Coffee Lake Explained

Coffee Lake
Cpuid:	0906eah, 0906ebh, 0906ech, 0906edh
Code:	80684
Pcode1:	CFL
Created:	^[1]
Produced-End:	June 4, 2021 (8th gen, except for Xeons)^[2] ^[3] December 24, 2021 (9th gen)^[4]
Soldby:	Intel
Designfirm:	Intel
Manuf1:	Intel
Numcores:	2–8
Size-From:	Intel 14 nm++
L1cache:	64KB per core
L2cache:	256KB per core
L3cache:	Up to 16MB, shared
L4cache:	128MB of eDRAM (on some models)
Application:	Desktop
Gpu:	GT2, GT3e
Microarch:	Coffee Lake
Arch:	x86-64
Instructions:	x86-64
Extensions:	MMX, AES-NI, CLMUL, FMA3, RDRAND
Extensions1:	SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4, SSE4.1, SSE4.2
Extensions2:	AVX, AVX2, TXT, TSX, SGX
Extensions3:	VT-x, VT-d
Socket:	LGA 1151 with altered pinout to support more than four cores
Predecessor:	Kaby Lake (optimization)
Successor:	Same generation Cannon Lake (10nm, mobile) Whiskey Lake (14nm, mobile) Next generation Ice Lake (10nm, mobile) Comet Lake (14nm, desktop)
Support Status:	Legacy support for iGPU

Coffee Lake is Intel's codename for its eighth-generation Core microprocessor family, announced on September 25, 2017.^[5] It is manufactured using Intel's second 14 nm process node refinement. Desktop Coffee Lake processors introduced i5 and i7 CPUs featuring six cores (along with hyper-threading in the case of the latter) and Core i3 CPUs with four cores and no hyperthreading.

On October 8, 2018, Intel announced what it branded its ninth generation of Core processors, the Coffee Lake Refresh family.^[6] To avoid running into thermal problems at high clock speeds, Intel soldered the integrated heat spreader (IHS) to the CPU die instead of using thermal paste as on the Coffee Lake processors.^[7] The generation was defined by another increase of core counts.

Coffee Lake is used with the 300-series chipset, and officially does not work with the 100- and 200-series chipset motherboards. Although desktop Coffee Lake processors use the same physical LGA 1151 socket as Skylake and Kaby Lake, the pinout is electrically incompatible with these older processors and motherboards.^[8]

On April 2, 2018, Intel released additional desktop Core i3, i5, i7, Pentium Gold, Celeron CPUs, the first six-core Core i7 and i9 mobile CPUs, hyper-threaded four-core Core i5 mobile CPUs, and the first Coffee Lake ultra-power CPUs with Intel Iris Plus graphics.

On June 8, 2018, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Intel 8086 CPU architecture, Intel released the i7-8086K as a limited edition CPU, a renumbered and slightly higher clocked batch of the i7-8700K dies.

History

Coffee Lake's development was led by Intel Israel's processor design team in Haifa, Israel, as an optimization of Kaby Lake.^[9] Intel first launched its 8th Generation Intel Core family processors in August 2017. While with the release of the new 8th Gen Intel Core i9 processor in 2018, Intel said it would be the highest-performance laptop processor Intel has ever built.^[9]

Features

Coffee Lake CPUs are built using the second refinement of Intel's 14 nm process (14 nm++).^[10] It features increased transistor gate pitch for a lower current density and higher leakage transistors that allows higher peak power and higher frequency at the expense of die area and idle power.

Coffee Lake marks a shift in the number of cores for Intel's mainstream desktop processors, the first such update for the previous ten-year history of Intel Core CPUs. In the 8th generation, mainstream desktop i7 CPUs feature six hyperthreaded cores, i5 CPUs feature six single-threaded cores and i3 CPUs feature four single-threaded cores.

