Intel Raptor Lake Refresh leak shows us CPU clock speeds - and rules out some rumored upgrades

Yet another rumor has emerged about how Intel's next-gen CPUs will turn out, and this time we've been treated to the full details - including clock speeds - of the non-K (locked) versions of Intel's Raptor Lake Refresh chips.

As ever, add your own seasoning, and don't be stingy with the stuff either, but you can see the purported line-up as outlined in the above tweet from leaker Chi11eddog (who has provided previous spillage on Intel's 14th-gen processors).

The details underline that only one processor will be changed in terms of its core loadout, despite other rumors floating around that were hopeful of beefier core counts for two or maybe even three of the Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs.

The processor in question, as you may guess, is the Core i7-14700 which will run with 12 efficiency cores (compared to 8 of them on the 13700). That quartet of extra efficiency cores should make for a solid uplift from its Raptor Lake equivalent, particularly as the 14700 will be able to boost to 5.4GHz (200MHz more than the 13700).

Indeed, that 200MHz increase to boost speed is purportedly present across the whole 14th-gen line-up with just one exception: the Core i5-14400, which will boast a 100MHz increase (disappointingly).

As for the rumors which are shot down here, they are that there won't be a Core i3 processor with 6 performance cores, and there won't be a Core i5-14600 that runs with 8 performance cores (sadly). Although that said, you never know - we can't rule out anything until we see Intel's confirmation of 14th-gen specs. (It seems unlikely performance core counts would be boosted, though).

If you're looking at the Core i9-14900 and thinking, wait a minute - it's only 5.8GHz - remember it's the 14900K which will boost to the 6GHz level (supposedly - some rumors have it reaching a bit higher than that, or alternatively, that spec might end up as a special 'KS' edition).

It's not surprising that more and more info is coming out about Intel's Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs seeing as the range should be launched in less than three months now.

The rumor mill has been floating a mid-October release date, or thereabouts, for a while now. The theory is that we'll see the initial 'K' series chips launch then, but the subject of this leak - the non-K locked models - won't arrive until later. Indeed, they are most likely due to launch at CES 2024, at the start of next year.

While Raptor Lake Refresh won't be a major step forwards, it's expected that the generation to follow that, Arrow Lake, later in 2024, will be a big leap in performance (even if, rumor has it, the 15th-gen MVP, a 40-core monster, might not arrive until 2025).