• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Intel "Gemini Lake" SoC Detailed

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,275 (7.69/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Intel is giving final touches to its next-generation "Gemini Lake" SoC, which will be sold under the Celeron and Pentium brands, and will succeed the current-generation "Apollo Lake" SoC. Built on a refined 14 nm process, the chip features a TDP of just 6W for the mobile variant, and 10W for the SFF desktop, but boasts of improved performance-per-Watt than its predecessor, translating into direct performance gains.

To begin with, "Gemini Lake" will embed a dual-core or quad-core CPU based on Intel's "Goldmont Plus" micro-architecture. A Goldmont Plus core isn't physically different from the current-gen "Goldmont," but apparently doubles the L2 cache to 4 MB from the existing 2 MB, and takes advantage of process-level improvements to lower power-draw, which Intel is using to bump up the CPU clock speeds.



In addition to the "Goldmont Plus" CPU, "Gemini Lake" embeds a new single-channel DDR4 integrated memory controller with support for higher memory clocks, and hopefully, support for double the maximum system memory amount, which is currently capped at 8 GB for "Apollo Lake." The chip is also said to feature an integrated WLAN controller, with support for 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. It will still rely on an external radio PHY.

The second most important component on the "Gemini Lake" silicon, besides the CPU, is the integrated GPU, which is based on Intel Gen9 architecture, and will feature up to 18 execution units (EUs). This GPU will be tuned for high-resolution displays, and will feature HDMI 2.0 outputs.

Intel could formally announce "Gemini Lake" in Q4 2017, according to a leaked company roadmap.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
3,595 (1.27/day)
Rumors about integrated WiFi get more and more serious. This will be very interesting.

I wonder if AMD is even considering competing in this segment. From what we've seen lately, they might have decided to build their whole lineup around Zen cores. A mistake IMO, but who am I to judge? :)
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
15,998 (2.26/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/5za05v
Rumors about integrated WiFi get more and more serious. This will be very interesting.

I wonder if AMD is even considering competing in this segment. From what we've seen lately, they might have decided to build their whole lineup around Zen cores. A mistake IMO, but who am I to judge? :)

Do you know how costly this would be for AMD? They own next to no IP when it comes to wireless technology, so they'd either have to pay steep royalties, buy a company that has some good Wi-Fi IP or find a partner to work with that would get a license fee. Not an ideal situation to be in. Also, how does integrated Wi-Fi make sense? It's an ever changing standard and you still need a PHY which is 50% of the cost of the total Wi-Fi cost.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
4,267 (0.70/day)
Location
Sanford, FL, USA
Processor Intel i5-6600
Motherboard ASRock H170M-ITX
Cooling Cooler Master Geminii S524
Memory G.Skill DDR4-2133 16GB (8GB x 2)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte R9-380X 4GB
Storage Samsung 950 EVO 250GB (mSATA)
Display(s) LG 29UM69G-B 2560x1080 IPS
Case Lian Li PC-Q25
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC892
Power Supply Seasonic SS-460FL2
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech G110
Software Windows 10 Pro
Do you know how costly this would be for AMD? They own next to no IP when it comes to wireless technology, so they'd either have to pay steep royalties, buy a company that has some good Wi-Fi IP or find a partner to work with that would get a license fee. Not an ideal situation to be in. Also, how does integrated Wi-Fi make sense? It's an ever changing standard and you still need a PHY which is 50% of the cost of the total Wi-Fi cost.

I agree with the first part, it's not as easy for AMD as it is for Intel.

For the second part, I believe that the majority of products using these SoC will benefit from having it integrated. I also believe they won't be at a disadvantage if they are locked into a wireless standard. Some of us here like to use tinker boards and care about every little detail (myself included) but most sales will be turnkey products.

Like, if I had an IoT project in the office, I'm going to compare products that fit my requirements. How the wireless is implemented is not really important. After 3-5 years, no one is going to upgrade those units to a faster standard. The SoC is too old, the flash memory is giving SMART warnings, and the wireless is now irrelevant. Time to evaluate current products which are faster and/or more efficient to replace the ones in use.

