Tuesday, June 20th 2017
Intel Core i7 and Core i9 "Skylake-X," Core i5 and Core i7 "Kaby Lake-X" Sell
Intel announced retail availability of its new Core X-series HEDT (high-end desktop) processors in the LGA2066 package, designed for motherboards based on the Intel X299 Express chipset. These include the 4-core/4-thread Core i5-7640X and 4-core/8-thread Core i7-7740X based on the "Kaby Lake-X" silicon; and 6-core/12-thread Core i7-7800X, 8-core/16-thread Core i7-7820X, and 10-core/20-thread Core i9-7900X chips based on the "Skylake-X" silicon. Compatible socket LGA2066 motherboards based on the X299 chipset began selling, too.
The Core i5-7640X features 4.00 GHz clocks with 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost, and 6 MB of L3 cache. The i7-7740X tops that with 4.30 GHz core and 4.50 GHz Turbo Boost out of the box, 8 MB of L3 cache, and HyperThreading. Both these chips feature just dual-channel DDR4 memory controller, meaning that you'll be able to use just four out of eight DIMM slots in most LGA2066 motherboards. The i5-7640X is priced at USD $242, while the i7-7740X goes for $339. These are the same prices at which you can buy the LGA1151 Core i5-7600K and i7-7700K, respectively, so an attempt is being made to transition all PC enthusiasts over to the HEDT platform.
The Core i7-7800X 6-core/12-thread chip ships with clock speeds of 3.50 GHz, and 4.00 GHz Turbo Boost; and 8.25 MB of L3 cache. You get a full quad-channel DDR4 memory controller; but like the "Kaby Lake-X" chips, this chip too has a limited PCI-Express budget of 28 lanes, so you can't run two graphics cards at full x16 bandwidth (wasn't that the whole point of the HEDT platform?). The i7-7800X is priced at $389, just $50 more than the i7-7740X, which seems like a bargain for the two extra cores and a whopping 0.25 MB of more L3 cache.
The Core i7-7820X 8-core/16-thread part is clocked at 3.60 GHz with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost; featuring 11 MB of L3 cache, a quad-channel DDR4 memory controller; yet the same limited 28-lane PCIe root complex. It is priced at $599. Back in my day, a $279 Core i7-920 paired with any X58 motherboard to give you full x16 lanes to two graphics cards, and enabled 3-way and 4-way multi-GPU configurations. If that's what you want, then get ready to pay top-dollar for the Core i9-7900X.
The Core i9-7900X at $999 is your price of admission for the 44-lane PCIe root complex of the "Skylake-X" silicon. This 10-core/20-thread processor is clocked at 3.30 GHz, with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost, and 13.75 MB of L3 cache. Both the i9-7900X and i7-7820X feature Intel's new Turbo Boost Max 3.0 feature, which adds a further 200 MHz to the max Turbo Boost frequency, if your cooling is satisfactory. All chips being launched today feature unlocked base-clock multipliers, which make overclocking a breeze. All "Skylake-X" chips feature TDP ratings of 140W.
The Core i5-7640X features 4.00 GHz clocks with 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost, and 6 MB of L3 cache. The i7-7740X tops that with 4.30 GHz core and 4.50 GHz Turbo Boost out of the box, 8 MB of L3 cache, and HyperThreading. Both these chips feature just dual-channel DDR4 memory controller, meaning that you'll be able to use just four out of eight DIMM slots in most LGA2066 motherboards. The i5-7640X is priced at USD $242, while the i7-7740X goes for $339. These are the same prices at which you can buy the LGA1151 Core i5-7600K and i7-7700K, respectively, so an attempt is being made to transition all PC enthusiasts over to the HEDT platform.
The Core i7-7820X 8-core/16-thread part is clocked at 3.60 GHz with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost; featuring 11 MB of L3 cache, a quad-channel DDR4 memory controller; yet the same limited 28-lane PCIe root complex. It is priced at $599. Back in my day, a $279 Core i7-920 paired with any X58 motherboard to give you full x16 lanes to two graphics cards, and enabled 3-way and 4-way multi-GPU configurations. If that's what you want, then get ready to pay top-dollar for the Core i9-7900X.
The Core i9-7900X at $999 is your price of admission for the 44-lane PCIe root complex of the "Skylake-X" silicon. This 10-core/20-thread processor is clocked at 3.30 GHz, with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost, and 13.75 MB of L3 cache. Both the i9-7900X and i7-7820X feature Intel's new Turbo Boost Max 3.0 feature, which adds a further 200 MHz to the max Turbo Boost frequency, if your cooling is satisfactory. All chips being launched today feature unlocked base-clock multipliers, which make overclocking a breeze. All "Skylake-X" chips feature TDP ratings of 140W.
35 Comments on Intel Core i7 and Core i9 "Skylake-X," Core i5 and Core i7 "Kaby Lake-X" Sell
It wasn't "AMD didn't do that, why is Intel?" No it was more a case of people either reviewing or talking about the whole X299 platform and associated CPU's who were for the first time ever exposed to HEDT, unaware that this was standard Intel practice.
Let's be perfectly honest: if Ryzen didn't completely...
...Intel, there would be no Core i9 and people would buy up this shitty X299 platform because it's still the best option available. Now, because Ryzen, Threadripper, and EPYC exist, people realize how bad Intel was dicking them over the past 8 years. Doing-as-little-as-possible-to-maximize-profits is what happens when one corporation has free reign over a market while regulators are too busy polishing their golden toilets to care. This isn't the first time it has happened and it certainly won't be the last.
If we look at tech as a whole, there's a lot of fields where there is only two major suppliers (CPUs, graphics, hard drives, and so on). This is bad for the market.
The uproar that started over X299 lanes should have happened years ago when PCI lanes were put on switches. X99 is a minefield of them (stick M.2 in here, SATA Express and two SATA III ports die; stick an x1 card in here you lose your x16/x4 electrical slot there). It's sad that it took AMD going crazy with PCI Express lanes to make people realize that limiting them is a very artificial thing Intel uses to make you upgrade to HEDT and then more expensive processors in the HEDT line up.
The question is did Intel have something on the backburner to counter AMD like Core 2 Duo back in 2006? Silicon-germanium fab, mayhaps? Whatever they were working on was no doubt accelerated.
I think something new would more likely.
EDIT: Intel Core 3 Quad/Hexa/Octa :laugh: Centrino 3 is also due for a long time now... Just made your marketing homework, Intel, make it happen :roll:
Their LGA2011 and LGA2011-3 are not so short on market.
No one force you upgrade so fast.
But people with X99 use their machines 3 years. \
If someone don't want to replace whole platform very good options will be available soon, price of used i7-6900K and i7-6950X will be affordable for more people.
That could extend life time of LGA2011-3 for 2-3 years.
Imagine i7-6950X OC to 4.2-4.3GHz flux solder, no need for delidding....
How long he could be used for gaming?
It's important to support M.2 NVMe and USB 3.1 and that's it.
No big difference for gamers between X299 i9-7900X and X99 i7-6950X.