Intel’s HEDT Core i7-7000 Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X Details Leaked – Launching in August 2017 For Enthusiast X299 Platform
Intel is planning to release their high-end desktop Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors in August 2017. The latest leak comes from Benchlife who have reported that the new enthusiast CPUs will be making their way in the market after launch at Gamescom 2017.
Intel’s High-End Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X Processors Arriving in August – Four Core i7-7000 Variants Confirmed
The Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors will launch at Gamescom 2017 which will take place in Cologne, Germany. The launch lineup will include at least four SKUs that will make their way to the X299 platform. All processors will utilize the 14nm process node, however, the Kaby Lake-X chips may have a slight edge due to the process optimizations. This would result in better clock speeds with reduced power consumption, adding to the efficiency.
The four SKUs will include a 10 core, 8 core, 6 core and 4 core model. The 10, 8 and 6 core models will be based on Skylake architecture. The 4 core model will be based on the Kaby Lake architecture which launched on mainstream platforms earlier this month. All Skylake-X chips will feature a rated TDP of 140W while the Kaby Lake-X chip will feature a TDP of 112W. All chips will be marketed as the Core i7-7000 series processors.
Intel X299 motherboards will feature very high-end designs.
It’s also mentioned in the details that all four processors are not “X” series chips but rather “K” series chips. There’s no confirmation on this but it could mean that there will be no extreme edition processor in the CPU lineup at launch. The Extreme Edition chip could be added later but it could mean that the cost of the ten core model may be slightly lower than the Core i7-6950X. The source also mentions that Intel has slightly modified their cache system to become more balanced and improve performance.
Intel HEDT Processor Families:
| Intel HEDT Family | Gulftown | Sandy Bridge-E | Ivy Bridge-E | Haswell-E | Broadwell-E | Skylake-X | Skylake-X | Skylake-X | Cascade Lake-X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | 32nm | 32nm | 22nm | 22nm | 14nm | 14nm+ | 14nm+ | 14nm+ | 14nm++ |
| Flagship SKU | Core i7-980X | Core i7-3960X | Core i7-4960X | Core i7-5960X | Core i7-6950X | Core i9-7980XE | Core i9-9980XE | Xeon W-3175X | TBD |
| Max Cores/Threads | 6/12 | 6/12 | 6/12 | 8/16 | 10/20 | 18/36 | 18/36 | 28/56 | 18/36? |
| Clock Speeds | 3.33/3,60 GHz | 3.30/3.90 GHz | 3.60/4.00 GHz | 3.00/3.50 GHz | 3.00/3.50 GHz | 2.60/4.20 GHz | 3.00/4.50 GHz | 3.10/4.30 GHz | TBD |
| Max Cache | 12 MB L3 | 15 MB L3 | 15 MB L3 | 20 MB L3 | 25 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3? |
| Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU) | 32 Gen2 | 40 Gen2 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3? |
| Chipset Compatiblity | X58 Chipset | X79 Chipset | X79 Chipset | X99 Chipset | X99 Chipset | X299 | X299 | C612E | X399? |
| Socket Compatiblity | LGA 1366 | LGA 2011 | LGA 2011 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2066 | LGA 2066 | LGA 3647 | LGA 2066? |
| Memory Compatiblity | DDR3-1066 | DDR3-1600 | DDR3-1866 | DDR4-2133 | DDR4-2400 | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2800 | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2933 |
| Max TDP | 130W | 130W | 130W | 140W | 140W | 165W | 165W | 255W | 165W? |
| Launch | Q1 2010 | Q4 2011 | Q3 2013 | Q3 2014 | Q2 2016 | Q3 2017 | Q4 2018 | Q4 2018 | 2H 2019 |
| Launch Price | $999 US | $999 US | $999 US | $1059 US | $1700 US | $1999 US | $1979 US | ~$4000 US | TBD |
Intel Flagship X299 Platform Will Support Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X Processors
Intel’s new X299 chipset will be the latest PCH to support the enthusiast processors. The X299 platform will be centered around the LGA 2066 socket which will be compatible with at least two generations of processors. In specs, the X299 chipset offers up to 24 PCIe Gen 3.0 lanes. The chip also offers up to quad channel memory with speeds up to DDR4-2667 MHz (native). Kaby Lake-X series processors will only support dual channel RAM but will stick to the native speeds of 2667 MHz.
The Basin Falls PCH also offers 10 USB 3.0, 8 USB 2.0 ports, SATA 3.0, and Intel LAN (Jacksonville PHY) controllers. Additional features include Enhanced SPI, SPI, LPC, SMBus and HD audio which are integrated underneath its hood.
The new processors will take on the enthusiast offerings from AMD in the form of Ryzen which are expected to launch soon in Q1 2017. Intel also has plans to launch Coffee Lake in early 2018 followed by Coffee Lake-X which will act as an update to Skylake-X series in late 2018. While launch is planned for August 2017, AIBs and board partners of Intel will showcase their latest X299 products at Computex in June 2017. Expect to learn more about the new enthusiast processors soon.
