The Raptor Lake Refresh has been the subject of so many leaks it is hard to find new information. We have discovered the names and key specifications of most of the top-end SKUs like the flagship Core i9-14900K.

The new leak claims that the new CPUs will be available for purchase from next month.

VideoCardz claims the new lineup will launch on 17 October 17, with the ad embargo set for 16 October. There will reportedly be six SKUs available for purchase, including the Core i9-14900K and Core i9-14900KF, Core i7-14700K and Core i7-14700KF, and Core i5-14600K and Core i5-14600KF.

The 'K' and 'KF' chips will have similar specifications, but the latter will miss out on the integrated graphics processor that will be part of the 'K' variants. The locked non-K versions will not launch alongside the unlocked models, and buyers will likely have to wait until at least CES 2024 to get their paws on them.

While Raptor Lake Refresh will bring some improvements over the current-gen lineup, early performance leaks suggest that it may not be a massive upgrade. The new chips seem to be only three per cent faster on average than the 13th-gen lineup, while the Core i7-14700K could be about 17 percent faster than the Core i7-13700K in multi-threaded applications because of the extra E-cores.

This means that Raptor Lake users are unlikely to upgrade, although the new release might attract users of older chips who have put off their upgrades.

After this is done Intel is expected to unleash its 'Meteor Lake' lineup sometime next year, bringing with it an new naming convention that will see the 'Core i' giving way to 'Core Ultra' for high-end chips, while the more mainstream parts will move from the 'Core i3/i5/i7/i9' branding to 'Core 3/5/7/9.'