Alder Lake

Last updated

Alder Lake
2023 Intel Core i7 12700KF (5).jpg
Intel Core i7-12700KF
General information
LaunchedNovember 4, 2021;3 years ago (2021-11-04) [1]
DiscontinuedApril 25, 2025;3 months ago (2025-04-25) (mobile) [2]
Marketed by Intel
Designed byIntel
Common manufacturer
  • Intel
Product code80715
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate
  • 800 MHz to 5.3 GHz, P-cores
  • 700 MHz to 4.0 GHz, E-cores
DMI speeds16 GT/s
Cache
L1 cache
  • 80 KB (32 instructions + 48 data), per P-core
  • 96 KB (64 instructions + 32 data), per E-core
L2 cache1.25 MB per P-core
2 MB per E-core cluster
L3 cacheUp to 30 MB, shared
Architecture and classification
Technology node Intel 7 (previously known as 10ESF)
Microarchitecture
Instruction set x86
Instructions x86-64
Extensions
Physical specifications
Cores
  • Up to 8 P-cores
  • Up to 8 E-cores
GPU Intel Xe-based integrated graphics
Sockets
  • Desktop
  • Mobile
    • BGA 1744
    • BGA 1964 (HX series)
Products, models, variants
Product code name
  • ADL
Brand names
  • Intel Core
  • Pentium
  • Celeron
  • Intel Processor
Variant
History
Predecessors
Successor Raptor Lake
Support status
Supported

Alder Lake is Intel's codename for the 12th generation of Intel Core processors based on a hybrid architecture utilizing Golden Cove performance cores and Gracemont efficient cores. [3] [4] It was launched on November 4, 2021. It is fabricated using Intel's Intel 7 process, previously referred to as Intel 10 nm Enhanced SuperFin (10ESF). [5] [6] [7] The 10ESF has a 10–15% boost in performance over the 10SF used in the mobile Tiger Lake processors. Intel officially announced 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs on October 27, 2021, [8] mobile CPUs and non-K series desktop CPUs on January 4, 2022, [9] Alder Lake-P and -U series on February 23, 2022, [10] and Alder Lake-HX series on May 10, 2022. [11]

Contents

History

It was announced in November 2021 that Intel Alder Lake would use a hybrid architecture combining performance and efficiency cores, similar to ARM big.LITTLE. This was Intel's second hybrid architecture, after the mobile-only Lakefield released in June 2020. While the desktop Alder Lake processors were already on the market by January 2022, the mobile processors were not, although release was expected early that year. Starting cost were USD $289 for the Core i5-12600K. Gracemont was the name given to the efficiency cores, while Golden Cove cores were set for tasks such as gaming and video processing. [12] First laptop tests were performed later that month, with PCMag positively reviewing the Core i9-12900HK, stating the H series represented "Intel's enthusiast line," with "the same hybrid designs" also in the P-series and U-series chips to come out later that year. [13]

In April 2022, press reported on "hints" that Intel was working on Alder Lake-X. [14] [15] Intel officially announced the HX processor series on May 10, 2022, including Core i5, Core i7 and Core i9 models, [11] when Intel announced "seven new mobile processors for the 12th Gen Intel Core mobile family at its Intel Vision event. [16] With the lineup based on Intel's desktop Alder Lake chips, [17] it was named the Alder Lake-HX series, or 12th-gen Core HX, with the Core i9-12950HX as the flagship and Intel's first 16-core chip designed for laptops. [18]

Features

CPU

Alder Lake processor die from an i5-12400F with 6 P-cores Intel@intel7(10nmESF)@AlderLake@ADL-S(6P+0E)@i5-12400F@SRL5Z DSCx08 poly@5xExt.jpg
Alder Lake processor die from an i5-12400F with 6 P-cores
An Alder Lake P core Intel@intel7(10nmESF)@AlderLake@ADL-S(6P+0E)@i5-12400F@SRL5Z DSCx12 poly@20xDIC+Lambda.jpg
An Alder Lake P core

GPU

I/O

Dies

Core i5-1240P mobile processor with 4P + 8E cores based on Alder Lake-P Intel Alder Lake-P SRLD9 i5-1240P.jpg
Core i5-1240P mobile processor with 4P + 8E cores based on Alder Lake-P

For the Alder Lake generation, Intel produced 4 different dies. [24] [28] Each die has a different number of P-cores (P) and E-cores (E) and GPU Execution Units.

