Intel’s HEDT Core i7-7000 Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X Details Leaked – Launching in August 2017 For Enthusiast X299 Platform

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 speed with reduce 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.

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 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 balance and improve on performance side.

Intel HEDT Processor Families:

Intel HEDT Family	Gulftown	Sandy Bridge-E	Ivy Bridge-E	Haswell-E	Broadwell-E	Skylake-X	Kaby Lake-X	Coffee Lake-X

Intel HEDT Family	Gulftown	Sandy Bridge-E	Ivy Bridge-E	Haswell-E	Broadwell-E	Skylake-X	Kaby Lake-X	Coffee Lake-X
Process Node	32nm	32nm	22nm	22nm	14nm	14nm	14nm	14nm
Flagship SKU	Core i7-980X	Core i7-3960X	Core i7-4960X	Core i7-5960X	Core i7-6950X	Core i7-7000	Core i7-7000 Series	Core i7-8000 series
Max Cores/Threads	6/12	6/12	6/12	8/16	10/20	10/20	4/8	6/12
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	TBD	TBD	TBD
Max Cache	12 MB L3	15 MB L3	15 MB L3	20 MB L3	25 MB L3	13.75 MB L3	8 MB L3	TBD
Max PCI-Express Lanes	32 Gen2	40 Gen2	40 Gen3	40 Gen3	40 Gen3	44 Gen3	46 Gen3	TBD
Chipset Compatiblity	X58 Chipset	X79 Chipset	X79 Chipset	X99 Chipset	X99 Chipset	X299	X299	TBD
Socket Compatiblity	LGA 1366	LGA 2011	LGA 2011	LGA 2011-3	LGA 2011-3	LGA 2066	LGA 2066	LGA 2066?
Memory Compatiblity	DDR3-1066	DDR3-1600	DDR3-1866	DDR4-2133	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2667	DDR4-2667	DDR4-2800?
Max TDP	130W	130W	130W	140W	140W	140W	112W	TBD
Launch	Q1 2010	Q4 2011	Q3 2013	Q3 2014	Q2 2016	2H 2017	2H 2017	2H 2018
Launch Price	$999 US	$999 US	$999 US	$1059 US	$1700 US	~$1500 US	$350+?	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 PCI-E 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 HDAudio 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.

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