Intel responds to Alder Lake CPU clock boost rumor

Whenever a new lineup of CPU gets set to release there’s bound to be rumors and leaks aplenty. And with the Intel Alder Lake processor coming this year, we’ve started seeing rumors abound. From pricing to base specs, there’s quite a bit of speculation surrounding the CPU, but nothing comes close to what an apparent leak suggested. According to a released benchmark by the usually reliable Geekbench, the Intel Alder Lake reaches a maximum frequency of an astounding 27.2 GHz.

Yes, you read that right: 27.2 GHz.

After seeing the massive boost clock, it was surprising to see there were more than a few people who believed a modern consumer chip could safely reach those speeds. Because of that, PC Invasion reached out to Intel directly about the leaked benchmark. In a short and sweet response, a rep simply stated “No Truth” to the 27.2 GHz boost clock speed.

Look at the Intel Alder Lake facts

For most, common sense took over when seeing the information leaked. Right off the bat, it seems the simplest reasoning for the number is a decimal was placed in the wrong spot. Rather than reading 27.2 GHz, the data likely should read 2.72 GHz, which makes more sense considering the 2.19 GHz base frequency.

Another thing to look at, is that with a base clock of just 2.19 GHz, we’re likely seeing a very low-end Core i3. Even then, the 10th-gen Core i3 chips have a boost clock of no lower than 3.50 GHz. Another thing to consider when looking at the benchmark is the 1 MHz speed of the 32 GB of RAM being used. If a CPU is going to reach the unheard of frequency of 27.2, then the RAM used is likely to be of a higher speed even if it’s unreleased DDR5.

The truth is, not a lot of specific details are known about the power of the Alder Lake CPU. What’s known right now is that the new lineup will feature a new socket type, utilize 600 Series chipset motherboards, support DDR5 memory and include PCIe 5.0.

The only definite thing we can take from the benchmark is that Alder Lake processors are being sent out for early benchmark numbers. It’s only safe to assume, then, that more reliable numbers will be coming out in the coming weeks and months. Until then, let’s just be sure to take numbers that look too good to be true as grains of salt.

Intel Alder Lake is expected to launch in September, and more details should be coming from Intel over the next few months.