Intel 10th Gen Comet Lake desktop CPUs revealed — everything we know

Intel just took the wraps off of its 10th Gen Intel Core S-Series (aka Comet Lake), which it calls the "world's fastest gaming processor." And based on specs and benchmarks released by the company, it just might live up to that claim.

Sporting a clock speed of up to 5.3 GHz, the new 10th Gen S-Series desktop chips are designed to deliver high framerates and low latency -- two features that are especially key to competitive gaming. The processor also brings with it new overclocking capabilities, as well as Intel's new Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 for delivering the best performance possible.

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Here's everything you need to know about Intel's 10th Gen Core S-Series, including key specs and what kinds of performance gains to expect.

Intel 10th Gen S-Series price and release date

The new Intel 10th Gen S-Series doesn't have a firm release date yet, but we're expecting it to launch soon. The flagship CPU in the lineup, the i9-10900K, will cost $488 once it hits shelves.

Intel 10th Gen S-Series specs

The hallmark of the S-Series is the new 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900K CPU, which earns the title of "world's fastest gaming processor." That's thanks to powerful specs including a clock speed of up to 5.3-GHz as well as 10 cores and 20 threads, which should result in smooth framerates and powerful overclocking.

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Row 0 - Cell 0	10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900K
Clock speed	5.3 GHz
Cores	10
Threads	2
PCIE 3.0 lanes	Up to 40
Memory Support	Two-channel DDR4-2933
Graphics	Intel UHD graphics 630

Other key features include up to 40 PCIE 3.0 lands, support for two-channel DDR4-2933 memory and integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630.

Intel 10th Gen S-Series performance

To demonstrate how big of an upgrade the Core i9-10900K will be, Intel shared a few key gaming and content creation benchmarks. When playing Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, you can expect up to 13% better frames per second compared to last generation, and up to a 37% bump compared to a three-year-old PC. For PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, you'll get 10% better fps vs last gen, and up to 63% better frames compared to a three-year-old machine.

Content creators can expect up to 18% faster 4K video editing vs. the previous generation, and up to a 35% improvement compared to older PCs. Intel also touts that you can enjoy up to 187 frames per second while playing, streaming and recording PUBG all at once.

Intel 10th Gen S-Series features

Intel's latest desktop CPU line brings with it a series of key new features, including Intel's Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0. This tool finds the best performing core out of the 10 available on the S-Series, and optimizes them for high performance without increasing the voltage. The new chips also deliver finer overclocking controls and a revamped version of Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility for those who like to tinker.

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.