Rumor: Intel Alder Lake CPU to launch in September

After teasing it at CES 2021, Intel is reportedly set to unleash its brand new Alder Lake CPU lineup with a September release date in mind. The rumor comes via hardware site Uniko’s Hardware, which posted a tweet on January 23 that claimed the “12th Series CPU” is set to launch alongside “600 chipset motherboards” as well.

Launching first in the desktop ‘S’ format. Intel’s Alder Lake processors will feature a new socket, the aforementioned new chipset, support for DDR5 memory, and an upgrade to PCIe 5.0. All of those improvements come as Intel looks to take back a large portion of the consumer CPU marketplace that it started losing to rival AMD.

If making a change at the top of the company wasn’t a big enough sign, having features such as PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 compatibility right out of the box shows Intel’s determination to give PC enthusiasts a reason to come to Team Blue. The question then becomes whether other areas of computing, such as operating systems, memory, drives, and more will be capable of utilizing all of the features Alder Lake will provide. If not, we could be in for a rare situation where the CPU is far ahead of other components, making it an option for users to “future proof” their setups for years to come. From a consumer standpoint, that sounds like music to the ears.

September!
Intel 12th series CPU
600 chipset motherboard pic.twitter.com/EnFI0kZG4J

— UNIKO's Hardware ? (@unikoshardware) January 23, 2021

When asked about the rumor, an Intel rep told PC Invasion, “We’ll have more to announce soon, until then we won’t comment on rumor or speculation.” Based on what’s publicly known, like Intel already telling consumers to expect the release in the second half of 2021 as well as a confirmation that production is going to be picking up, it makes sense to believe that the report is accurate. Intel would rather avoid comment rather than outright deny rumor’s validity doesn’t douse the fire behind this possible Intel Alder Lake release date.

Short-lived Intel 11th gen Rocket Lake

If you remember, Intel also talked about the upcoming availability of its 11th gen Rocket Lake S CPU. The 11th gen lineup will have a 19% gen-over-gen performance increase over the 10th-gen chips. However, its spot at the top of the Intel processor food chain is going to be a short one. The Core 11 Series ships in Q1 2021, meaning it will have just a few months of shelf life before the Core 12 Series comes to market.

Intel’s CES 2021 presentation for Alder Lake.

Those who want to stick with Intel as well as finally have PCIe 4.0, but don’t want to shell out top dollar may find the 11th gen cheaper to pick up come fall 2021. If that’s the idea that Intel has with organizing the release dates for these lineups so close to each other, then great. If not, it’s hard to really understand what the company is doing.

Official pricing and models aren’t known just yet. Considering past releases though, Intel Alder Lake is likely going to feature Core i5, i7, and i9 lineups.