Intel Docs List Raptor Lake With Same Microarchitectures as Alder Lake

Intel Meteor Lake
(Image credit: Intel)

We already know from various unofficial sources that Intel's upcoming 13th Generation Core 'Raptor Lake' processor is a mostly 'quantitative' rather than 'qualitative' update to the company's 12th Gen Core 'Alder Lake' CPUs. However, Intel apparently has a document that lists both processors with the same microarchitectures. Meanwhile, Redwood Cove and Crestmont cores are confirmed to power Meteor Lake. 

Intel's Top-down Microarchitecture Analysis document, which is not available to general public, mentions Alder Lake and Raptor Lake CPUs as using the same microarchitectures, just like it does to Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, and Comet Lake CPUs, according to @InstLatX64, a well-known hardware leaker who analyzes documentation for software developers. 

Intel

(Image credit: InstLatX64/Twitter)

Formally, Intel's Raptor Lake processors are equipped with up to eight high-performance Raptor Cove cores as well as 16 energy-efficient Gracemont cores. On paper, Raptor Cove is different from Golden Cove which power Alder Lake, but it looks like from software point of view both cores are the same thing. Meanwhile, Gracemont cores were meant to be shared between different generations given Intel's low-power core development cadence. 

But while Intel's 13th Generation Core 'Raptor Lake' processors may just add energy-efficient cores, increase clocks, and maybe a few more perks, its successor will indeed be a rather game-changing product.  

Intel's 14th Generation Core 'Meteor Lake' processor will be the company's first client product to use a multi-chiplet design as well as the first product to use Intel 4 process technology fabrication technology (previously known as 7nm EUV) for compute tile. Speaking of compute tiles, we should mention that it will use high-performance Redwood Cove cores and energy-efficient Crestmont cores, as revealed by @InstLatX64 in another post citing a PerfMon mapfile.csv obtained from an undisclosed source. 

(Image credit: InstLatX64/Twitter)

Considering the fact that Meteor Lake will use all-new CPU microarchitectures, we should probably expect new levels of performance and efficiency in general purpose workloads. Furthermore, since integrated GPU will now use a separate tile, it will not be as constrained by die size as significantly as it is today, so expect some additional performance as well.

 

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • JayNor
    Raptor Lake cache sizes increase from 1.25 MB to 2MB for each of the P cores and from 2MB to 4MB for each of the E core clusters, according to several reports.
    Reply
  • Foxlum
    While Raptor Lake will improve what Alder Lake had, Zen 4 seems to be the one to majorly push forward in AMDs current path to fully rival and even beat Intel quite wholeheartedly.

    It's kinda funny how AMD was behind quite far pre-Zen, and has progressively created competition for Intel forcing them to innovate, and actually lag behind them in some respects.
    Reply
  • rluker5
    Foxlum said:
    While Raptor Lake will improve what Alder Lake had, Zen 4 seems to be the one to majorly push forward in AMDs current path to fully rival and even beat Intel quite wholeheartedly.

    It's kinda funny how AMD was behind quite far pre-Zen, and has progressively created competition for Intel forcing them to innovate, and actually lag behind them in some respects.
    That's quite an assertive claim without presenting any evidence to support it. Just fyi Raptor is doing something similar to what the x3d did, except with more cores and oc potential, not the same numbers and no stable oc potential. Whether Raptor's lower level latency improvement pans out is yet to be seen, as is Zen 4's.

    It's kind of funny how big the AMD hype is when they have only managed to reach parity for one gen out of 4 on their hallowed AM4 socket and seem to be falling back on the next. At least if the single and multithread benches are to be believed.

    But the increased L2 on Zen4 should help. I remember how much better the Phenoms were with their extra cache. I really hope Zen4 doesn't get pluton like the mobile Ryzen already has.
    Reply
  • msroadkill612
    rluker5 said:
    That's quite an assertive claim without presenting any evidence to support it. Just fyi Raptor is doing something similar to what the x3d did, except with more cores and oc potential, not the same numbers and no stable oc potential. Whether Raptor's lower level latency improvement pans out is yet to be seen, as is Zen 4's.