9th generation

For the 9th generation, the Intel Core i9 branding made its debut on the mainstream desktop, describing CPUs with 8 cores and 16 threads. 9th generation i7s feature 8 single-threaded cores, marking the first time desktop Core i7s have not featured Intel's Hyper-threading technology, although the 9th generation Core i7 mobile CPUs do support hyperthreading and have 6 cores just like 8th gen mobile chips. 9th generation i5 CPUs feature six single-threaded cores, just like their 8th generation predecessors.

The ninth generation Core i series includes hardware fixes for Meltdown and L1 Terminal Fault.^[11]

Chipsets

The 300 series chipsets, while using physically identical LGA 1151 socket to the 100 and 200 series chipsets, are officially only compatible with Coffee Lake CPUs, meaning that older motherboards do not officially support Coffee Lake processors,^{[12] [8]} and 300 series motherboards do not officially support Skylake or Kaby Lake processors.

The enthusiast Z370 (a rebranded Z270), launched alongside the first Coffee Lake CPUs in October 2017, was the only officially supported chipset for these mainstream CPUs. When the full lineup of CPUs was revealed in April 2018, it was then accompanied by the lower-end H310, B360, H370 and Q370 chipsets for home and business users. The Z390 chipset was launched alongside the release of the 9th generation CPUs, supporting all 8th and 9th generation mainstream desktop parts. A B365 chipset was added later on.

9th generation Xeons require motherboards with the C246 chipset.^[13]

Architecture changes compared with Kaby Lake

Coffee Lake features largely the same CPU core and performance per MHz as Skylake/Kaby Lake.^{[14] [15]} Features specific to Coffee Lake include:

• Increased core count: Core i3 increased from 2 to 4 cores, Core i5 and 8th Generation i7 parts increased from 4 to 6 cores, 9th generation i7 and i9 parts feature eight cores.
• Increased L3 cache in accordance to the number of threads
• Increased turbo clock speeds across i5 and i7 CPUs models (increased by up to 400 MHz)
• Increased iGPU clock speeds by 50 MHz and rebranded it UHD (Ultra High Definition)
• DDR4 memory support updated for 2666 MT/s (for i5, i7 and i9 parts) and 2400 MT/s (for i3 parts); DDR3 memory is no longer supported on LGA1151 parts, unless using with H310C chipset
• 300 series chipset on the second revision of socket LGA 1151
• Support for CNVi

Kaby Lake Refresh vs. Coffee Lake

On August 8, 2017, Intel announced the first of its new eighth generation of processors would be mobile processors.^[16] As Intel's previous changes in product generations coincided with new microarchitectures, it was unclear^[17] but generally expected that the eighth Core generation products would be based on the new Coffee Lake microarchitecture.^[18] When it was officially announced on August 21, 2017, however, Intel stated that the eighth generation family would be based on multiple microarchitectures: Kaby Lake Refresh, Coffee Lake,^[19] Whiskey Lake, and Cannon Lake.^[20]

List of 8th generation Coffee Lake processors

Coffee Lake-S (Desktop processors)

These processors mark the first time that Intel has released mainstream consumer CPUs that support up to 128 GB RAM.^[21]

