Intel have opened the curtain on their latest generation of processors, and with them the newest Z270 chipset. The new Kaby Lake processors have been leaked heavily before their official release, as it generally is with most tech nowadays, but none the less, let’s take a look at what the new processors and chipsets will offer.
Since Intel have changed their tick tock scheme, we’re getting another round of processors from the previous 14nm range of processors, with some minor improvements.
The desktop processor side of business will launch with the new Z270 chipset and a lot of new processors, notably a unlocked Dual core i3-7350k.
There will be other processors launching in coming weeks/months, and of course the non-overclockable H/B/Q chipsets as well, but for the mean time, the main two CPU’s are the Core i5-7600k and Core i7-7660k.
| Intel Kaby Lake Desktop Processors | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Cores/ Threads |
Base/ Turbo |
IGP | L3 | TDP | Cost | ||
| i7-7700K | 4/8 | 4.2/4.5 | HD 630 | 8 MB | 91 W | $305 | ||
| i7-7700 | 4/8 | 3.6/4.2 | HD 630 | 8 MB | 65 W | $272 | ||
| i7-7700T | 4/8 | 2.9/3.8 | HD 630 | 8 MB | 35 W | $272 | ||
| i5-7600K | 4/4 | 3.8/4.2 | HD 630 | 6 MB | 91 W | $217 | ||
| i5-7600 | 4/4 | 3.5/4.1 | HD 630 | 6 MB | 65 W | $199 | ||
| i5-7600T | 4/4 | 2.8/3.7 | HD 630 | 6 MB | 35 W | $199 | ||
| i5-7500 | 4/4 | 3.4/3.8 | HD 630 | 6 MB | 65 W | $179 | ||
| i5-7500T | 4/4 | 2.7/3.3 | HD 630 | 6 MB | 35 W | $179 | ||
| i5-7400 | 4/4 | 3.0/3.5 | HD 630 | 6 MB | 65 W | $170 | ||
| i5-7400T | 4/4 | 2.4/3.0 | HD 630 | 6 MB | 35 W | $170 | ||
| i3-7350K | 2/4 | 4.2 | HD 630 | 4 MB | 60 W | $157 | ||
| i3-7320 | 2/4 | 4.1 | HD 630 | 4 MB | 51 W | $139 | ||
| i3-7300 | 2/4 | 4.0 | HD 630 | 4 MB | 51 W | $129 | ||
| i3-7300T | 2/4 | 3.5 | HD 630 | 4 MB | 35 W | $129 | ||
| i3-7100 | 2/4 | 3.9 | HD 630 | 3 MB | 51 W | $109 | ||
| i3-7100T | 2/4 | 3.4 | HD 630 | 3 MB | 35 W | $109 | ||
Core i5-7600k
The i5-7600k will sport a 4 core/4 threads with 3.8Ghz base clock and 4.2Ghz turbo. It has 6MB L3 cache, and Intel’s Hd 630 graphics. Lastly the chip has a 91w TDP and will retail for around 200 euro.
Core i7-7700k
The i7-7700k has 4-cores with 8 threads, thanks to included hyper-threading. It has a 4.2Ghz base clock speed with 4.5Ghz turbo. The L3 cache takes a jump up to 8MB, but the processes uses has the same 91W TDP and retails for around 300 euro.
| Intel 200-series Chipsets | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Z270 | H270 | B250 | Q270 | Q250 | HM175 | QM175 | CM238 | |
| DMI | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCIe 3.0 Lanes | 24 | 20 | 12 | 24 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| SATA 6 Gbps Ports | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| USB 3.0 Ports | 10+ | 8 | 6 | 10+ | 8 | 8+ | 8+ | 10+ |
| Total USB 2/3 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Drives for PCIe RST | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| PCIe Config | x16 x8/x8 x8/x4/x4 |
x16 | x16 | x16 x8/x8 x8/x4/x4 |
x16 | x16 x8/x8 x8/x4/x4 |
||
| Overclocking | Yes | No | ||||||
| vPro | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Manageability | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Z270 chipset
The Z270 chipset doesn’t take an huge leaps over the previous z170, but does include some extras. We now have 24 PCI Express lanes, with most motherboards set to include dual m.2 slots, the extra lanes are a must now. Like before, other features like USB 3.1 controllers, and sound cards will be completely motherboard dependent, and each manufacturer will go their own way.
While the new processors and chipset will offer performance improvements and better features, it’s clear that Intel aren’t pushing the new hardware for everyone, and just those who haven’t upgraded in a few years, but even then their may be better deals to be hand on the last generation of hardware. Also remember that previous Sky Lake processors are compatible with the new Z270 chipset, if upgrading your motherboard is all your really looking to do.
