But it's 1151!!?

[Flaky]

Chapter 9 (pg.126).
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/w...sktop-6th-gen-core-family-datasheet-vol-1.pdf

Thanks! Revision history shows that they added the pinout at the beginning of this year. Still better later than never

There's a lot of RSVD pins. So, intel can do whatever they want, and physically make new cpus unable to run on older motherboards.
Just like with 1150 and broadwell.

 

[bug]

Someone will actually try and stick the coffee lake cpu in a Z270 board, an we'll get craploads of posts saying that they fried their cpu/mobo, unless Intel will put some kind of a disclaimer on the box.

Is it the same socket though? Same number of pins doesn't necessarily mean the same physical arrangement.

 

[R00kie]

Is it the same socket though? Same number of pins doesn't necessarily mean the same physical arrangement.

Different notch alignment probably.

 

[Vya Domus]

They could literally make the socket in the shape of a triangle and some idiot would still manage to try and fit the wrong CPU in it.

 

[silentbogo]

Different notch alignment probably.

Why? There already is compatibility guideline in place. If someone can't read - they should not build computers either.
Even something simple as an extra notch (or it's placement) on the socket should result in OEMs ordering new LGA1151 variant sockets from foxconn, which will add few more dollars to BOM and the final price.
Same old socket is much easier and cost effective.

 

[R00kie]

Why? There already is compatibility guideline in place. If someone can't read - they should not build computers either.
Even something simple as an extra notch (or it's placement) on the socket should result in OEMs ordering new LGA1151 variant sockets from foxconn, which will add few more dollars to BOM and the final price.
Same old socket is much easier and cost effective.

Which still adds to the confusion for the first time builders.

 

[silentbogo]

Which still adds to the confusion for the first time builders.

First time builders and mortal people in general are always confused and clumsy, regardless of the socket and compatibility situation. My job would be meaningless, if there were no people who stick 1155 CPUs in 1150 sockets, break HDMI ports with USB flash drives, put thermal compound in the socket, overclock 125W CPUs on entry-level boards, cause house fires with cheap chinese power supplies, drop gadgets in subways and busses, and spill coffee on their laptops. It's unavoidable, and a simple 1151 mishap won't cause any more distress that's already there.

 

[R00kie]

First time builders and mortal people in general are always confused and clumsy, regardless of the socket and compatibility situation. My job would be meaningless, if there were no people who stick 1155 CPUs in 1150 sockets, break HDMI ports with USB flash drives, put thermal compound in the socket, overclock 125W CPUs on entry-level boards, cause house fires with cheap chinese power supplies, drop gadgets in subways and busses, and spill coffee on their laptops. It's unavoidable, and a simple 1151 mishap won't cause any more distress that's already there.

It just adds more work for us, that could’ve been avoided in the first place.

 

[newtekie1]

Which still adds to the confusion for the first time builders.

If a first time builder doesn't check the CPU compatibility charts of their motherboard, they deserve to get screwed. First time builders tend to be over-cautious, and spend extra time ensuring compatibility, in my experience.

 

[R00kie]

First time builders tend to be over-cautious

Or over-confident

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Yes, because Intel cares about few hundred active users on this forum...

And I'm pretty sure you're wrong about the "being after price/performance". It's just that quite a lot of brand-committed people here prefer the company that usually wins in "price/performance", not the one that wins in "just works" and - as a result - popularity.
On the contrary, most people buying Intel CPUs (or rather: PC with Intel CPUs) are not committed to a brand - they just don't care.

In other words: it's pretty easy to be a fanboy of the underdog company. I mean: if you want to stand out as a PC user, you will naturally be leaning towards the smaller, more "enthusiast-friendly" company - not the big mammoth that runs the industry. And by all means, we are all "standing out" here - building our PCs and spending hours on this forum.
A normal consumer buys a laptop, checks his e-mail and goes to the cinema.

This.

a PC user would favor higher performance or "*-per-dollar" or appearance (not just RGB), over any favoritism to any one brand.

 

[P4-630]

What'll happen is A LOT of people buying the wrong motherboards (or CPUs). Assuming they key the slot and CPU, there will be a few that jam the CPU in the socket with a hammer.

 

[Eric3988]

Kinda disappointing I won't be able to upgrade my CPU with anything meaningful without buying the mobo and another copy of Windows too. Oh well, hopefully by the time I'm ready to do that 8 cores will be the new i7 and 16 the AMD