Processor branding	Model	Cores (threads)	CPU clock rate (GHz)							GPU		L3 cache	TDP	Memory support	Release date	Price (USD)
			Base	Turbo clock rate^[22]						Model	Max GPU clock rate(GHz)
				Number of cores used
				1	2	3	4	5	6
Core i7	8086K	6 (12)	4.0	5.0	4.6	4.5	4.4		4.3	UHD 630	1.20	12MB	95W	Up to 128 GBDDR4-2666		$425
	8700K		3.7	4.7												$359
	8700		3.2	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.3						65W			$303
	8700T		2.4	4.0	4.0^[23]	3.9		3.8					35W
Core i5	8600K	6 (6)	3.6	4.3	4.2			4.1			1.15	9MB	95W			$257
	8600		3.1										65W			$213
	8600T		2.3	3.7	3.6			3.5					35W
	8500		3.0	4.1	4.0			3.9			1.10		65W			$192
	8500T		2.1	3.5	3.4	3.3		3.2					35W
	8400		2.8	4.0	3.9			3.8			1.05		65W			$182
	8400T		1.7	3.3	3.2	3.1		3.0					35W
Core i3	8350K	4 (4)	4.0	1.15	8MB	91W	Up to 64 GBDDR4-2400		$168
	8300		3.7	62W				$138
	8300T		3.2	35W
	8100		3.6	1.10	6MB	65W			$117
	8100F							?
	8100T		3.1	UHD 630	1.10	35W			$117
Pentium Gold	G5600	2 (4)	3.9			4MB			54W	$86
	G5500		3.8							$75
	G5500T		3.2						35W
	G5400		3.7	UHD 610	1.05				54W	$64
	G5400T		3.1						35W
Celeron	G4930	2 (2)	3.2			2MB			54W	$42
	G4920									$52
	G4900		3.1							$42
	G4900T		2.9						35W

* various reviews show that the Core i7-8700K CPU may consume over 110 W under load.^[24]

Coffee Lake-E (server/workstation processors)

Processor branding	Model	Cores (threads)	CPU clock rate (GHz)		GPU		L3 cache	TDP	Memory support	Price (USD)
			Base	Max. Turbo	Model	max GPU(GHz)
Xeon E	2186G	6 (12)	3.8	4.7	UHD P630	1.20	12MB	95W	DDR4-2666Up to 128 GB ECC memory supported	$450
	2176G		3.7					80W		$362
	2146G		3.5	4.5		1.15				$311
	2136		3.3		$284
	2126G	6 (6)			UHD P630	1.15				$255
	2174G	4 (8)	3.8	4.7		1.20	8MB	71W		$328
	2144G		3.6	4.5		1.15				$272
	2134		3.5		$250
	2124G	4 (4)	3.4		UHD P630	1.15				$213
	2124		3.3	4.3	$193
	2104G		3.2		UHD P630	1.10		65W

Mobile processors (Coffee Lake H and Coffee Lake U)

Processor branding	Model	Cores (threads)	CPU clock rate (GHz)		GPU			L3 cache	L4 cache (eDRAM)	TDP	cTDP	Price (USD)
			Base	Max.Turbo	Model	clock rate
						Base(MHz)	Max.(GHz)				Down
Xeon E	2186M	6 (12)	2.9	4.8	UHD P630	350	1.20	12MB	45W	35W	$623
	2176M		2.7	4.4					$450
Core i9	8950HK		2.9	4.8	UHD 630					$583
Core i7	8850H		2.6	4.3			1.15	9MB	35W	$395
	8750H		2.2	4.1			1.10
	8700B		3.2	4.6			1.20	12MB	65W		$303
	8569U	4 (8)	2.8	4.7	Iris Plus 655	300		8	128	28		$431
	8559U		2.7	4.5							20
	8557U		1.7		Iris Plus 645		1.15			15		OEM
Core i5	8500B	6 (6)	3.0	4.1	UHD 630	350	1.10	9MB	65W	$192
	8400B		2.8	4.0			1.05		$182
	8400H	4 (8)	2.5	4.2			1.10	8MB	45W	35W	$250
	8300H		2.3	4.0			1.0
	8279U		2.4	4.1	Iris Plus 655	300	1.15	6MB	128	28W		$320
	8269U		2.6	4.2			1.10				20
	8259U		2.3	3.8			1.05
	8260U		1.6	3.9	UHD 620		1.10			15W	10W	OEM
	8257U		1.4	3.9	Iris Plus 645		1.05					OEM
Core i3	8100B	4 (4)	3.6	UHD 630	350	1.05	65W			$133
	8100H		3.0	1.00		45W			35W	$225
	8109U	2 (4)		3.6	Iris Plus 655	300	1.05	4MB	128	28W	20W	$304

List of 9th generation Coffee Lake processors (Coffee Lake Refresh)

The first 9th generation Coffee Lake CPUs were released in the fourth quarter of 2018. They include hardware mitigations against certain Meltdown/Spectre vulnerabilities.^{[25] [26]}

The main differences from the 8th generation (besides increased frequency) are:

• Core i7 parts contain 8/8 cores/threads compared to 6/12 in 8th generation Core i7 parts.
• Core i3 parts are equipped with Turbo Boost technology.

