Does that matter at all? Aside the 10th gen Core processors being rumored to offer up to 10 cores, will it even be different from the 9th gen?
Well, it seems that 10th gen Core processors will finally get 10nm process, and will be more efficient than the previous generations. The 9th gen is basically equal to the 8th gen, so Intel is probably going to show something this time.
The one difference is the closer they wait to 10th gen, the more and more likelier that AMD launches Ryzen 3k with 12 or more cores. Though as crazy as AMD is on pushing the 7nm advantage into a marketing system I can't see them holding off for 2 months just to have fun aligning the days and months with the product like that.
Perhaps this is not just marketing. Perhaps the processor may take longer than May to get ready for launch.
AMD may release a 12-core processor this time, and perhaps either a 16-core. That is what rumors are saying, at least. But I doubt they will be as cheap as predicted.
If the speculation about IPC being close or equal, then more cores is not going to help much as AMD appears to be able to get up to 16 on their desktop chips.
Well, it all depends. First, AMD is marketing a similar IPC to Intel chips, and that is yet to be seen. I think it is hard to believe that AMD will do such magic, as current IPC of Ryzen 2 processors is significantly lower than the IPC of 8th and 9th gen Core processors. I am wondering whether the improvements in the architecture and the new process could get AMD to shorten this gap so much.
Anyway, 10th gen Core processors will probably improve on the IPC. So, it is likely that Ryzen 3 will have a lower IPC than 10th gen Core processors. Intel is going to release perhaps a 10-core desktop processor.
I am very skeptical about rumors of AMD releasing 16-core chips with equal IPC to Intel Core, and at much lower prices, as rumors are suggesting. If AMD really manages to match Intel in terms of IPC and consuming less power, why they would release a 16-core/32-thread processor, which is double what Core i9-9900K offers, for a much lower price?
Intel is still having problems in improving yield and supplying enough 14nm chips to satisfy the demand. So, AMD will have no problems in gaining market share; it does not need such aggressive prices if their product comes out being so superior. I doubt AMD's board would approve such an aggressive price strategy; and if they did, shareholders would not be very happy about it.