Intel is officially launching its 11th gen Core processors for desktops, the RKL-S series, sometime in Q1 2021 (i.e. before the end of this month), with rumours that they could be released mid-March. The desktop processor range was revealed at CES 2021, in part, with an overview of what technologies would be coming to the CPUs, and a closer look at the flagship Core i9-11900K. Atypically some supporting chipset motherboards, specifically high-end Z590 chipset based models, became available in February.
Reports from Germany over the weekend indicate that one of the biggest tech retailers over there, Mindfactory, was selling Intel's Core i7-11700K. HardwareLuxx editor Andreas Schilling took to Twitter yesterday to inform followers that "Some of our forum members received their Core i7-11700K orders," and even more interestingly, "first benchmarks are in." The social media post was expanded upon by a website article this weekend, and ComputerBase similarly published a rolling updated article with benchmarks and observations from its forums.
Before looking at some benchmarks, the Mindfactory sale must be commented upon. The etailer now has no stock up for sale and the product page indicates that 120 Intel Core i7 11700K CPUs sold this weekend. HWLuxx comments that when this processor went up for sale at Mindfactory, some other retailers also listed it but then took down their listings. ComputerBase indicates that these Intel CPUs were listed for three solid days by Mindfactory before stock ran out (120 units). It adds that Mindfactory support was assured by managers that these RKL-S CPUs could be sold to customers. As well as the enthusiasts enjoying these high tech treats, testing and sharing the results provided by these shiny new processors, a number of the CPUs have been spotted on eBay at "inflated prices".
Above I've reproduced some charts from HWLuxx. I set the previous gen Core i7-10700K as the baseline. Some other tests have been shared by forum users, such as the CPU-Z benchmark and various SSD storage tests.
Key specs of the Intel Core i7 11700K are as expected, from previous leaks. The CPU has 8C/16T, a base clock of 3.6GHz with 1T turbo up to 5.0GHz, and a TDP of 125W. Forum users have already implemented overclocks to 5.0GHz and beyond on all cores. Intel's Core i7-11700K has 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes, 16 of which are primarily intended for the graphics card and the remaining four lanes for a PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD.
When these processors officially land please return to HEXUS for our usual in-depth reviews with tests undertaken and compared in a wide range of synthetics, apps, and games.
