Intel is launching a new entry-level CPU, but there’s nothing new about what’s under the IHS. The Core i5 110 might sound like a modern-ish CPU, perhaps from the Meteor Lake generation of hardware, but it’s actually based on the Comet Lake architecture from Intel’s 10th-generation CPUs—the ones released close to five years ago. Better yet, it’s using a revised version of Intel’s 14nm Skylake process, which it technically debuted in 2015.
Intel’s late-2010 processor development was a complete mess. Despite holding a commanding performance and technological lead over AMD, it floundered in its attempts to build out a viable 10nm process, so it ended up re-using its Skylake 14nm process over and over again, with the 10th-generation Comet Lake CPUs based on a revision of that 2015 design. Now, that ancient platform is making a bizarre comeback in 2025 with the “new” Core i5 110.
With six cores, 12 threads, and a boost clock of 4.3 GHz, this is an entry-level CPU that is unlikely to be competitive with anything contemporary. However, according to a specs sheet shared by Videocardz, the chip is already out and priced at $200. That puts it head-to-head with AMD’s 9600X, which has more than a gigahertz of extra boost clock and a much more modern process and architecture.
Credit: Intel
Perhaps even more oddly, though, this chip is priced to compete with Intel’s own Core Ultra 225. While the latter isn’t an amazing CPU in its own right, with 10 cores and a near 5 GHz boost clock, it’ll be far faster than anything the Core i5 110 can do.
Indeed, this new CPU is limited to DDR4 memory, with maximum official support at 2666 MHz (although XMP support beyond that means you could go higher). It uses the old LGA 1200 socket, so in theory, people with older platforms could “upgrade” to this repackaged 10400—but for $200, you’re much better off adding that towards the cost of a full system upgrade. Unless you’re on an older 9th-generation CPU (and a low-end one, at that), the Core i5 110 is unlikely to offer much of an improvement.
Unfortunately, this also muddies the waters on Intel’s naming schemes. It was suggested that we start fresh with Core Ultra branding, but now we have these old CPUs sneaking into the product stack and making it more confusing than ever.
Even if Intel was sitting on old stock here, the decision seems like a strange one.