Intel's Meteor Lake to Bring Fresh Naming Convention to Core Processors

A significant change may be on the horizon with Intel's next-generation Meteor Lake chips, as rumors suggest the company plans to drop the 'i' from its famed Core i3, i5, and i7 branding. With a possible introduction of the term "Ultra," let's delve deeper into this potential shake-up.

The rumor mill began churning after an Ashes of the Singularity benchmark revealed a Meteor Lake chip in testing called the Core Ultra 5 1003H. While this might seem like an unusual name, it's important to note that this processor is likely intended for mobile devices rather than desktops. Upon further inspection, the chip appears to operate at 45W, with 18 cores and 18 threads—an oddity for Intel's new hybrid architecture.

Intel's Bernard Fernandes, Director of Global Comms, has confirmed that there will be changes to the CPU naming conventions with the upcoming Meteor Lake generation. However, complete details remain under wraps for now. It seems highly likely that the new naming we've observed in early benchmarks will become the norm when Meteor Lake launches, ultimately dropping the 'i' from the branding.

The 'Core' and numbering system, however, seem to be staying the same. As AMD utilizes a similar numbering system for its Ryzen CPUs, it would be an unexpected move for Intel to veer off course entirely. Instead, this new naming scheme looks set to align Intel's processors more closely with AMD's Ryzen offerings, making it easier to compare, say, a Core 7 and a Ryzen 7.

In conclusion, with Meteor Lake's release scheduled for the second half of this year and production already underway, anticipation continues to build around Intel's latest innovation. Yet, it's essential to note that these chips are unlikely to power gaming PCs anytime soon—or ever. Meteor Lake is expected to launch mobile-first, with a limited range of low-end desktop chips filling out the generation. Instead, gamers should keep an eye on the rumored Raptor Lake Refresh for the most impactful updates.