The top configuration of Intel's next-generation Alder Lake-S Desktop CPU may just have been spotted in the Geekbench database. The entry was spotted by TUM_APISAK and is a very early engineering sample with relatively low clock speeds but lots of cores and threads.

Intel Alder Lake-S Desktop CPU With 16 Cores & 24 Threads Based on 10nm Golden Cove & Gracemont Cores Spotted

The Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake-S Desktop CPU lineup will be featuring a mix-match of both Golden Cove & Gracemont cores on the same chip. This particular configuration that is spotted features a total of 16 cores and 24 threads. The actual partitioning of the cores consists of 8 Golden Cove cores with 16 threads and 8 Gracemont cores with 8 threads.

Other details the Geekbench mentions is that the chip is part of the 'GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 151 Stepping 0'. The Intel Alder Lake-S CPU seems to feature a clock speed of 1.40 GHz but it looks like the clock speeds are erroneously detected here with a maximum clock speed reported at 17.6 GHz. The CPU also features 30 MB of L3 cache and 12.5 MB of L2 cache. The chip was tested on the internal Intel Alder Lake-S ADP-S DDR4 CRB platform which should consist of an LGA 1700 socketed motherboard and was equipped with 16 GB of memory though we cannot confirm right now if that was DDR4 or DDR5.

Moving on to performance, considering this is an early ES chip with very low clock speeds, the Intel Rocket Lake Desktop CPU scored 996 points in single-core and 6931 points in the multi-core bench. This is nothing to be excited about but considering the clock speeds, it was expected. Once the final chips show up close to launch, we are bound to see a huge improvement in performance but right now, all we can see is that Intel has indeed started prepping up its 12th Generation core family for launch in late 2021.

Here's Everything We Know About The Next-Gen Alder Lake CPU Family

The Alder Lake CPUs are not only going to be the first desktop processor family to feature a 10nm process node but would also feature a new design methodology. From what we know so far, Intel plans to include a mix of CPU cores that are based on different IPs. The Alder Lake CPUs will come with standard high-performance 'Cove' cores and smaller yet efficient 'Atom' cores. This big.SMALL design methodology has been incorporated on smartphones for a while now but Alder Lake will be the first time we see it in action in the high-performance segment.

We don't have any specifics of which generation of 'Cove' or 'Atom' architecture Intel plans to utilize for its Alder Lake CPUs but their roadmap does point to Golden Cove and Gracemont architectures availability by 2021. It is possible that we would see these cores in actions first on the desktop CPU platform but would also be utilized in a Lakefield successor. You can learn more about the various Alder Lake SKU configurations here and here.

Following are some of the updates you should expect from Intel's 2021 architecture lineup:

Intel Golden Cove (Core) Architecture:

Improve Single-Threaded Performance (IPC)Improve Artificial Intelligence (AI) PerformanceImprove Network/5G PerformanceEnhanced Security Features

Intel Gracemont (Atom) Architecture:

Improve Single-Threaded Performance (IPC)Improve Frequency (Clock Speeds)Improve Vector Performance

In addition to the chips, the LGA 1700 platform is said to feature the latest and brand new I/O tech such as support for DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0, and new Thunderbolt / WiFi capabilities. While the chip design methodology isn't anything new as we have seen several SOCs feature similar core hierarchy, it would definitely be interesting to see a similar outing on a high-performance desktop CPU lineup.

Intel Mainstream CPU Generations Comparison: