This Bizarre 5-Core Chip Could Be Intel's New Lakefield 3D Foveros CPU

Intel's upcoming 3D-stacked processor, codename Lakefield, has recently popped up in the 3DMark database. Chip detective TUM_APISAK managed to take a screenshot of the 3DMark entry.

Intel Lakefield will be the first processors to feature the chipmaker's 3D Foveros packaging. Foveros is a technology that essentially allows Intel to stack chips one on top of the other, equivalent to what storage manufacturers are doing with some new types of 3D NAND (string stacking).

According to 3DMark's report, the unidentified processor is equipped with five cores, which concurs with the core configuration for Intel's Lakefield chips. As you recall, Lakefield utilizes a design that's similar to ARM's big.LITTLE architecture. Intel complements the powerful core with other slower and more energy-efficient cores.

In Lakefield's case, Intel plans to endow the processor with one Sunny Cove core and four accompanying Atom Tremont cores. The chipmaker will cook up Lakefield chips with a combination of manufacturing process. Intel uses the 10nm node for the compute die and the 22nm node for the base die.

3DMark identified the Lakefield processor with a 2,500 MHz clock speed but recorded the five-core part with a 3,100 MHz core clock and 3,166 MHz turbo clock. As with all test submissions of pre-release silicon, this could be subject to change as development progresses.

Lakefield supports LPDDR4X memory speeds up to 4,266 MHz. Intel will stack the memory in the form of a package-on-package (PoP) on top of the processor. TUM_APISAK states that the leaked Lakefield processor puts up a physics score of 5,200 points, which roughly puts it in the same ballpark as the Pentium Gold G5400.

Energy efficiency is one of the goals of Lakefield. The chips will arrive in 5W and 7W configurations. Furthermore, Lakefield should have pretty capable integrated graphics as Intel has confirmed that Lakefield parts will employ the Gen11 graphics solution up to 64 Execution Units (EUs). 

Intel estimates to have Lakefield production samples ready by the end of the fourth quarter. The latest 3DMark submission suggests that Lakefield samples are already out in the wild. Assuming Intel stays on track, the chipmaker could deliver Lakefield next year as planned.