Intel microcode update inadvertently reveals ninth-gen Core CPUs

While Intel's 8th Gen Coffee Lake processors haven't been around for all that long, we've known for a while that something new is right around the corner. This week, a microcode update accidentally leaked a few details on Intel's upcoming 9th Gen processors, which will utilise the Coffee Lake-S architecture.

Recently, Intel released a microcode update guidance document used to update vendors on information surrounding the Spectre vulnerability. In the document, there are references to Core i5-9400, Core i5-9400T, Core i5-9500, Core i5-9600 and Core i5-9600K SKUs, alongside the 8th Gen processors we already have. Some 9th Gen Core i3 CPUs were also included in the document.

Intel has since amended the document to scrub away these 9th Gen references, but not before other news sites already got to the story. The Core i5 CPUs were listed as 6+2, which denotes the number of cores and the type of iGPU being used. Similarly, the Core i3 processors were listed as 4+2.

The chart featured in the guidance document also confirmed the existence of two other 8th Gen SKUs, the Core i5-8650 and the Core i5-8650K. We don't know if or when Intel plans to release these.

KitGuru Says: It’s sad to see that Intel is going to rely on another refresh for the 9^th generation of chips if this chart is correct. Would you buy these new CPUs if they were just a Coffee Lake refresh?

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