Even though the CPUs with F suffix lack an integrated GPU, Intel set the same price for these CPUs as their featureful counterparts.^[27] Intel eventually reduced the official pricing of those CPUs in October 2019.^[28]

The Intel Core i9-9900KS CPU, released at the end of October 2019, features a limited one year warranty both for box and tray versions due to "its limited volume".^[29]

Coffee Lake-S (desktop processors)

Processor branding	Model	Cores (threads)	CPU clock rate (GHz)									GPU		Smart cache	TDP	Memory support	Price (USD)
			Base	Turbo^[30]								Model	max GPU clock rate
				Number of cores used
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Core i9	9900KS	8 (16)	4.0	5.0								UHD 630	1.20	16MB	127W	DDR4-26662-channelup to 128 GB	$513
	9900K		3.6	5.0		4.9	4.8		4.7						95W		$488
	9900KF											colspan="2"
	9900		3.1						4.7		4.6	UHD 630	1.20		65W		$423
	9900T		2.1	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.1	4.0	3.9	3.8	3.6				35W
Core i7	9700K	8 (8)	3.6	4.9	4.8	4.7		4.6						12MB	95W		$374
	9700KF											colspan="2"
	9700		3.0	4.7	4.7	4.6		4.5				UHD 630	1.20		65W		$323
	9700F											colspan="2"
	9700T		2.0	4.3								UHD 630	1.20		35W
Core i5	9600K	6 (6)	3.7	4.6	4.5	4.4		4.3		1.15			9MB	95W	$262
	9600KF											colspan="2"
	9600		3.1									UHD 630		1.15	65W		$213
	9600T		2.3	3.9											35W
	9500		3.0	4.4										1.10	65W		$192
	9500F											colspan="2"
	9500T		2.2	3.7								UHD 630		1.10	35W
	9400		2.9	4.1	4.0			3.9						1.05	65W		$182
	9400F											colspan="2"
	9400T		1.8	3.4								UHD 630		1.05	35W
Core i3	9350KF	4 (4)	4.0	4.6				8MB	91W	DDR4-24002-channelup to 64 GB	$173
	9350K							UHD 630				1.15
	9320		3.7	4.4					62W		$154
	9300			4.3							$143
	9300T		3.2	3.8					1.10			35W
	9100		3.6	4.2	4.1	4.0					6MB	65W	$122
	9100F							colspan="2"
	9100T		3.1	3.7				UHD 630	1.10			35W
Pentium Gold	G5620	2 (4)	4.0	4MB	54W	$86
	G5600T		3.3	1.05	35W	$75
	G5420		3.8		UHD 610	54W	$64
	G5420T		3.2			35W
Celeron	G4950	2 (2)	3.3			2MB	54W	$52
	G4930		3.2					$42
	G4930T		3.0	1.00			35W

Server/workstation processors

Coffee Lake-E CPUs require C242 or C246 chipset.

Processor branding	Model	Cores (threads)	CPU clock rate (GHz)									GPU	Smart cache	TDP	Memory support	Price (USD)
			Base	Turbo
				Number of cores used
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Xeon E	2288G	8 (16)	3.7	5.0	4.9		4.8		4.7			UHD P630	16MB	95W	DDR4-26662-channelup to 128 GBwith ECC	$539
	2278G		3.4						4.7	4.6				80W		$494
	2286G	6 (12)	4.0	4.9	4.8		4.7		4.6	12MB	95W		$450
	2276G		3.8							80W	$362
	2246G		3.6	4.8	4.7		4.6		4.5		$311
	2236		3.4									$284
	2226G	6 (6)		4.7	4.6		4.5		4.4		UHD P630	$255
	2274G	4 (8)	4.0	4.9	4.8	4.6	4.4	8MB	83W	$328
	2244G		3.8	4.8	4.7	4.6	4.5	71W	$272
	2234		3.6							$250
	2224G	4 (4)	3.5	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.4		UHD P630	$213
	2224		3.4	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.2			$193

