If online retailer listing from across the pond are genuine, Intel has expanded its 10th Generation Comet Lake-S processors with four new CPUs. As first spotted by @momomo_us, the processors reportedly carry the "KA" suffix, which we haven't heard of until today.
The first theory that comes to mind is that perhaps an employee made some typos and wrote KA instead of KF. However, the part numbers for the processors in question seem to dispel that theory. Additionally, the Comet Lake-S processors are now listed at three Lithuanian retailers, which makes the idea of a human error unlikely.
The Lithuanian shops marks the four KA-series processors for the LGA1200 CPU socket, so we're certain that these are Comet Lake-S processors. They also share similar model names to the Core i9-10900K, Core i9-10850K, Core i7-10700K and Core i5-10600K that Intel has already announced.
However, the standout detail here is that these processors are listed with the Core i9 moniker. This makes us doubt their authenticity, since it doesn't make sense for Intel to brand the Core i7-10700K and Core i5-10600K as Core i9 parts given their CPU core counts. For now, take the listings with a grain of salt.
Intel 10th Generation Core i9 KA-Series Specifications*
| Processor | Part Number | Base Clock (GHz) | L3 Cache (MB) | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i9-10900KA | BX8070110900KA | 3.7 | 20 | €525 |
| Core i9-10850KA | BX8070110850KA | 3.6 | 20 | €485 |
| Core i9-10700KA | BX8070110700KA | 3.8 | 16 | €408 |
| Core i9-10600KA | BX8070110600KA | 4.1 | 12 | €278 |
*Specs aren't confirmed by Intel.
The Lithuanian store didn't provide much details on the KA-series. We don't know for sure, but the processors probably have the same amount of cores and threads as their K-series counterparts. That would mean that the Core i9-10900KA and Core i9-10850KA are probably at 10 cores and the Core i9-10700KA and Core i9-10600KA at eight and six cores, respectively.
The KA series appears to have identical base clock speeds and amount of L3 cache. So what would the KA series bring to the table then? The K suffix means they're overclockable, but the A suffix remains a mystery. Unfortunately, the retailers didn't expose the processors' boost clock speeds, so we can't really reach a conclusion.
Computer hardware is generally more expensive overseas, even after deducting the value-added tax (VAT). It doesn't make much sense to compare foreign pricing with the type of prices we have here in the U.S. However, we can compare prices at the same store and subsequently apply that percentage to our prices to get a general idea of how much each processor costs. For this occasion, we're using the pricing at PigiauNerasi as reference.
As per PigiauNerasi's pricing, the KA-series processors are a little less expensive than the regular K-series variants. The Core i9-10900KA is roughly 1.9% cheaper than the Core i9-10900K. Astonishingly, the Core i9-10850KA costs the same as the Core i9-10850K. Lastly, the Core i9-10700KA and Core i9-10600KA sell for approximately 1% and 2.2% lower than the Core i7-10700K and Core i5-10600K, respectively.
PigiauNerasi claims that the four KA-series processors will arrive at the retailer's warehouse by August 9. We've reached out to Intel for comment.
