Intel Comet Lake-S - Z490 And H470 Chipset And Other Features

Today the Intel Comet Lake-S processors are officially announced, arriving for compete with the AMD Ryzen 3000. These new Intel processors keep the 14nm lithography, which will be a problem. While they maintain a lithograph that should no longer be used in the company's processors, it comes with an interesting improvement. In this article we will review the data for these processors and the new Intel Z490 and H470 chipsets.

These new processors from Intel will pose a challenge for motherboard manufacturers, assemblers and users. Reaching 10 cores and 20 threads in a 14nm processor means that energy consumption is increased. If the energy consumption also increases the temperature and it will be more difficult to dissipate the heat, although we will see all this in more detail.

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Table of Contents

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• Intel Z490 - High-end chipset
• Intel H470 - Mid-Range Chipset
• Common technologies between Z490 and H470 chipset
• Intel Comet Lake-S Highlights
• Intel Thermal Velocity Boost
• Intel Comet Lake-S Processors
• Intel Comet Lake-S processor list
• Conclusion

Intel Z490 - High-end chipset

For more advanced users who want high performance hardware, we will have the Intel Z490 chipset. This chipset is designed for high-performance gaming systems and for overclocking, being the only one with support for this last practice. Above all, it is intended for users who are dedicated to streaming, recording, creating, editing and other tasks that require a lot of computing power.

The new Intel Comet Lake-S processors arrive with a new version of the Extrem Tunning Utility. The Intel Overclocking Tool is updated with support for enabling and disabling HyperTreading. Additionally, it allows us to control the Vcore curve (processor voltage) and the frequency. Also, this Intel Z490 chipset is the only one that offers support for Intel Velocity Thermal Boost

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According to the configuration specifications, the processor offers us a PCIe 3.0 x16 line that can be customized by the manufacturer. They can be configured as two PCIe 3.0 x8 lanes for a GPU configuration plus M.2 SSD in RAID configuration. Additionally, they can be configured as one PCIe 3.0 x8 lane and two PCIe 3.0 x4 lanes for two M.2 SSD units.

Regarding connectivity, the Intel Z490 chipset offers us 24 additional PCIe 3.0 lanes, adding up to a total of 40 available PCIe 3.0 lanes. This Intel Z490 chipset also offers us 6 USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 ports. It can vary and the motherboard manufacturer can configure it as 10 USB 3.2 Gen1x1 or 14 USB 2.0. The rest of the characteristics are the same as the H470 chipset, so we will see them a little later.

Intel H470 - Mid-Range Chipset

Not everyone has the same needs, so Intel offers different chipsets depending on the needs. The H470 is a simpler solution than the Z490, and therefore a cheaper chipset that allows to develop cheaper motherboards. Said chipset is more focused on photographic editing and retouching.

This chipset offers us support for Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0, but it has no overclocking capacity. Lacking support for manual overclocking to the processor, it also lacks support for Thermal Velocity Boost.

As we said, this chipset is a shortened version of the Z490, so some aspects are limited. The first is the flexibility in the 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes of the processor, only offering a single configuration for GPUs. It is complemented by 20 PCIe 3.0 lanes, so we lose 4 PCIe 3.0 lanes and flexibility. The number of supported USB ports is also reduced. We go on to get 4 USB 3.2 Gen2x1 or 8 USB 3.2 Gen1x1 or 14 USB 2.0. The rest of the characteristics are shared and we will see them below.

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Common technologies between Z490 and H470 chipset

Given the differences between both chipsets, now it's time to see all the common elements of both chipsets. The first common element is that both offer support for Intel Optane units, although it is a technology that does not finish taking off.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these new chipsets is the support for high-speed connectivity. It stands out that both chipsets integrate Intel WiFi 6 AX201 (CNVi) technology with Gig + to offer 2.5Gbps. This integrated network card belonging to the Foxville family would have a little performance problem. According to data from Intel, there could be the occasional loss of packets on the network and a loss of speed that would range between 1Mb / s and 10MB / s. This problem cannot be corrected by firmware, only by hardware and in future revisions of the chipset. Emphasize that losses are minimal and shouldn't be a problem.

Both chipsets offer support for either 3 HDMI outputs or 3 configurable DisplayPort outputs according to the needs of the motherboard manufacturer. The two chipsets offer us double lane for DDR4 @ 2993MHz in Dual Channel configuration. These two chipsets offer us RAID support through Rapid Storage for SSD in 0/1/5/10 configurations, while through PCIe it offers us support for 0/1/5 configurations.

Finally, as common highlights, they both offer us 6 SATA ports and support for USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 @ 10GB / s. Both chipsets feature the Intel 2.5G Base_T controller for Ethernet network ports.