SegmentCPU configurationGPUWidthLengthDie size
Alder Lake-S
(desktop high end)

Alder Lake-HX
(mobile high end)

8P + 8E32 EU10.5 mm20.5 mm215.25 mm2
Alder Lake-S
(desktop mainstream)
6P + 0E10.19 mm15.47 mm157.74 mm2 [29]
Alder Lake-H

Alder Lake-P
(mobile mainstream)

6P + 8E96 EU10.62 mm20.45 mm217.18 mm2
Alder Lake-U
(ultra mobile)
2P + 8E

Software support

Alder Lake requires special support from the operating system due to its relatively unusual-for-x86 hybrid nature. For software unable to be upgraded, a UEFI-provided compatibility mode may be used to disable the E-cores; it is enabled by the user turning on scroll lock. [30]

CPUID incoherence

The P-cores and E-cores on early versions of Alder Lake CPUs reported different CPUID models. This has caused issues with digital rights management systems that perceive the P-cores and E-cores as being separate computers, and falsely enforce license restrictions preventing a particular piece of software from being executed on more than one device at a time. Intel published a list of PC games it identified as having this compatibility issue, and stated that it was working with publishers to develop patches. Some of the games were identified by Intel as only having this bug on Windows 10, and functioning correctly on Windows 11 (with some of them dependent on Windows 11 patches scheduled to be released in November 2021). [30] [31] ExamSoft similarly stated that its monitoring software for educational assessments (such as the bar examination) was similarly incompatible with Alder Lake CPUs due to checks detecting virtual machines. [32]

This problem has been fixed in a microcode update. The P and E cores now return the same CPUID when both are enabled. A different CPUID is reported when E-cores are disabled and only P-cores are enabled. The AVX-512 instruction set extension is implemented in the P-cores but disabled due to incompatibility with the E-cores. [33] Hackers have shown that it is possible to enable the AVX-512 instructions on the P-cores when the E-cores are disabled and an old microcode version is used. [34]

There are minor differences between the behavior of the two cores with regard to an undefined overflow flag in certain bitwise operations. [35]

Scheduler support

Alder Lake's CPU topology has performance implications, especially for gaming environments where the developers are not used to NUMA setups. Microsoft added support for Intel Thread Director (ITD) in Windows 11. [19] [36] A wide variety of inputs, including whether a process' window is in the foreground, feeds into the ITD. [37] The ITD can function to a lesser extent with the OS providing less or no cooperation. [38] Support in Linux is merged in kernel 5.18 [39] but this alone is not sufficient until the kernel gets hints from userspace in order to schedule tasks to run on certain types of cores. Windows 10 version 21H2 and later Windows 10 has support for Intel Thread Director, but such support is limited. [40]

Blu-Ray DRM support

The CPU family no longer features Intel SGX which is a requirement for playing UltraHD Blu-Ray discs. [41]

List of 12th generation Alder Lake processors

Desktop processors (Alder Lake-S)

