COmputex 2017 is afinally here and Intel are already taking the wraps off their new Extreme platform, and boy to the core counts just look insane. The new lineup of processors will come under the new X299 chipset with Kabylake-X and Skylake-X series processors; which are made up of 4,6,8,10,12,14,16, and 18-core CPU’s. Yeah, that’s a huge range of CPU’s with different core counts.
Below is a breakdown of the new line up of processors. Most notably is the new addition of the Core-i9 series which will be within the 10-18-core range of CPU’s and feature 44 PCIe lanes at least
There will be a Core i5 and i7 with 4-cores/4-threads and 4-cores/8-threads respectively. These are the only two Kabylake-X processors and don’t include Intel’s Turbo Boost Max 3.0 technology. The 4-core processor on a platform such as this are mostly aimed at those looking for quad channel memory without the need for more than 16-PCIe lanes or high core counts The rest of the CPU’s are Skylake-X series and do include Intel’s Turbo Boost Max 3.0 technology.
Core-i7 CPU’s on the new platform will also include a new limitation of just having a max of 28 PCIe lanes, with even the 8-core 7820x only supporting 28-PCIe lanes vs it’s closely matched predcessor the 6900k having 40 PCIe lanes.
| Intel Skylake-X Series | |||||||
| Core i7-7800X | Core i7-7820X | Core i9-7900X | Core i9-7920X | Core i9-7940X | Core i9-7960X | Core i9-7980XE | |
| Cores/ Threads |
6/12 | 8/16 | 10/20 | 12/24 | 14/28 | 16/32 | 18/36 |
| Base Clock | 3.5 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.3 GHz | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Turbo Clock | 4.0 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 4.3 GHz | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TurboMax Clock | N/A | 4.5 GHz | 4.5 GHz | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| L3 | 8.25 MB | 11 MB | 13.75 MB | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| PCIe Lanes | 28 | 44 | |||||
| Memory Channels | 4 | ||||||
| Memory Freq | DDR4-2400 | DDR4-2666 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
| TDP | 140W | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | ||
| Price | $389 | $599 | $999 | $1199 | $1399 | $1699 | $1999 |
Stepping up to the Core i9-7900X will bring you 2-more cores and bump the PCIe lanes up to 44 in total. Clearly Intel did this to create a new reason to spend an extra $400 on a CPU if not just for the 2 extra cores it has over the 7820X.
Stepping things up again we have the three big players in the new line up. Details on these CPU’s have yet to be fully released, but we do know that the i9-7920X will feature 14-cores/24-threads and cost $1,399, the i9-7960X with 16-cores/32-threads for $1,699, and finally the main behemoth, which is the Core i9-7980XE which will offer a huge 18-core/36-thread CPU for $1,999
Since we can see the 140W TDP on the relatively low end of the spectrum, these new extending core-count CPUs that utilises Intel’s HCC (High Core Count) designs will mean a lot of power consumption and a lot of heat that needs to be dissipated, but that all depends on core clock speed, which has yet to be released. That and the official release dates have yet to be unveiled, but we do know that it will be a tiered release, with the 18-core not to be the first out of the gate.
