Today a big change is taking place in Intel’s processors. The latest 14th-gen chips, formerly known as Raptor Lake Refresh, are available for sale, and you can read our Intel Core i9-14900K and Core i5-14600K reviews to see how they perform Are. They also mark the last time Intel will use its Core i-series branding.
Intel has gone through branding adjustments over its decades in business, but it established the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 brands with the release of the Nehalem architecture in 2008. This is the branding the company has stuck to for 15 years, updating the range in 2018 with a Core i9 badge to note the most powerful chips.
The 14th generation processors will be the last processors to use this branding. We have the Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K, and Core i5-14600K, but Intel says it will be releasing more 14th-generation desktop CPUs throughout the next year. They’ll follow the same naming scheme, but come the time of the launch of Meteor Lake in laptops and 15th-generation Aero Lake on desktops, Intel will move on to its new Core Ultra branding.
What does this mean for consumers? Not much. Intel will still divide its processors into groups, but they will be further divided into Core and Core Ultra branches. For example, Core i7-14700K could be something like Core Ultra 7 processor 14700K. It’s not entirely clear how Intel’s suffixes, which note things like whether the processor is unlocked for overclocking, will play into the new plan.
Hopefully, the change will be painless, although there’s usually some amount of friction with any major branding change. Even months after AMD changed its laptop naming scheme, there’s still a lot of confusion over what exactly you’re getting from an AMD mobile CPU. Hopefully, Intel doesn’t fall into the same trap.
Those who frequently make best processor lists will know what’s in Intel’s new lineup, but there’s definitely a potential for confusion. Apart from the Core and Core Ultra branding, Intel is omitting mention of generation. The official name for something like a Core i9-14900K is “Intel 14th Generation Core i9-14900K”. Under the new scheme, it will be “Intel Core Ultra 9 14900K”. This may leave some buyers in the dark about the generation of their CPU.
However, this is ultimately a problem for 2024. The first Core Ultra CPUs will ship later this year, but the bulk of the chips won’t arrive until next year. Rumors say the first Core Ultra chips could be very expensive, but we’ll just have to wait and see.