Coffee Lake – a tasty new CPU option
Although Coffee Lake sounds tantalizing, especially with a little cream, you can’t drink this lake of coffee.
Instead, it’s Intel’s code name for a central processing unit (CPU) they recently introduced. This new CPU blows the doors off previous ones, so I thought you’d want to know more about the i9-9900K.
Intel’s release of its ninth generation CPU marks a new and exciting phase of computer tech. The CPU boasts eight cores (multi-core), 16 threads and 3.6 GHz speed – a boost, on average, about 15 percent faster than the 8th generation of i7s. (There were no commercially available i9 8th generation CPUs.)
According to Wikipedia, “A multi-core processor is a single computing component with two or more independent processing units called cores, which read and execute program instructions. The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions (such as add, move data and branch), but the single processor can run multiple instructions on separate cores at the same time, increasing overall speed for programs amenable to parallel computing.”
Think of it as multiple CPUs in one package.
In general terms, the threads are the pathways that a core can process simultaneously, or how many cores can parallel process a job. Many jobs can be broken into separate pathways, so the overall throughput of the computer multiplies. For example, opening an app on a single core may take 20 seconds, but split that job among two cores and it processes almost twice as fast.
If your eyes haven’t glazed over yet, there’s more. First, one cannot simply replace the CPU in an existing computer because it takes a whole new motherboard (mounting board) to run the new CPU. So be prepared to shell out some serious money for a new motherboard, memory and, of course, the i-9 CPU.
Perhaps it’s time to renew your computer system. If your existing computer is more than 3 years old, then it is time to upgrade. Today’s applications are much more resource (computer power) demanding and will run slowly on older CPUs.
For example, Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets for games and design will struggle on computers just 3 years old. However, they will fly on the i9s.
If you are considering VR, then you will want to know about Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 system made especially for designers. So all you engineers out there, get to work and make the world better. But that’s a story for another time.
Give your local custom computer builder a call if you want further details.
William Claney is an independent tech writer. Email questions or comments to willclaney@gmail.com.
Will Claney
William Claney is an independent tech writer and former owner of Computers USA in the Clayton Station. Email questions or comments to willclaney@gmail.com.