900T: 10 cores, 20 threads; 1.9 GHz base; 4.5 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 4.6 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 3.7 GHz All core turbo; 35W; $439
• Core i7-10700T: 8 cores, 16 threads; 2.0 GHz base; 4.4 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; 4.5 GHz Turbo Boost 3.0; 3.7 GHz All core turbo; 35W; $325
• Core i5-10600T: 6 cores, 12 threads; 2.4 GHz base; 4.0 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 3.7 GHz All core turbo; 35W; $213
• Core i5-10500T: 6 cores, 12 threads; 2.3 GHz base; 3.8 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 3.5 GHz All core turbo; 35W; $192
• Core i5-10400T: 6 cores, 12 threads; 2.0 GHz base; 3.6 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 3.2 GHz All core turbo; 35W; $182
• Core i3-10300T: 4 cores, 8 threads; 3.0 GHz base; 3.9 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 3.7 GHz All core turbo; 35W; $143
• Core i3-10100T: 4 cores, 8 threads; 3.0 GHz base; 3.8 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0; No Turbo Boost 3.0; 3.5 GHz All core turbo; 35W; $122
• Pentium Gold G-6500T: 2 cores, 4 threads; 3.5 GHz base; No Boost; 35W; $75
• Pentium Gold G-6400T: 2 cores, 4 threads; 3.4 GHz base; No Boost; 35W; $64
• Celeron G-5900T: 2 cores, 2 threads; 3.2 GHz base; No Boost; 35W; $42

Intel 10th-gen Pentium Gold and Celeron desktop processors

At the bottom of the stack are the Pentium Gold and Celeron processors. None of the Celeron processors have Hyper-Threading and the entire stack does not have any sort of boost clocks. These are entry-level chips for price-sensitive configurations. There are eight processors in total but we’ve only mentioned five here with the remaining three processors placed in the T-series list. Interestingly, there is no price difference between the T and non-T variants in the 10th Gen Pentium Gold and Celeron lineup.

• Pentium Gold G-6600: 2 cores, 4 threads; 4.2 GHz base; No Boost; 58W; $86
• Pentium Gold G-6500: 2 cores, 4 threads; 4.1 GHz base; No Boost; 58W; $75
• Pentium Gold G-6400: 2 cores, 4 threads; 4.0 GHz base; No Boost; 58W; $64
• Celeron G-5920: 2 cores, 2 threads; 3.5 GHz base; No Boost; 58W; $52
• Celeron G-5900: 2 cores, 2 threads; 3.4 GHz base; No Boost; 58W; $42