The Coffee Lake and Ice Lake processors are quite different from one another though both of them come from the same production house. One who is unaware of these differences will find it quite difficult, if not impossible, to compare them and make a choice.
This article is specifically meant for those ignorant users to make them more informed and educated about these two processors and eventually help them with their selection process.
In This Article
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Coffee Lake processors consume much less power when compared with the Ice Lake variants but still operate at a higher frequency.
- The Turbo clock speed of all the cores of Coffee Lake processors is quite reliable and a bit higher than that of the Ice Lake processors.
- The TDP rating of the Coffee Lake processors is much higher than the Ice Lake processors.
- Usually, the Coffee Lake processors are based on a 14 nm fabrication but the Ice Lake processors are built on a 10 nm manufacturing process.
10 Differences Between Coffee Lake and Ice Lake Processor
1. Year of Release
The Intel Coffee Lake processors were first released in October, 2017.
On the other hand, the Ice Lake processors were released in September 2019, with the later versions released at a later date.
2. Generation
The Coffee Lake processors belong to the 8th and 9th generation of the Intel processor family.
On the other hand, the Ice Lake processors belong to the 10th generation of Intel Core mobile processors and the 3rd generation Xeon Scalable processors for the servers.
3. Power Consumption
The power consumption of Intel Coffee Lake processors is much lower in comparison to the Ice Lake variants.
4. Operating Frequency
The operating frequency of the Intel Coffee Lake processors operates at a higher frequency in comparison to the Ice Lake processors.
5. Graphics Processing Units
The Intel Coffee Lake processors usually come with a UHD graphics card integrated into it.
On the other hand, the Ice Lake processors usually come with a Gen 11 graphics of Intel integrated into it.
6. Controller Integration
The Intel 8th generation and 9th generation Coffee Lake processors do not integrate the controller directly into the dies of the processor.
The Intel Ice Lake processors, on the other hand, can integrate the controller directly into the CPU die and therefore do not need an external controller on the motherboard.
7. Number of Cores and Threads
The Intel Coffee Lake processors typically come with 6 cores and 12 threads, but the Ice Lake processors, on the other hand, usually come with 4 cores and 8 threads.
8. All Core Turbo Speed
The all core turbo speed of the Coffee Lake processors is quite reliable if some tweaks in the BIOS or Basic Input/output System is made.
It can reach up to 3.9 GHz and would usually not throttle.
On the other hand, the Turbo clock speed of all the cores of the Intel Ice Lake processors is lower, being 3.5 GHz, and it even throttles due to the Thermal Design Power limitations.
9. Thermal Design Power
The Thermal Design Power or TDP of the Intel Coffee Lake processors is rated at 45 watts.
On the other hand, the TDP of the Ice Lake processors is limited to 15 watts.
10. Microarchitecture
The microarchitecture of the Intel Coffee Lake processors is designed on the 14 nm manufacturing process.
On the other hand, that of the Ice Lake processors of Intel is designed on the 10 nm manufacturing process.
Which is Better – Coffee Lake or Ice Lake?
Apparently, if you simply consider the major differences between the Coffee Lake and Ice Lake processors, you will find that the Coffee Lake processor is far superior in its setup.
However, that is typically due to the larger number of cores and threads present in this CPU.
It is true that the Coffee lake processors will be of great help while computing and gaming but when you take a close look at the other facts and information mentioned below, you will see that the Ice Lake processors are not worse.
When it comes to gaming especially, the Ice Lake processor matches, and even beats the Coffee Lake CPU sometimes.
At this point you should keep in mind that, there are two less cores and four less threads in the Ice Lake CPU in comparison to the Coffee Lake processors and it also has limitations in its TDP which makes it throttle down to 2.2 GHz.
In spite of these low features in comparison to the Coffee Lake processors, the Ice Lake processors can be a more feasible option to choose from if not a complete game changer.
However, when it comes to choosing one of these two processors you should not rush your decision.
Instead, you should take your time and research a lot on this matter, especially if you are planning to build a desktop computer.
Why?
This is because, according to reports, most of the Ice Lake processors, especially the low power Ice Lake U series processors, are now taken off the market by Intel.
On the other hand, if you wish to go for the Intel Coffee Lake processors, then also you should take a step back and find out whether or not the specific model you want to choose is still available.
In this case as well, the 8th generation desktop processors are out of the market.
Even the 9th generation Intel Coffee Lake processors, including the Flagship Core i9 9900K, have been replaced by other processors such as the 10th generation Comet Lake processors.
Therefore, if you want to play safe, make sure that you visit the official websites of Intel and read their Product Change Notifications.
This will help you to know the Coffee Lake and Ice Lake variants that are still available and good to use in your computer.
Conclusion
So, in the end, it can be said that with such knowledge about the differences and a few important facts about the Ice Lake and the Coffee Lake processors, you now know which the better CPU to install in your computer is for higher returns and performance.