Mobile processors (Xeon E and Coffee Lake-H Refresh)

Processorbranding	Model	Cores(threads)	CPU clock rate (GHz)									GPU			L3cache (MB)	TDP(W)	cTDP(W)	Price(US$)
			Base	Turbo								Model	Clock rate
				Number of cores used									Base(MHz)	Max.(GHz)			Down
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Xeon E	2286M	8 (16)	2.4	5.0								UHD P630	350	1.25	16	45	35	623
	2276M	6 (12)	2.8	4.7						1.20				12	450
Core i9	9980HK	8 (16)	2.4	5.00	4.9	4.8	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.2	UHD 630		1.25	16			583
	9880H		2.3	4.80										1.20			35	556
Core i7	9850H	6 (12)^[31]	2.6	4.60						1.15	12			395
	9750H			4.50	4.40	4.3	4.2	4.1	4.0
	9750HF
Core i5	9400H	4 (8)	2.5	4.30				UHD 630				350	1.10	8	250
	9300HF		2.4	4.10								colspan="3"
	9300H											UHD 630	350					1.05

See also

• List of Intel CPU microarchitectures

External links

• Web site: Products formerly Coffee Lake . Intel . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20171005221659/https://ark.intel.com/products/codename/97787/Coffee-Lake . October 5, 2017 . October 19, 2017.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Intel Unveils the 8th Gen Intel Core Processor Family for Desktop, Featuring Intel's Best Gaming Processor Ever . Intel Newsroom . en-US . September 24, 2017 . November 13, 2022.
2. Web site: Broekhuijsen . Niels . June 1, 2020 . Intel Discontinues All 8th-Gen Coffee Lake-S CPUs Up To 8700K . Tom's Hardware . en-US . June 6, 2020.
3. Web site: Product Change Notification #117617-00 . Intel . en-US . June 1, 2020 . June 6, 2020 .
4. Web site: December 8, 2020 . Intel Discontinues Entire 9th Gen CPU Lineup including the Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K, and i5-9600K . Hardware Times . en-US . April 12, 2021.
5. News: Cutress. Ian. Intel Announces 8th Generation Core "Coffee Lake" Desktop Processors: Six-core i7, Four-core i3, and Z370 Motherboards . Anandtech. September 25, 2017.
6. Web site: Intel Announces World's Best Gaming Processor: New 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K. Intel Newsroom.
7. Web site: Jon . Martindale . July 26, 2018 . Intel's soldered ninth-gen CPUs could give them even greater overclocking room . Digital Trends . en-US . November 24, 2018.
8. News: Cutress . Ian . October 5, 2017 . The AnandTech Coffee Lake Review: Initial Numbers on the Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400 . AnandTech . en-US . October 6, 2017.
9. Web site: Solomon . Shoshanna . April 3, 2018 . Haifa team sires Intel's 'best processor ever' for laptops . The Times of Israel . November 13, 2022.
10. News: Cutress . Ian . October 5, 2017 . The AnandTech Coffee Lake Review: Initial Numbers on the Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400 . AnandTech . en-US . October 5, 2017.
11. Web site: Intel Core i9-9900K mit 8 Kernen und 5 GHz für Gamer. Hirsch. Christian. heise online. de-DE. 2018-10-08.
12. Web site: Taylor . Paul . April 29, 2017 . Intel 300-series chipsets to provide USB 3.1 Gen2 and Gigabit Wi-Fi . KitGuru . en-US . December 8, 2018.
13. Web site: Product Specifications. www.intel.com.
14. News: Intel Coffee Lake Core i7-8700K review: The best gaming CPU you can buy. Ars Technica. 2017-10-05. en-us.
15. News: Intel Core i7-8700K Review: The New Gaming King. TechSpot. 2017-10-05. en-us.
