Intel is reportedly gearing up to celebrate the 40th birthday of its iconic 16-bit 8086 processor with a brand new anniversary edition based on Coffee Lake-S architecture. Dubbed the Intel Core i7-8086K, the microprocessor is said to fit current LGA 1151 sockets.

Intel’s 8086 microprocessor debuted in 1978, and is famed for being the company’s first CPU designed with x86 architecture. This eventually made way for the release of Intel’s 8088 CPU, which ended up in IBM’s first personal computer.

Rumours of an anniversary edition CPU have been circulating for a couple of months, with the first signs of the Core i7-8086K appearing in mid-April. Chinese retailers have been listing the processor for quite some time unnoticed in the west, with Canadian, Russian and Italian listings subsequently appearing online, via VideoCardz.

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The Core i7-8086K appears to have a base clock of 4.0 GHz straight out of the box, boosting to around 5.00 GHz across its 6 cores / 12 threads. Based on Intel’s 14nm Coffee Lake-S architecture, the celebratory CPU will supposedly sport Intel’s UHD630 integrated graphics, a 95W TDP and a 12MB L3 cache.

Currently, it seems that the i7-8086K will come in at a premium price over Intel’s i7-8700K flagship, listed at approximately 70 USD/EUR more. Retail listings are adamant that these specifications are confirmed, however until Intel lets the cat out of the bag, these should be treated with a pinch of salt.

KitGuru Says: If the rumours are right about the i7-8086K, Intel could very well release a commemorative 8088 chip based on its architecture as soon as next year. Are you interested in Intel’s anniversary chips?

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