If I wanted to do an IoT project at home, then I care about how it's implemented (maybe). I might be the type of person that appreciates an empty M.2/mPCIe slot so that I can explicitly choose my wireless solution or leave it empty for wired Ethernet.
 
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
3,595 (1.27/day)
Do you know how costly this would be for AMD? They own next to no IP when it comes to wireless technology, so they'd either have to pay steep royalties, buy a company that has some good Wi-Fi IP or find a partner to work with that would get a license fee. Not an ideal situation to be in. Also, how does integrated Wi-Fi make sense? It's an ever changing standard and you still need a PHY which is 50% of the cost of the total Wi-Fi cost.

How does integrated WiFi makes sense to whom?
To Intel? More profit (market share in WiFi). Intel is good at making money and they're looking for another way.
To me? I guess more mobos will get WiFi :). Moreover, this will be built around an Intel chip, which usually means very good performance and above average drivers (compared to Realtek, Killer and so on).
 
Joined
Mar 16, 2017
Messages
1,633 (0.64/day)
Location
Tanagra
System Name Budget Box
Processor Xeon E5-2667v2
Motherboard ASUS P9X79 Pro
Cooling Some cheap tower cooler, I dunno
Memory 32GB 1866-DDR3 ECC
Video Card(s) XFX RX 5600XT
Storage WD NVME 1GB
Display(s) ASUS Pro Art 27"
Case Antec P7 Neo
I wonder if and when Thunderbolt is destined for this segment?
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2015
Messages
1,018 (0.33/day)
Location
Latvija
System Name Fujitsu Siemens, HP Workstation
Processor Athlon x2 5000+ 3.1GHz, i5 2400
Motherboard Asus
Memory 4GB Samsung
Video Card(s) rx 460 4gb
Storage 750 Evo 250 +2tb
Display(s) Asus 1680x1050 4K HDR
Audio Device(s) Pioneer
Power Supply 430W
Mouse Acme
Keyboard Trust
I hope they haw for Windows 10 platform drivers and improved speed for Asphalt 8, extreme 60 fps, and good speed for firefock and chrome, On my Atom tablet Internet exploresr is only working fast rendering. for 150 euro extreme good quality tablet.
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
15,998 (2.26/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/5za05v
How does integrated WiFi makes sense to whom?
To Intel? More profit (market share in WiFi). Intel is good at making money and they're looking for another way.
To me? I guess more mobos will get WiFi :). Moreover, this will be built around an Intel chip, which usually means very good performance and above average drivers (compared to Realtek, Killer and so on).

I think you missed one important part, there's no integrated PHY, so you might still get Realtek drivers with your Intel integrated Wi-Fi, just as you to today with your Intel integrated Ethernet that's using a Realtek PHY...
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
712 (0.23/day)
Location
Earth's Troposphere
System Name 3 "rigs"-gaming/spare pc/cruncher
Processor R7-5800X3D/i7-7700K/R9-7950X
Motherboard Asus ROG Crosshair VI Extreme/Asus Ranger Z170/Asus ROG Crosshair X670E-GENE
Cooling Bitspower monoblock ,custom open loop,both passive and active/air tower cooler/air tower cooler
Memory 32GB DDR4/32GB DDR4/64GB DDR5
Video Card(s) Gigabyte RX6900XT Alphacooled/AMD RX5700XT 50th Aniv./SOC(onboard)
Storage mix of sata ssds/m.2 ssds/mix of sata ssds+an m.2 ssd
Display(s) Dell UltraSharp U2410 , HP 24x
Case mb box/Silverstone Raven RV-05/CoolerMaster Q300L
Audio Device(s) onboard/onboard/onboard
Power Supply 3 Seasonics, a DeltaElectronics, a FractalDesing
Mouse various/various/various
Keyboard various wired and wireless
VR HMD -
Software W10.someting or another,all 3
as in what external PHY, antennae?( just nitpicking as in not that's not impossible[ I think] to have the RF shielding on/within the chip die , costly sure.)
 
Top