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Clock rate (GHz) GPU Smart
cache
TDP Price
(USD)
Base Turbo Boost ModelMax.
freq.
(GHz)
2.03.0TVB
PEPEPEPPBaseTurbo
Core i9 12900KS 8 (16)8 (8)3.42.55.24.05.35.5 UHD 770 1.5530 MB150 W241 W$739
12900K 3.22.45.13.95.2125 W$589
12900KF $564
12900 2.41.85.03.85.1UHD 7701.5565 W202 W$489
12900F $464
12900T 1.41.04.83.64.9UHD 7701.5535 W106 W$489
Core i7 12700K 4 (4)3.62.74.93.85.01.5025 MB125 W190 W$409
12700KF $384
12700 2.11.64.83.64.9UHD 7701.5065 W180 W$339
12700F $314
12700T 1.41.04.63.44.7UHD 7701.5035 W99 W$339
Core i5 12600K 6 (12)3.72.84.93.61.4520 MB125 W150 W$289
12600KF $264
12600 3.34.8UHD 7701.4518 MB65 W117 W$223
12600T 2.14.635 W74 W
12500 3.065 W117 W$202
12500T 2.04.435 W74 W
12490F [45] 3.04.620 MB65 W117 WChina
exclusive
12400 2.54.4 UHD 730 1.4518 MB$192
12400F $167
12400T 1.84.2UHD 7301.4535 W74 W$192
Core i3 12300 4 (8)3.54.412 MB60 W89 W$143
12300T 2.34.235 W69 W
12100 3.34.31.4060 W89 W$122
12100F 58 W$97
12100T 2.24.1UHD 7301.4035 W69 W$122
Pentium Gold G7400 2 (4)3.7 UHD 710 1.356 MB46 W$64
G7400T 3.135 W
Celeron G6900 2 (2)3.41.34 MB46 W$42
G6900T 2.835 W

Mobile processors

Alder Lake-HX

  • desktop processors repurposed for mobile usage.
  • features UHD Graphics GPU with 32 EUs (i5-12450HX only has 16 EUs)
  • CPUs in bold below feature ECC memory support only when paired with a motherboard based on the WM690 mobile workstation chipset.

These CPUs feature 35 W minimum assured, 45 W base and 157 W maximum turbo power consumption.

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base clock (GHz) Turbo Boost (GHz) GPU Max.
clock rate
(GHz)
Smart
cache
Price
(USD) [a]
PEPEPE
Core i9 12950HX 8 (16)8 (8)2.31.75.03.61.5530 MB$590
12900HX $668
Core i7 12850HX 2.11.54.83.41.4525 MB$428
12800HX 2.0$502
12650HX 6 (12)4.73.324 MB$472
Core i5 12600HX 4 (8)2.51.84.61.3518 MB$284
12450HX 4 (4)2.44.43.11.3012 MB$312

Alder Lake-H

These CPUs feature 35 W minimum assured, 45 W base and 95 W (Core i5) or 115 W (Core i7/i9) maximum turbo power consumption.

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base clock (GHz) Turbo Boost (GHz) Iris Xe Graphics Smart
cache
Price
(USD) [a]
PEPEPEEUsBoost clock
(GHz)
Core i9 12900HK 6 (12)8 (8)2.51.85.03.8961.4524 MB$697
12900H $617
Core i7 12800H 2.44.83.71.4$457
12700H 2.31.74.73.5$502
12650H 4 (4)64
Core i5 12600H 4 (8)8 (8)2.72.04.53.38018 MB$311
12500H 2.51.81.3$342
12450H 4 (4)2.01.54.4481.212 MB

Alder Lake-P

These CPUs feature 20 W minimum assured, 28 W base and 64 W maximum turbo power consumption.

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base clock (GHz) Turbo Boost (GHz) Iris Xe Graphics Smart
cache
Price
(USD) [a]
PEPEPEEUsBoost clock
(GHz)
Core i7 1280P 6 (12)8 (8)1.81.34.83.6961.4524 MB$482
1270P 4 (8)2.21.63.51.4018 MB$438
1260P 2.11.54.73.4$480
Core i5 1250P 1.71.24.43.38012 MB$320
1240P 1.30$353
Core i3 1220P 2 (4)1.51.1641.10$309

