Intel Comet Lake-S: What do the new 10000 CPUs do? – Games up to date
Intel: Sky Comet-S appears in the sky
New mainstream processors from Intel have been on the market for a few days, namely the Intel Core i 10000 series from the Comet Lake S family. Together with the new CPUs there is also a fresh socket, the Intel socket 1200. This naturally means that there are also new mainboards on the market to be able to use the CPUs at all. Since there have already been several tests, especially of the two models Core i5-10600K and Core i7-10900K, by specialist editors such as also from our colleagues from PC Games Hardware in our special, we want to use these tests to classify the performance of the new processors and of course also evaluate the price-performance ratio.
In our analysis, there are two basic questions: Can the new gaming models step up the socket 1151 v2? And if so, are the prices okay? Because the Core i7-9700K – just as an example – is a bit faster in games than the Ryzen 3000 CPUs, but costs significantly more.
Asus ROG STRIX Z490-F Gaming
Source: Asus
In addition, we will of course first take a look at the technology and the (most important) new CPU models from Intel. As far as motherboards are concerned, we have put together some information and a selection of 20 models – but we will only do this at the end, i.e. based on our performance assessment of the new CPUs. Since pictures of CPUs are not particularly varied, we have decorated our article with some pictures of motherboards, which will also appear in our later overview.
Core i-10000: The main models
There is currently a new 1200 socket 17 processors as boxed version, i.e. with an official packaging intended for retail – depending on the model with or without the included CPU cooler. There is no cooler for the CPUs with a K in the model name, because the freely selectable multiplier for these CPUs makes it very easy to overclock together with a suitable mainboard, which would require a reasonably decent separate cooler anyway. The boxed models are also available without an official package as a "tray" version (always without a cooler), and there are a few other models exclusively as a tray version, so that you end up with more than 17 Core i-10000 listed -CPUs is coming. These include models that have a T in their name and are a more energy-efficient alternative, but do not run that high. In our overview you will find almost CPUs, which are also available as a boxed version.
| model | Cores | Threads | Base clock | Boost clock | IGP | TDP | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i3-10100 | 4th | 8th | 3.6 GHz | 4.3 GHz | Yes | 65W | 140 euros |
| Core i5-10400F | 6 | 12 | 2.9 GHz | 4.3 GHz | No | 65W | 170 euros |
| Core i3-10300 | 4th | 8th | 3.7 GHz | 4.4 GHz | Yes | 65W | 180 euros |
| Core i5-10500F | 6 | 12 | 2.9 GHz | 4.3 GHz | No | 65W | 185 euros |
| Core i3-10320 | 4th | 8th | 3.8 GHz | 4.6 GHz | Yes | 65W | 190 euros |
| Core i5-10400 | 6 | 12 | 2.9 GHz | 4.3 GHz | Yes | 65W | 205 euros |
| Core i5-10500 | 6 | 12 | 3.1 GHz | 4.5 GHz | Yes | 65W | 230 euros |
| Core i5-10600 | 6 | 12 | 3.3 GHz | 4.8 GHz | Yes | 65W | 250 euro |
| Core i5-10600KF | 6 | 12 | 4.1 GHz | 4.8 GHz | No | 125W | 280 euros |
| Core i5-10600K | 6 | 12 | 4.1 GHz | 4.8 GHz | Yes | 125W | 310 euros |
| Core i7-10700F | 8th | 16 | 2.9 GHz | 4.8 GHz | No | 65W | 360 euros |
| Core i7-10700 | 8th | 16 | 2.9 GHz | 4.8 GHz | Yes | 65W | 370 euros |
| Core i7-10700KF | 8th | 16 | 3.8 GHz | 5.1 GHz | No | 125W | 415 euros |
| Core i7-10700K | 8th | 16 | 3.8 GHz | 5.1 GHz | Yes | 125W | 450 euros |
| Core i9-10900KF | 10th | 20th | 3.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | No | 125W | 550 euros |
| Core i9-10900K | 10th | 20th | 3.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | Yes | 125W | 590 euros |
If you take a closer look at the table, you will find that an F in the model name automatically means that the CPU does not have an IGP (internal graphics unit). This was also the case for the models for the 1151 v2 socket and is irrelevant for a gaming PC, since a graphics card is used anyway – an F-CPU can be cheaper than its otherwise identical brother without an F in the model name. A KF CPU like the Core i5-10600KF does not have an IGP, but is easy to overclock thanks to the free multiplier. This model shows all factors as an example, because the Core i5-10600KF is currently 30 euros cheaper than the Core i5-10600K, which is identical except for the existing IGP.
