Intel's First Cannon Lake 10nm Core Processor Leaks With Dual Cores And Gen 10 GPU
It seems like we have been waiting for Intel to release its Cannon Lake lineup for a hundred years now (slight exaggeration). That day is fast approaching, however, with Intel having already shown off a Cannon Lake wafer to the public several months ago. Now what looks to be the first Cannon Lake chip has made an unofficial debut on SiSoftware's SANDRA database, along with several unreleased Coffee Lake processors.
Assuming the leak is legitimate (as always, take these things with several grains of salt), it suggests that Intel has begun shipping out engineering samples of Cannon Lake to OEMs and perhaps some reviewers. What is indicated in the SANDRA database is a dual-core Cannon Lake processor with Hyper Threading support. As listed, it has a 2.2GHz base clockspeed and a 2.6GHz boost clockspeed.
The dual-core part also features integrated Intel Ultra HD Graphics based on Intel's Gen 10 architecture (Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake use Gen 9 and Gen 9.5 graphics, respectively). Unfortunately, the listing does not indicate any other information on the graphics portion, such as clockspeeds and other vitals.
What's on display in SANDRA's database (again, assuming it's real) is undoubtedly a mobile processor, not a desktop chip. It's still interesting to see Intel rolling with a 2-core/4-thread design, as there are now 8th Generation Core processors for laptops that are quad-core chips. The difference here is that the Cannon Lake part appears to be an ultra lower power chips for tablets, detachables, and computer sticks (Cannon Lake-Y).
Cannon Lake represents Intel's first chips built on a 10-nanometer manufacturing process. It has been challenging for Intel to get down to 10nm, hence why it has taken Cannon Lake so long to arrive. However, Intel maintains that its 10nm technology is a full generation ahead of other 10nm technologies with he "world's tightest transistor and metal pitches along with hyper scaling features for leadership density."
