The top Intel Rocket Lake CPU runs at 98 degrees and consumes 250 watts, according to a Chiphell post, with the top Core i9 11900K model having performed a full stress test.

The chip is reported to be running at 4.8 GHz all-core, which is consistent with the best information currently available on the new, albeit imminent, unreleased processor. This is the last 14nm line before Intel eventually switches to 10nm for desktop CPUs.

According to the latest leak from motherboard maker MSI, the Core i9-11900K runs at a base clock of 3.5GHz, Turbo 5.1GHz, Boost Max 3.0 5.2GHz, and Thermal Velocity Boost 5.3GHz. These are modern CPUs; there is no simple answer to the question of how fast a CPU runs.

Anyway, if 250W at 98 degrees sounds bad, this chip was reportedly running a full stress test, not a real-world app. Intel's existing Comet Lake equivalent, the Core i9 10900K, recorded 93 degrees and 235W in the stress test. Thus, it would not be entirely unprecedented for Rocket Lake to hit the 100-degree barrier.

Nevertheless, the Core i7-10900K is a 10-core chip, and the upcoming 11900K will have just eight processor cores. If Rocket Lake turns out to run hot and hungry, fingers will be pointed at its origins as a 10nm architecture that was subsequently backported to 14nm silicon because Intel failed to get 10nm running reliably.

Since Intel has publicly stated that it plans to begin production of 10nm Alder Lake CPUs later this year, it is less important whether Rocket Lake will work, much less be hot. At best, however, a backported Rocket Lake feels more like a stopgap CPU than a chip that will turn around Intel's fortunes.