A leak may shed some light on the details of Intel’s next desktop processor, the Core Ultra 5 240F. This processor is destined to take the place of the i5-13400F and i5-14400F. It will be based on Arrow Lake architecture and will feature the same number of cores as its predecessors. There will be 14 cores (6P 8E), but – and this is where things could get tricky – there will only be 14 threads, as this generation is not expected to support hyperthreading.
Core Ultra 5 240F: same number of cores but no hyperthreading
According to the leaker behind this information, the entry-level Arrow Lake-S desktop processor will feature 6 “Lion Cove” P cores and 8 “Skymont” E cores. The processor range will be manufactured on the Intel 20A node . To be more precise, the controller part will be manufactured on TSMC’s 3 nm N3B node, while the 8 6 chip will be an Intel in-house product using its 20A node.
To get the full picture of the Arrow Lake-S range, the top will feature a 24-core / 24-thread processor (8P 16E). Interestingly, all references formerly classified as high-end Core i5K/i9K (now Core Ultra 7/9) would be based on TSMC‘s 3 nm process. Use of the Intel 20A process is limited to the mid-range Core, previously referred to as i5 non-K. Why is this? Perhaps a problem of volume at Intel, or yield.
On some forums, the cost of production with the 20A process has been mentioned, but it seems to us that this is not a good explanation, since Intel would reserve it for the entry/mid-range. Rather, it could be a problem of production volume or quality(yield). Yield is usually worse at the beginning of a process’s life in the semiconductor world.
Arrow Lake-S processors and their new socket should arrive at the end of 2024. Non-K versions may be launched during CES 2025, which means we won’t see an Intel 20A until next year
