Intel’s seventh-generation Core processors will be launching later this year, the chip producer confirmed at Taipei’s Computex. Retaining the codename Kaby Lake, the processors will begin production later this quarter, with the first systems expected to use it shipping later this year, though at the same time, with Intel also advising on Apollo Lake and unveiling a Broadwell-E processor packing ten cores.
While Intel didn’t go into detail about the chip’s potential, aside from it being created from a 14nm process and expected improvements to both performance and power consumption, the chip is the first to be released under a new type of processor cycle. The previous “tick-tock” cycle usually seen has been replaced by “Process, Architecture, Optimization,” with Kaby Lake taking the “Optimization” position between the current Skylake processors and 10nm Cannonlake processors.
Introduced in April, Apollo Lake is based on an architecture from the Atom line called Goldmont, which is aimed at entry-level desktops and notebooks, as well as two-in-one devices and tablets requiring low power consumption. The biggest draw to manufacturers is the chip’s claimed ability to handle 4K-resolution video well, as well as support for USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, and infrared cameras. Intel aims to get Apollo Lake out the door at around the same time as Kaby Lake.
In terms of processor announcements, the Broadwell-E Core i7 6950X processor Extreme Edition is a ten-core desktop-class processor with up to 20 threads for high performance computing. The first desktop chip Intel has produced with that many cores, the chip runs at 3GHz with Turbo Boost 3.0 raising it to 3.5GHz, has 40 PCIe lanes a 25MB cache, and with a TDP of 140W. Notably, it will also be supplied unlocked, allowing enthusiasts to overclock the chip and gain more performance.
The Core i7 6950X is the top of the range in a new family of processors introduced at Computex, with it accompanied by three other chips, including an eight-core 3.2GHz Core i7 6900K, the Core i7-6850k clocked at 3.6GHz with six cores, and the Core i7-6800K with six cores and a clock speed of 3.4GHz. The range starts from $434 for the cheapest 6800K, rising up to $1,723 for the ten-core processor.