    It's kind of funny how big the AMD hype is when they have only managed to reach parity for one gen out of 4 on their hallowed AM4 socket and seem to be falling back on the next. At least if the single and multithread benches are to be believed.

    But the increased L2 on Zen4 should help. I remember how much better the Phenoms were with their extra cache. I really hope Zen4 doesn't get pluton like the mobile Ryzen already has.
    :).
    Keeping the ~same AM4 platform compatibility has been wonderful for users, but it is fighting with one hand tied behind their back in this sort of race.

    How many platforms have come & gone for intel's long suffering loyal fans in those 5 years?

    Even the all singing and dancing Alder Lake (DDR5/all new socket/PCIE5) ..., cannot inarguably claim the top gaming cpu title over a 5800x3d in a 5 yo mobo.

    Its pathetic, not praiseworthy.

    W/ Zen 4 amd will be unconstrained
    Reply
  • spentshells
    worst part is that you still need a new motherboard... jk thats next time they dont change anything
    Reply
  • rluker5
    msroadkill612 said:
    :).
    Keeping the ~same AM4 platform compatibility has been wonderful for users, but it is fighting with one hand tied behind their back in this sort of race.

    How many platforms have come & gone for intel's long suffering loyal fans in those 5 years?

    Even the all singing and dancing Alder Lake (DDR5/all new socket/PCIE5) ..., cannot inarguably claim the top gaming cpu title over a 5800x3d in a 5 yo mobo.

    Its pathetic, not praiseworthy.

    W/ Zen 4 amd will be unconstrained
    Let's look at the enjoying of that AM4 platform so long. To enjoy from the start means you had a first gen Zen that was inferior to Haswell in games. Zen+ reached parity with that and Zen2 reached approximate parity with Broadwell in games. So in 2020 that sweet AM4 was comparable to a 2015 Z97 mobo. You could say the Z97 had great longevity and that longevity did not need an upgrade, it was 100% free if you picked up a Broadwell in 2015. Before Zen 3 AM4 was matched in gaming with DDR3 on a 5 year old platform (also using a large cache BTW). If you did not pick up early Zen you did not enjoy the longevity of the AM4 platform and if you did pick up early Zen you had to buy more cpus for the same gaming performance. The 1st 3 gens of Ryzen are not worth lauding for performance, just for improvement.
    Then Zen3 came out and was faster than the Skylake platform and for most better than Rocket lake. Until Alder lake came out and beat it. I count that as parity. The best goes back and forth and is fairly close.
    Zen3d is faster in games than Alder if you don't overclock, aren't good at overclocking, or don't want to spend a ton of time doing it. So faster in games for most users, but it really depends on the game. It also is very expensive to make. Likely more expensive to make than a 32c Threadripper. It is likely made to be as much a statement from TSMC (larger company than Intel AMD combined) that their foundries can compete with Intel's as a statement from AMD that their chips can compete. But it is not being sold at market margins and it only being on parity is similar to one of Apple's giant chips being on parity with a much cheaper Qualcomm counterpart.

    Parity isn't pathetic, even if Zen4 is slower at most games than Zen3d, is comparable to Alder and 15% slower than Raptor I would hardly call that pathetic. It would still be more than sufficient for 120hz gaming which is quite good. Zen4 should also run light tasks smoother due to its doubled L2 and hopefully not have any tpm stutter. But pluton would be selling their security management to ms so hopefully they don't get that. Not that I don't trust ms, but more hands and eyes on my pc usage is never a good thing even if I am acting lawfully.
    Reply
  • Why_Me
    Foxlum said:
    While Raptor Lake will improve what Alder Lake had, Zen 4 seems to be the one to majorly push forward in AMDs current path to fully rival and even beat Intel quite wholeheartedly.

    It's kinda funny how AMD was behind quite far pre-Zen, and has progressively created competition for Intel forcing them to innovate, and actually lag behind them in some respects.
    Lets just hope for AMD's sake the price of DDR5 goes down.
    Reply