Intel Alder Lake processors are on the horizon. You will need a larger power source

The power requirements of the 12th generation Intel Alder Lake processors have been revealed, and at first glance the upcoming series will be more power-hungry than the current 10th and 11th generation processors.

Intel Alder Lake processors will be developed in 10nm Enhanced SuperFin lithography, which Intel recently renamed “Intel 7”. It would be a departure from the already massively exploited and repeatedly improved 14nm process, first used to produce Broadwell processors, and last time at Rocket Lake. Plus, Intel’s novelty comes out of the Skylake architecture and we’ll have a big LITTLE hybrid design for the first time in a desktop processor. Maybe just new Windows 11 He will be able to use it for the cause.

Based on the latest data from China’s FCPOWERUP, it is known that Intel disclosed the power requirements of its Alder Lake processors. Requirements have increased, but this often happens from generation to generation. We will deal with four TDPs, but it will probably be possible to completely unblock the power consumption of the processors on some motherboards.

Processors will be divided into 4 classes of TDP:

165 watts – a new category that did not exist before,

125 W – the current standard for processors with an unlocked K-multiplier,

65 watts – the general level of the lower S series,

35 W – the level reserved for energy-efficient models T.

Interestingly, the increase relates to the instantaneous current density, not the constant current, which has remained the same. An increase in current of about 20% will only apply to turbo modes. Such a change in density will mean that new processors will consume an average of 50-100 watts more. Of course, you have to wait for the tests, but it may happen that when buying new processors, you will also need to replace the power supply and cooler with larger ones, especially in the case of higher models.