Intel's Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs spotted priced at retailer - and it's not bad news

Intel's Raptor Lake Refresh processors are nearly here, or at least that's the rumor, and we've just had another hint of how these next-gen CPUs could be priced.

2

Intel's next-gen desktop CPUs should be with us in just over two weeks, so the rumor mill reckons (Image Credit: Intel)

As VideoCardz spotted, this comes from a retailer in Canada (and not the first one to spill purported pricing).

That retail outlet was Canada Computers, with the product pricing no longer visible, as is usually the case with these sorts of leaks when they're widely reported. (Indeed, it should be noted that the Raptor Lake Refresh products weren't directly visible on the website, but could be viewed if the specific model was searched for).

There were five leaked models uncovered in total, starting from the Core i5-14600KF and 14600K which maintained the same price as the current-gen processor (13600KF) in the case of the former model, and witnessed a 7% rise in the case of the latter.

The 14700K is set for a 2% price increase, and the 14700KF a 4% rise. Finally, the 14900KF was seen with a 5% increase compared to Raptor Lake (the 14900K wasn't listed, incidentally).

So, the gist is that price hikes on these products range from very little - nothing to 2% - up to slightly chunkier 5% to 7% rises.

Needless to say, this should be taken with a heavy pinch of salt. As ever, a retailer putting up pricing before release could be using placeholders and guesswork. But, as we get closer to launch, there is a somewhat greater likelihood that the retail outlet could have some indication from Intel itself, and at least have dialed in expectations as to the kind of price rises incoming (if any).

The gist here is that we could witness some slight price increases, but hopefully nothing too major.

If anything, the rumors around the 14600K and 14700K hint that these are the most promising Raptor Lake Refresh models, so we'd guess if any bigger acts of price inflation were coming, they'd apply to those CPUs.

That's not the case with this leak from Canada Computers, but as already mentioned, we need to be pretty skeptical here. What's certainly some cause for concern is the 14600K showing the biggest increase (7%) whereas the KF version will apparently keep the same price as Raptor Lake. That seems unlikely to say the least.

The good news is that we won't have long to wait until we find out the truth behind how Intel is set to price Raptor Lake Refresh, seeing as the 14th-gen desktop processors (set to run alongside Meteor Lake for laptops) should launch in mid-October.

The rumored date is October 16 for the reveal, with chips supposedly going on sale the day after, so in theory it's only just over two weeks before you'll actually be able to buy a Raptor Lake Refresh processor. Although we've heard very little from Intel about these CPUs at all, of late, and that does make you wonder what's in store with this refresh - and whether it'll be very minor, on the whole.