16. News: Manion . Wayne . August 8, 2017 . Intel's eighth-generation Core CPUs will shine bright on August 21 . Tech Report . en-US . August 21, 2017.
17. News: Lustenberg. Alex . August 10, 2017 . Podcast #462 - AMD Threadripper, Intel Rumors, and more! . PC Perspective . en-US . August 21, 2017.
18. News: Cutress . Ian . August 21, 2017 . Intel Launches 8th Generation Core CPUs . AnandTech . en-US . August 21, 2017.
19. Web site: Chiappetta . Marco . October 5, 2017 . Intel Core i7-8700K And Core i5-8400 Review: Coffee Lake - More Cores, Performance And Value . Hot Hardware . https://web.archive.org/web/20171005164540/https://hothardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-8700k-and-core-i5-8400-coffee-lake-processor-review . October 5, 2017 . October 19, 2017.
20. News: Shrout . Ryan . August 21, 2017 . Intel announces 8th Generation Core Processors, starting with 15-watt quad-core Kaby Lake refresh for notebooks . PC Perspective . en-US . August 21, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180806115415/https://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Intel-announces-8th-Generation-Core-Processors-starting-15-watt-quad-core-Kab . August 6, 2018 . dead.
21. Web site: Intel Product Specification Advanced Search . Intel . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20190429181634/https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/search/featurefilter.html?productType=873&3_MaxMem-Min=131072&3_CoreCount-Max=6&2_MarketSegment=Desktop&1_Filter-SocketsSupported=3582 . April 29, 2019 . April 29, 2019.
22. News: Cutress . Ian . June 11, 2018 . The Intel Core i7-8086K Review . AnandTech . en-US . November 13, 2022.
23. Web site: Cutress . Ian . April 3, 2018 . Intel Expands 8th Gen Core: Core i9 on Mobile, Iris Plus, Desktop, Chipsets, and vPro . AnandTech . en-US . November 13, 2022.
24. News: Wallossek . Igor . Alcorn . Paul . October 5, 2017 . Overclocking, Cooling & Temperature - Core i7-8700K Review: Coffee Lake Brews A Great Gaming CPU . Tom's Hardware. en-US . February 2, 2019.
25. News: Alcorn . Paul . October 8, 2018 . Intel Announces 9th Generation Core CPUs, Eight-Core Core i9-9900K . Tom's Hardware . en-US . October 9, 2018.
26. News: Gartenberg . Chaim . October 8, 2018 . Intel announces its latest 9th Gen chips, including its 'best gaming processor' Core i9 . The Verge . en-US . October 9, 2018.
27. News: Cutress . Ian . January 16, 2019 . Intel's Graphics-Free Chips Are Also Savings-Free: Same Price, Fewer Features . AnandTech . en-US . January 16, 2019.
28. Web site: Cutress . Ian . October 7, 2019 . Intel Announces Price Cut for 9th Generation F and KF Processors . AnandTech . en-US . May 1, 2020.
29. Web site: Alcorn . Paul . October 28, 2019 . Intel Announces Core i9-9900KS With $513 RCP, Arrives October 30 with 127W TDP . Tom's Hardware . en-US . October 28, 2019.
30. Web site: Intel Announces 9th Gen Core CPUs: Core i9-9900K (8-Core), i7-9700K, & i5-9600K . Cuttress . Ian . AnandTech . October 8, 2018 . October 8, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181008161732/https://www.anandtech.com/show/13401/intel-9th-gen-cpus-9900k-9700k-9600k . October 8, 2018 . live .
31. Web site: Core i7-9750H - Intel - WikiChip. 2021-03-12. en.wikichip.org. en.