Rocket Lake
Intel's 11th-gen desktop processors with Cypress Cove cores and PCIe 4.0.
Rocket Lake is the codename for Intel’s 11th-generation Core microprocessors, which launched on March 30, 2021. The architecture is Cypress Cove, a version of the Sunny Cove design (found in Intel’s Ice Lake mobile chips) that was adapted to work on Intel’s 14 nm manufacturing process. These chips have significantly more transistors than the Skylake-based Comet Lake processors they replaced. Rocket Lake uses the same LGA 1200 socket and is compatible with most 400-series chipsets, except for the H410 and B460 models. New 500-series chipsets were also introduced alongside it. The lineup includes up to eight cores, a reduction from Comet Lake’s ten. Features include Intel Xe graphics, PCIe 4.0 support, and DDR4-3200 memory. Only one M.2 drive can run in PCIe 4.0 mode; all other drives connect via PCIe 3.0.
Intel announced the Rocket Lake desktop family on March 16, 2021, with sales starting March 30. The 11th-generation Core i3, Pentium Gold, and Celeron CPUs were not released as part of this family; instead, Intel launched refreshed Comet Lake models for those tiers. These refreshed chips have the same specifications as their predecessors, but with a 100 MHz higher clock speed and a model number ending in five instead of zero. Intel also released Tiger Lake processors under the 11th-generation banner for desktops, NUCs, and tablets, which carry a “B” suffix in their model names.
The Cypress Cove CPU cores offer up to a 19% increase in instructions per clock (IPC). They include DL Boost for low-precision deep-learning arithmetic and AVX-512 instructions. The SGX instruction set extensions present in earlier Intel CPUs were removed. The integrated GPU is Intel Xe-LP (Gen12) with up to 32 execution units. It supports hardware decoding for HEVC 12-bit 4:2:2/4:4:4, VP9 12-bit 4:4:4, and AV1 8K 10-bit 4:2:0. Display outputs include DisplayPort 1.4a with Display Stream Compression and HDMI 2.0b. It can drive a single 8K 12-bit HDR display or two 4K 10-bit HDR displays. Other GPU features include hardware-accelerated Dolby Vision, Sampler Feedback, Dual Queue Support, Variable Rate Shading, and integer/nearest-neighbor image scaling. Desktop CPU GPUs support 5K at 60 Hz.
For I/O, Rocket Lake provides up to 20 CPU lanes of PCI Express 4.0, DDR4-3200 memory support, USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, and optional USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 when paired with the Intel JHL8540 controller.
Quick Facts
- Produced-Start
- 2021-03-30
- Produced-End
- 2024-02-23
- Numcores
- Up to 8
- Code
- 80708
- Microarch
- Cypress Cove
- Slowest
- 1.3
- Slow-Unit
- GHz
- Fastest
- 5.3
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Rocket Lake succeeded Comet Lake and introduced the Cypress Cove microarchitecture, which was derived from the Sunny Cove architecture used in Ice Lake mobile processors but backported to Intel's mature 14 nm process. This resulted in significantly more transistors per core than Skylake-derived Comet Lake cores. The lineup offered up to eight cores, a reduction from Comet Lake's ten cores, but claimed up to a 19% increase in instructions-per-clock (IPC). Rocket Lake retained the LGA 1200 socket and compatibility with 400-series chipsets, except H410 and B460, and was accompanied by new 500-series chipsets. It featured Intel Xe graphics (Gen12) with up to 32 execution units, support for PCIe 4.0 (though only a single M.2 drive operated in that mode), and DDR4-3200 memory support. The 11th generation Core i3, Pentium Gold, and Celeron CPUs were not part of the Rocket Lake family; instead, Intel released refreshed Comet Lake models for those tiers with a 100 MHz frequency increase and model numbers ending in five. Additionally, Tiger Lake processors with a B suffix were released as part of the 11th generation lineup for desktop/NUC and tablet markets.
Reader's Guide
Rocket Lake marked a notable architectural shift for Intel's desktop processors, moving away from the Skylake-derived designs that had dominated for several generations. The Cypress Cove cores brought features such as DL Boost for deep learning and AVX-512 instructions, while removing SGX instruction set extensions. The integrated Xe-LP GPU provided hardware decoding for modern video codecs including HEVC 12-bit, VP9 12-bit, and AV1 8K 10-bit, along with support for DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.0b. The platform introduced PCIe 4.0 support, though limited to a single M.2 drive, and offered optional USB4/Thunderbolt 4 via an external controller. Rocket Lake's significance lies in its role as a transitional architecture that brought newer CPU and GPU technologies to the 14 nm process, bridging the gap until Intel's later process node advancements. Its compatibility with existing 400-series motherboards (with exceptions) allowed for easier upgrades, while the new 500-series chipsets provided additional features. The reduction in core count from Comet Lake's ten to eight cores was offset by the claimed IPC improvements, making Rocket Lake a focused update on single-threaded performance and modern I/O capabilities.
Did You Know?
- Rocket Lake cores contain significantly more transistors than Skylake-derived Comet Lake cores.
- Only a single M.2 drive is supported in PCIe 4.0 mode; all other drives are wired via PCIe 3.0.
- Rocket Lake features Intel Xe graphics with up to 32 execution units.
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