Normally, Intel refreshes both its desktop and its HEDT product lines on a yearly cadence, with HEDT tending to launch after the desktop refresh. Since Skylake-X debuted in 2017 the two platforms have used the same architecture, with desktop chips launching first. Now, it looks as though Intel won’t have an HEDT refresh this year.
This is less unusual than it might seem. Since launching the 3960X in 2011, Intel has skipped years on several occasions. There was a nearly two-year gap between the 3960X and the 4960X (Q4 2011, Q3 2013) and the 5960X and 6950X (Q3 2014, Q2 2016). Since the 6950X, Intel has delivered a regular cadence of updates, with Skylake X debuting in 2017, the 9th Gen HEDT refresh in 2018, and last year’s launch of the Core i9-10980XE.
In most cases, these pauses happen at platform boundaries. The X79 supported the 3960X and the 4960X, the X99 anchored the 5960X and 6950X, and the X299 has anchored the Skylake X, Skylake X Refresh, and Cascade Lake families. If Intel is holding off for a new chipset, it would explain why the company doesn’t have an HEDT chip ready for this segment.
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