Intel has abandoned small cores in its new processors

A few months before the release of the 15th generation Core processors, Intel unveiled several new models of the current line of processors. These models were quite unusual.

The new lineup is called Core 14xx1E. The peculiarity of this lineup is that all processors in it do not have small cores. They are physically present on the chip, but they are disabled. This is probably due to an attempt to use partially defective crystals.

For example, the flagship Core i9-14901KE has eight large cores and runs at 5.8GHz with 125W of power consumption. It’s essentially a Core i9-14900K with the small cores disabled and a slightly reduced frequency. The frequency may have been lowered due to stability issues.

See below.

Core i9

– Core i9-14901KE: 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.8-5.8GHz, 36MB L3 cache memory, TDP 125W
– Core i9-14901E: 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.8-5.6GHz, L3 36MB cache memory, TDP 65W
– Core i9-14901TE: 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.3-5.5GHz, L3 36MB cache memory, TDP 45W

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Core i7

– Core i7-14701E: 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.6-5.4GHz, 33MB L3 cache, TDP 65W
– Core i7-14701TE: 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.1-5.2GHz, 33MB L3 cache, TDP 45W

Core i5

– Core i5-14501E: 6 cores, 12 threads, 3.3-5.2 GHz, 24MB L3 cache memory, TDP 65W
– Core i5-14501TE: 6 cores, 12 threads, 2.2-5.1 GHz, 24MB L3 cache memory, TDP 45W
– Core i5-14401E: 6 cores, 12 threads, 2.5-4.7 GHz, 24MB L3 cache memory, TDP 65W
– Core i5-14401TE: 6 cores, 12 threads, 2.0-4.5 GHz, 24 MB L3 cache memory, TDP 45 W
– Core i5-14401EF: 6 cores, 12 threads, 2.5-4.7GHz, 24MB L3 cache memory, TDP 65W
– Core i5-14401TEF: 6 cores, 12 threads, 2.0-4.5GHz, 24MB L3 cache memory, TDP 45W

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There are a total of 11 models in the lineup, including the energy-efficient Core T. In fact, for every regular model, Intel released a Core E with the small cores disabled. The result is that the 11 models are divided into just two groups: eight-core and six-core. Processors with a different number of cores simply aren’t available due to the lack of small cores.

The processors can already be found via Google with links to Intel’s website. However, when you go to the site, the information is not yet displayed. According to Intel, these processors are aimed at the embedded and commercial market, so they won’t be offered in DIY channels by default. However, they may eventually appear in retail, and may even become quite popular if the pricing is right.

They’ll be available at retail as well.