On March 16, 2021, Intel officially released a new generation of desktop processors code-named "Rocket Lake-S", and this time it also replaced the Sky Lake architecture that has been used for nearly six years with the Cypress Cove architecture. The most intuitive manifestation of

On March 16, 2021, Intel officially released a new generation of desktop processors code-named "Rocket Lake-S". This time, the Sky Lake architecture that has been used for nearly six years has also been replaced with the Cypress Cove architecture. The most intuitive reflection of the update of

architecture is that IPC has increased by 19% compared to the previous generation. After many years, Intel's desktop processors have once again ushered in the improvement of IPC. Although the architecture of

has changed, Rocket Lake still uses a 14nm process process this time. This means that Intel has implemented the CPU architecture and graphics architecture used in the 10nm process this time in a 14nm process.

This leads to the inclusion of new architectures and new features in the limited core area that Rocket Lake-S cannot accommodate more cores. The number of cores of the i9 series has been reduced from 10 cores to 8 cores last year. However, for the i7 series, the 11th generation i7 uses the same 8-core and 16 threads as the previous generation. This will also be the last time Intel uses a 14-nanometer process to manufacture CPUs, and will use a 10-nanometer process on the 12th-generation Core Alder Lake processor released by the end of 2021.

So, what new functions occupy the already tight space?

This time Intel has adopted the new memory controller . When the memory controller is in Gear 1 mode, it can support up to DDR4-3200. This time, the Gear 2 mode is also added. The frequency will be divided after the memory frequency exceeds 3600Hz.

Intel finally supports PCIe 4.0 channels natively on the desktop platform, and the number of channels has been increased to 20, which can better play the performance of graphics cards and solid-state drives. In 3DMark's PCIe bandwidth test, the i9-11900K can reach 25.69 GB/s.

This time, a new reading technology that supports Resizable BAR has been added, which can better obtain large batches of Gen caches from VRAM of independent graphics card . Resizable BAR is a standard PCIe interface, which can support such new transmissions on many new versions of independent graphics cards, and can also transmit a large number of transmissions in a packaged manner, better implementing the packaging transmission of data between VRAM and CPU.

It is worth mentioning that Intel has added a new turbo function called Adaptive Boost Technology (ABTh), which can increase the multi-core turbo frequency in a timely manner. The default frequency is 3.5GHz. After turning on ABT, it can automatically turbo frequency to 5.1GHz. Although it is not as good as the highest 5.3GHz, it is more convenient. It can be opened with one click in the BIOS. The turbo frequency implemented with ABT can be maintained within the standard current and temperature limits. Same as Intel Turbo Technology in the past.

single-core performance Intel has performed

This time, judging from the improvement of IPC and the increase in functions, the new desktop-level 11th generation Core seems to have a lot of highlights. In actual tests, i9-11900K scored 645 in Cinebench R20 and 6008 in single-core scores. i5-11600K single-core score of 568 and multi-core score of 4160. R7 5800X single-core score of 603 and multi-core score of 6001. R9 5900X single-core score of 630 and multi-core score of 8345.

In Cinebench R23, the i9-11900K single-core score is 1664, and the multi-core score is 15633. i5-11600K single-core score of 1502, multi-core score of 10679. R7 5800X single-core score of 1508 and multi-core score of 15402. R9 5900X single-core score of 1607, multi-core score of 24602. In terms of single-core performance, i9-11900K is ahead of its own and returns to the throne of the king of single-core performance.

In Adobe PhotoShop performance test, i9-11900K and i5-11600K have improved significantly compared with the previous generation, and even the performance of i5-11600K is slightly higher than that of i9-10900K.

In Adobe Lightroom Classic performance test, the i9-11900K and i9-10900K are not much improved.

In the test of Adobe After Effects, the 11th generation is also stronger than the R7 5800X under the premise of a significant improvement over the 10th generation.

In Premiere Pro, which has requirements for single-core and multi-core performance, the i9-10900K relies on the advantages of more cores, slightly exceeding the i9-11900K, which is basically the same. However, the improvement of i5-11600K compared with i5-10600K is still very obvious.

In terms of gaming performance, RTX3090 is used as the test graphics card. At the 1920*1080 resolution of "CS GO", the average frame of the i9-11900K is 690 frames, and the average frame of the R7 5800X is 702 frames, which is slightly inferior but basically the same.

《DOTA 2》1920*1080 resolution with the highest image quality, the average frame of i9-11900K is 220 frames, and the average frame of R7 5800X is 215 frames.

In terms of 3A games, as a hardware killer, "Total War: Three Kingdoms" has an average frame of 59 frames from i9-11900K, but it still fails to reach 60 frames. The average frame of the R9 5900X is only 53 frames, and the FPS increase is nearly 10%.

is under the highest resolution of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla" with an average frame of 64 frames, which can achieve stable operation of 60 frames. R9 5900X has an average frame of 61 frames, which is comparable to the two.

Overall, in terms of office, the 11th generation products have a huge improvement over the 10th generation products. Intel and AMD are comparable in terms of gaming, and 3A Games Intel is slightly better. However, Intel is relatively high in terms of power consumption, and there are bottlenecks in memory caching, resulting in limitations in game performance.

core graphics engine performance leap upgrade

This time, Intel introduced the Xe architecture graphics engine that was previously updated on the mobile platform to the desktop platform, which can be said to have brought a leap upgrade to the desktop integrated graphics engine. For desktop computers, the role of core graphics is becoming increasingly marginalized. The desktop computer's own permanent attributes allow it to shoulder the heavy responsibility of high-performance office and gaming while sacrificing portability. The nuclear display is obviously unable to handle heavy office and top-level gaming experience needs. The addition of

high-performance core graphics can only be used as the icing on the cake for a desktop CPU, not a key factor. However, in this special period, the prices of old flagship graphics cards cannot be reduced, and the prices of new models are rising steadily, making PC players not having a good time. Having such a high-performance nuclear graphics as a transition is nothing more than an option. In terms of performance, the HD750 core performance of this Xe architecture 32EU graphics processing unit also matches the "transition" positioning.

runs "League of Legends" with a resolution of 1920*1080, with an average frame rate of 120 frames. "CS GO" has a minimum image quality of 1080 P resolution with an average frame of 100 frames. "Dota 2" 1080P's minimum image quality average frame rate is 91 frames. It can be said that for competitive online games, HD750 is still competent.

But to run the 3A masterpiece of the PC platform, this core display is too willing but not enough. "Cyberpunk 2077" has only 10 frames at the lowest image quality of 1080P, and it is a PPT. "Red Dead Redemption 2" has only 20 frames at the lowest image quality of 1080P. For the best optimization of "GTA5" "1080P", it can't reach 60 frames, and it's just a playable level.

However, looking back at the PC game market in the past two years, the rise of more and more independent games that are not very strict with performance requirements, and the improvement of nuclear graphics performance has also met the needs of some players. For example, "Ghost Valley Bahuang" and "Rhythm Doctor" can run without any pressure. Even the recent "Two Travel" can ensure smooth operation with the lowest image quality.

It can be said that this time, the 11th generation Core desktop-level processor has a good performance improvement compared to the previous generation, and it has been fighting against competitors. It is also more convenient in overclocking, and a higher frequency can be achieved through simple operations. On the premise of increasing the overall range, the mass market covered by i5-11600K is more cost-effective, while the top flagship i9-11900K returns to the throne in single-core performance.