The 13th Core i generation increases the number of efficiency cores. This should benefit Intel’s mid-range processors in particular.
Intel’s next generation of desktop processors, the Core i-13000, also known as the Raptor Lake, are apparently also bringing the efficiency cores into the lower mid-range. The Core i5-13400 is supposed to be a ten-core processor – with a combination of six performance cores and four efficiency cores, i.e. with 16 threads (only the P cores can handle Hyper-Threading). Starting with the Core i5-13500, an upgrade to eight efficiency cores is also planned.
The current Alder Lake generation only has efficient cores starting with the Core i5-12600K. Because Intel reserves the right to fully expand the Core i9 processors with eight performance and efficiency cores each, even the Core i7-12700K has had to be content with four E-Cores so far.
More E-Cores for almost all CPUs
One of the biggest changes from Raptor Lake is the doubling of the E-Cores up to 16, which enables finer gradations in the different performance classes. Only the Core i3 CPUs should continue to use only four P cores.
“Extreme Player” shared an overview on the Chinese social media platform Bilibili. The revisions mentioned indicate that Intel continues to use the previous Alder Lake dies for the smaller Raptor Lake CPUs. Previously, “Extreme Player” published numerous benchmarks with pre-production CPUs, which gives it credibility.
| Alleged specifications for Raptor Lake (Source: Extreme Player) | ||||
| processor | P + E cores / threads | base clock | L3 cache | TDP |
| Core i9-13900K | 8 + 16 / 32 | 3.0GHz | 36 MB | 125W |
| Core i9-13900 | 8 + 16 / 32 | 2.0GHz | 36 MB | 65W |
| Core i7-13700K | 8 + 8 / 24 | 3.4GHz | 30 MB | 125W |
| Core i7-13700 | 8 + 8 / 24 | 2.1GHz | 30 MB | 65W |
| Core i5-13600K | 6 + 8 / 20 | 3.5GHz | 24 MB | 125W |
| Core i5-13600 | 6 + 8 / 20 | 2.7GHz | 24 MB | 65W |
| Core i5-13500 | 6 + 8 / 20 | 2.5GHz | 24 MB | 65W |
| Core i5-13400 | 6 + 4 / 16 | 2.5GHz | 20 MB | 65W |
| Core i3-13100 | 4 + 0 / 8 | 3.4GHz | 12 MB | 60W |
progress in the middle class
A lot has happened in Intel’s Core i5 class in the past five years: At the beginning of 2017 in the Kaby Lake generation, the Core i5-7400 was still a quad-core without Hyper-Threading. The successor Core i5-8400 (Coffee Lake) increased to six CPU cores. In 2020, the Core i5-10400 (Comet Lake) with activated Hyper-Threading, i.e. with six cores and 12 threads, was released.
The upgrades came as AMD’s Ryzen processors increased the pressure on Intel. Should the Core i5-13400 actually become a ten-core processor, AMD will be under pressure to act. The Zen 4 generation should start with the six-core Ryzen 5 7600X – traditionally, AMD initially offers processors from the previous series in the price range under 200 euros.
