Intel Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X Processors Detailed – Supported by Basin Falls-X Platform With LGA 2066 Socket, Launching in 2H 2017

Jul 17, 2016 at 03:18pm EDT

Latest details surrounding the launch of Intel's next generation Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors have been leaked out by Benchlife. The site has posted new slides which clears up the confusion surrounding the launch of the new processors. The Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X family of processors will be based on different architectures but will be featured on the same platform simultaneously which is really interesting.

Intel's Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X will launch in late 2017 and offer enthusiasts a ton of performance.

Intel's Powerful HEDT Skylake-X and Unlocked Kaby Lake-X Processors Detailed - Supported By LGA 2066 Socket

In our previous post, we suggested that the Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X will be different families for different platforms. While both families are completely different since they use a different architecture, it looks like the new X-Series processors will be supported by a completely new platform which is powered off by the Kaby Lake PCH (Platform Control Hub).

Intel's Basin Falls-X platform will support both Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors on the same platform. (Image Credits: Benchlife)

Intel Basin Falls-X Platform Supports Both Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X High-End Core i7 Processors

This platform will be known as Basin Falls-X which is the codename for the platform supporting both the Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X family of processors. The Basin Falls-X platform will support the fastest Core i7 processors that will be launched next year. The Basin Falls-X platform features the new Socket R4 (LGA 2066). LGA 2066 is made up of 2066 pins which means that current CPUs will not be compatible with the platform. Within the Sky Lake-X family, we will be getting 6 core, 8 core and 10 core SKUs with TDPs rated at 140W. These chips will have 44 PCI-E Gen 3.0 lanes. Kaby Lake-X on the other hand will come with 4 core chips which means we are looking at only Core i7 and probably Core i5 models.

The surprising thing here is that the Kaby Lake-X SKUs will feature a 112W TDP on a 14nm node. This means that we might be looking at much higher clock speeds compared to current generation quad core models. In fact, the Kaby Lake family uses a more optimized architecture compared to Skylake which will allow Intel to finer tune its performance for better performance and efficiency. The Kaby Lake-X series of processors feature up to 16 PCI-E Gen 3.0 lanes.

Some other details about the Basin Falls-X platform includes quad channel memory support on Skylake-X and dual channel memory support on Kaby Lake-X processors. Speeds as high as 2667 MHz are supported by these chips. The Kaby Lake-X PCH itself offers 24 PCI-E Gen 3.0 lanes along with 10 USB 3.0, 8 USB 2.0 ports and Intel LAN (Jacksonville PHY) chipset.

Intel HEDT/Workstation Processor Families:

Intel HEDT FamilyGranite RapidsSapphire Rapids RefreshSapphire RapidsCascade LakeSkylakeSkylakeSkylakeBroadwellHaswellIvy BridgeSandy BridgeGulftown
Process NodeIntel 310nm ESF10nm ESF14nm++14nm+14nm+14nm+14nm22nm22nm32nm32nm
Flagship SKUTBDXeon W9-3595X
Xeon W7-2595X
Xeon W9-3495X
Xeon W7-2495X
Core i9-10980XEXeon W-3175XCore i9-9980XECore i9-7980XECore i7-6950XCore i7-5960XCore i7-4960XCore i7-3960XCore i7-980X
Max Cores/Threads86/172?60/120
26/52
56/112
24/48
18/3628/5618/3618/3610/208/166/126/126/12
Clock SpeedsTBD4.8 GHz4.8 GHz3.00 / 4.80 GHz3.10/4.30 GHz3.00/4.50 GHz2.60/4.20 GHz3.00/3.50 GHz3.00/3.50 GHz3.60/4.00 GHz3.30/3.90 GHz3.33/3,60 GHz
Max CacheTBD105 MB L3105 MB L324.75 MB L338.5 MB L324.75 MB L324.75 MB L325 MB L320 MB L315 MB L315 MB L312 MB L3
Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU)128 Gen 5112 Gen 5112 Gen 544 Gen344 Gen344 Gen344 Gen340 Gen340 Gen340 Gen340 Gen232 Gen2
Chipset CompatiblityW890W790W790X299C612EX299X299X99 ChipsetX99 ChipsetX79 ChipsetX79 ChipsetX58 Chipset
Socket CompatiblityLGA 4710?LGA 4677LGA 4677LGA 2066LGA 3647LGA 2066LGA 2066LGA 2011-3LGA 2011-3LGA 2011LGA 2011LGA 1366
Memory CompatiblityDDR5-6000?DDR5-4800DDR5-4800DDR4-2933DDR4-2666DDR4-2800DDR4-2666DDR4-2400DDR4-2133DDR3-1866DDR3-1600DDR3-1066
Max TDP350W?350W350W165W255W165W165W140W140W130W130W130W
Launch2025?20242023Q4 2019Q4 2018Q4 2018Q3 2017Q2 2016Q3 2014Q3 2013Q4 2011Q1 2010
Launch Price (Top SKU)TBDTBD$5889$979 US~$4000 US$1979 US$1999 US$1700 US$1059 US$999 US$999 US$999 US

Intel To Replace LGA 2066 Socket With LGA 2076 in 2020, Basin Falls-X Last CPU Family Will Be Cannonlake-X

More information on Basin Falls-X suggests that it will last the market up till 2020. Intel will not only offer their Skylake-X family on this platform but also Kaby Lake-X (10 Core+) and Cannonlake-X processors later. It will be replaced by a new socket LGA 2076 platform in 2020 which will probably be Ice Lake-X.

Both Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X are different to one another but we have seen Intel introduce new processor families on existing platforms. Their HEDT lineup is now most notable for this trend which gets 2 or 3 families for the same platform / socket. As far as the launch is concerned, Intel is suggesting that both processor series will launch in either Q3 or Q4 2017. This means that the processors have been pushed back from their previous Q2 2017 launch. Intel still has their Kaby Lake-S family of unlocked processors lineup up for launch on the 200-series platform later this year which will replace the Skylake-S processors such as Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K.

About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.

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