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CPU-Wafer1

Intel's Kaby Lake refresh isn't just the next scheduled update for the company's Core i3/i5/i7 products, it'due south likewise the outset new hardware to launch since Intel switched from its Tick-Tock model to PAO — Procedure, Architecture, Optimization. Nosotros've already gotten some item on the company's third-generation 14nm process technology, but information about Kaby Lake itself has been harder to come past. Now, thanks to some roadmap and benchmark leaks, we've got a much better picture show of how the company's next-generation hardware compares to previous products.

Nosotros now know, cheers to Anandtech, that clock speeds on all of the Kaby Lake chips scheduled for release volition be several hundred MHz faster than their Skylake counterparts. The Core i7-7700K will have a 4.2GHz base of operations clock and an causeless 95W TDP, compared to the Core i7-6600K's iv.0GHz base clock. The Core i5-7700K will similarly be clocked at 3.8GHz, upward from the Core i5-6600K's 3.5GHz. If we assume that the Core i7-7700K can clock up to the same 4.4GHz threshold that the Haswell "Devil'south Coulee" Core i7-4790K managed, information technology means that enthusiasts who last upgraded in 2014 may have at least some hope of a faster processor (while clock speed volition be identical betwixt the two chips, Kaby Lake'southward more avant-garde architecture should deliver improved performance in at least some workloads.)

Benchmarks from the Core i5-7600K have likewise leaked at the Chinese site PCOnline. That data shows the Core i5-7600K more often than not leading the Cadre i5-6600K by an amount commensurate to its clock speed. The base clock on the new Kaby Lake core is roughly 8% faster, as is the boost clock (4.2GHz, vs. 3.9GHz). This implies that the benefits of the newer design are mostly clockspeed-based. That's more-or-less what nosotros expected, since Intel hasn't forecasted whatever significant architectural updates for Kaby Lake. It'south yet possible that overall power consumption and burst operation could be amend, thanks to SpeedShift 2, while overclocking may as well exist improved on the new models compared to Skylake. If enthusiasts can button the Core i5-7600K into 4.4 – iv.6GHz territory, that chip could serve every bit a capable enthusiast core for less than y'all'd pay for the full-blown Core i7.

Kaby Lake will arrive with a new 200-series chipset and 3D XPoint compatibility, but the 100-series boards have already been updated, in many cases, to back up the new platform. If you lot already own a Skylake bit, y'all probably won't have to buy a new lath if you want a drop-in replacement.

AMD, Intel, go caput-to-caput in Q1 2017

The CPU market hasn't been very exciting for the past few years, but that could modify in early on 2017 depending on how well AMD's Zen compares to Kaby Lake (assuming AMD hits its Q1 launch target, of class). Nosotros've previously discussed our thoughts on how Zen has shaped up (refer to these stories if you lot want in-depth analysis), but my basic expectations haven't changed. I don't wait Zen to be able to friction match Intel clock-for-clock and cadre-for-core across Intel's entire product line, but I also don't recollect information technology needs to. Success, for AMD, means fielding a vastly improved CPU core, with solid performance and ameliorate power consumption.

Currently, AMD's depression-end quad-core fries are priced against Intel'due south dual-core processors. In that location are a range of AMD fries priced against Intel's dual-core + HyperThreading Core i3 family unit — everything from higher-end quad-core APUs to depression-end eight-core FX processors, to midrange six-cadre products are mixed into the Core i3 range. The FX-8350, at $150, is priced against the Core i3-6300. Even AMD's highest-end function, the FX-9590, is priced at $229 — only slightly below the Core i5-6600K, at $237. AMD has no desktop chips at all above $229, while Intel'due south cheapest Core i7 starts at $295 with a much smaller (and less expensive) die than its AMD counterpart.

There is, in other words, plenty of room for AMD to improve its competitive position and give Intel a run for its coin in lower markets, even if information technology doesn't take the high-functioning crown. I don't pretend to know how the relative performance metrics will shake out, only even a relatively pocket-size comeback — say, being able to utilise its quad-cadre + SMT chips to compete squarely confronting the Cadre i3 — would be a huge comeback for Chimpzilla. Information technology'll be interesting to run across how this shakes out, and how much functioning improvement AMD and Intel are able to offering once final silicon for Kaby Lake and Zen is available.