Alder Lake-U

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base clock (GHz) Turbo Boost (GHz) Iris Xe Graphics Smart
cache
TDP Price
(USD) [a]
PEPEPEEUsBoost clock
(GHz)
BaseTurbo
Core i7 1265U 2 (4)8 (8)1.81.34.83.6961.2512 MB15 W55 W$426
1260U 1.10.84.73.50.99 W29 W
1255U 1.71.21.2515 W55 W
1250U 1.10.80.99 W29 W
Core i5 1245U 1.61.24.43.3801.215 W55 W$309
1240U 1.10.80.99 W29 W
1235U (with IPU)1.30.91.215 W55 W
1230U 1.00.70.99 W29 W
Core i3 1215U (with IPU)4 (4)1.20.9641.110 MB15 W55 W$281
1210U 1.00.70.859 W29 W
Pentium 8505 (with IPU)1 (2)1.20.9480.98 MB15 W55 W$161
8500 1.00.70.79 W29 W
Celeron 7305 1 (1)1.10.90.915 W55 W$107
7300 1.00.70.79 W29 W

Alder Lake-N

These CPUs feature only E-cores and have 6MB of Smart Cache.

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base clock
(GHz)
Turbo Boost
(GHz)
UHD Graphics TDP Embedded
options
Price
(USD)
EUsBoost clock
(GHz)
DownBase
Core i3 N305 8 (8)1.8 [46] 3.8321.259 W15 WYes$309.00
N300 ??7 WNo
Intel Processor N200 4 (4)0.1 [47] 3.70.750.16 WYes$193.00
N100 0.83.424?No$55.00
N97 2.03.61.2?12 WYes$128.00
N95 1.7 [48] 3.416?15 W?
N50 2 (2)1.03.4160.75?6 W$128.00
Atom x7425E 4 (4)1.5241.0?12 W$58.00
x7213E 2 (2)1.73.216?10 W$47.00
x7211E 1.0?6 W$39.00


Twin lake-N

These CPUs feature only E-cores and have 6MB of Smart Cache.

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base clock
(GHz)
Turbo Boost
(GHz)
UHD Graphics TDP Embedded
options
Price
(USD)
EUsBoost clock
(GHz)
DownBase
Core 3 N355 8 (8)1.83.9321.359 W15 WYes$309.00
N350 0.8?7 WNo
Intel Processor N250 4 (4)1.23.81.25?6 WYes$193.00
N150 0.83.6241.0?No$128.00

Processors for Internet of Things (IoT) devices and embedded systems (Alder Lake-PS)

Most of these processors are identical to the corresponding Alder Lake-H and Alder Lake-U processors (without the L suffix) listed above.

High-power

These CPUs feature 35 W minimum assured, 45 W base and 65 W maximum assured power consumption.

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base
clock rate
(GHz)
Turbo
Boost
3.0
(GHz)
Iris Xe Graphics Smart
cache
Price
(USD)
PEPEPEEUsMax.
clock rate
(GHz)
@45 W@35 W [49]
Core i7 12800HL 6 (12)8 (8)2.41.61.84.83.7961.424 MB$457
12700HL 2.31.74.73.5$430
Core i5 12600HL 4 (8)2.71.72.04.53.38018 MB$311
12500HL 2.51.81.3$279
Core i3 12300HL 4 (4)2.01.11.54.4481.212 MB

Low-power

These CPUs feature 12 W minimum assured, 15 W base and 28 W maximum assured power consumption.

Processor
branding
Model Cores
(threads)
Base
clock rate
(GHz)
Turbo
Boost
3.0
(GHz)
Graphics Smart
cache
Price
(USD)
PEP [49] EPEBrandEUsMax.
clock rate
(GHz)
@28 W@15 W@12 W
Core i7 1265UL 2 (4)8 (8)2.61.81.11.34.83.6Iris Xe961.2512 MB$426
1255UL 1.71.24.73.5$399
Core i5 1245UL 2.51.61.04.43.3 GHz801.2$309
1235UL 1.31.1$277
Core i3 1215UL 4 (4)1.20.80.9UHD641.110 MB$285
Celeron 7305L 1 (1)1.1488 MB$107

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Price is Recommended Customer Price (RCP) at launch. RCP is the trade price that processors are sold by Intel to retailers and OEMs. Actual MSRP for consumers is higher.

References

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