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Intel Comet Lake-S Highlights

Before seeing the processors that will arrive based on this new architecture, let's see some interesting things regarding these processors.

The first thing we have come across is that the Z490 chipset (at least that we know of) actually offers support for PCIe 4.0. These new Intel processors do not offer support for this communication interface. Motherboard manufacturers tell us that they have already manufactured motherboards with support for this interface. This makes us think Rocket Lake-S, substitutes for Comet Lake-S will already natively integrate PCIe 4.0. Additionally, this data indicates that the Rocket Lake-S processors can be installed on Comet Lake-S motherboards, at least those that integrate the Z490 chipset.

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This will be possible because Comet Lake-S and Rocket Lake-S share the same socket, the LGA1200. A socket developed exclusively for these two families of processors, since, after these two families, the LGA1700 socket would arrive (according to rumors)

Something that we have found in the documentation of the motherboard manufacturers surely does not like many users. Higher-end motherboards specially designed for overclocking have built-in 40mm fans for heat dissipation from the VRMs. Due to the increase in VRM phases to support up to 10 14nm litho cores, it has been required to install between one and two 40mm fans.

It should be noted that the mid-range and entry-level motherboards have fewer VRM phases and do not integrate a fan. This makes us think that there is a specific line of motherboards for the 9-core Core i10. Surely this data will upset users and with good reason, since now the fan in the AMD X570 chipset remains as an 'anecdote'

Intel Thermal Velocity Boost

We want to make an aside about this technology that we do not have much data on today. This Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) technology is designed to offer extra performance in 1 core. Basically, it increases the frequency of 1 core while sacrificing frequency in the rest of the cores.

What we know about this technology is that it only works when the processor is below 68ºC, something that in high workloads will be difficult. It should be noted that TVB is only available in the Core i9, so finding a heatsink that controls the temperature of the 10 cores and keeps it below this margin is difficult for us. Heatsinks by air that can get it there are not, being realistic and liquid cooling, it will be complicated. To be below 68ºC in load we will need a 360mm AiO RL or a custom system.

A technology only available in 9-core Core i10 processors is something we want to highlight. An interesting forward-looking technology that appears to be a response to AMD's failed XFR built into Ryzen processors. This AMD technology was discarded due to its malfunction.

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Intel Comet Lake-S Processors

Intel especially highlights the Core i9-10900K processor, capable of reaching 5.3GHz in a core thanks to TVB. What the company does not highlight is that, if it is achieved, the rest of the cores will go to the 4.9GHz frequency. Emphasizing that most commercial software for streaming, gaming and others depends more on frequency than on cores. It even highlights that most games on the market are optimized for one core.

Perhaps the most interesting of these processors is the reduction of the STIM. The silicon where the cores, cache and other elements of the processor are integrated has been reduced in height. It seems like a minor thing, but it really is very important, because it allows to improve heat dissipation. With less distance between the lowest and highest substrate, heat can flow more quickly to the IHS and dissipate more quickly. For these processors up to 10 cores under 14nm lithography is critical.

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The last element that we want to highlight is Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 that is applied in up to 2 cores in 10-core processors. So in the Core i9, the system recognizes the 2 best processor cores and allows them to increase the frequency a bit. This is a little performance bonus. It is not clear if in the Core i7 you choose the 2 best cores or only 1 core (possibly this second option.

Intel Comet Lake-S processor list

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Conclusion

Well, the Intel Comet Lake-S processors seem interesting for the gallery and the future. They integrate some elements and technologies, such as TVB, that seem interesting, but that seem to be hastily crammed into these processors. The Intel Z490 and H470 chipsets also do not provide new features compared to the previous ones.

Some processors (at least the Core i9) that seem to suffer significant thermal problems. The need to integrate fans for VRMs on high-end motherboards (in some cases) is not a good indication. But perhaps the biggest problem with these processors is the existence of the AMD Ryzen 3000. Of course, AMD processors are a better and cheaper solution. We are not wrong if we say that sales of the Comet Lake-S will not be good.

• Up to 10 cores and 20 threads
• Overclocking improvements
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 1
• Thunderbolt 3.0
• WiFi 6 AX201 (CNVi) with Gig +
• RAID support both SSD and PCIe
• DDR4@2993MHz
• Z490 motherboards apparently compatible with upcoming Rocket Lake-S processors
• HyperThreading returns to the Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3
• DIE height reduction

• Very high TPD
• Difficult to exploit Thermal Velocity Boost, since the temperature limit on the Core i9 is very low
• PCIe 4.0 support is not offered, although motherboards support it
• Many frequency values ​​that become gibberish
• We continue with PCIe 3.0
• Fans to dissipate heat from VRMs on high-end overclocking motherboards
• Problems dissipating the heat of the Core i9