Intel's high-end desktop platform raises the stakes with updated Intel Core X-Series processors that boast a lot more of everything, including cores, cache, bandwidth, and more. The additional processing power plows through CPU-intensive tasks, while the extra bandwidth lets you add more GPUs and NVMe SSDs to accelerate a wider range of workloads.

Anchored by the X299 platform, this upper echelon scales up to 18 cores with the new Core i9-9980XE. It's now joined by an even more exclusive chip with 28 cores and an entirely separate platform that redefines extreme desktop PCs. We have new motherboards designed to exploit the strengths of each CPU. The Prime X299-Deluxe II gives professionals and power users a flexible foundation for serious work and it is not alone, ROG engineers are also working on a new Rampage motherboard geared toward hardcore gamers and overclockers, while the ROG Dominus Extreme shows what's possible when our engineers have the freedom to go beyond traditional boundaries

With less than a year after their release, Intel are already retiring their Kaby Lake-X processors. Initially introduced with the X299 platform, the Intel Core i5-7640X and Intel Core i7-7740X were quad-core entry models into the HEDT platform. Unfortunately, they never really took off as planned. Intel openly admitted that market demand for the Core i5-7640X and Core i7-7740X has shifted to other Intel products. Therefore, the two aforementioned models will reach end-of-life status on May 7, 2018. Retailers, suppliers, and OEMs can still order these processors up to November 30 of this year with the last shipments scheduled for May 31 of next year. Goodbye, Kaby Lake-X. It was nice knowing you.

Intel unintentionally confirmed the existence of two of its upcoming client platform chipsets, the Z390 Express, and the X399 Express. The latest release-notes documentation of its Rapid Storage Technology driver, mentions Z390 and X399, alongside the CPU micro-architectures they support. The Z390 supports current-generation "Coffee Lake" and upcoming "Cannon Lake" processors, while the X399 supports HEDT derivatives based on the two architectures, namely "Coffee Lake-X" and "Cannon Lake-X," with no mention of "Skylake-X."

What happens to the X299, you ask? The table mentions the chipset as supporting SKL-X (Skylake-X) and KBL-X (Kaby Lake-X), but it's not clear if Intel is only referring to the forgettable i7-7740X and i5-7640X with "KBL-X." The Z390 is rumored as being Intel's next top mainstream-desktop chipset, with a long overdue update to onboard audio standards, in being a departure from the "Azalia" HD audio specification, onward to the new Programmable Quad-Core Audio with new SoundWire digital audio interface. The chipset is also rumored to feature 10 Gbps USB 3.1 ports.

EVGA introduces you to the ultimate in raw performance for the next-gen Intel Extreme lineup, the EVGA X299 Dark. The Dark is crafted from the ground up to be the performance apex with everything you need to make a record-breaking benching run or a 24/7 number cruncher, and nothing you don't - a board that is as reliable as it is fast.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, has unveiled the new X299 AORUS Gaming 7 Pro motherboard. With support for the new Intel 18-Core i9 7980XE processor, the new motherboard is ready to elevate performance to the next level. Featuring an updated VRM design paired with Smart Fan 5 technology to satiate the power demands of the new 18-core processor while keeping the system icy cool, the new X299 AORUS Gaming 7 Pro is the definitive motherboard of choice for users who value performance first and foremost.

"The X299 AORUS Gaming 7 Pro motherboard is designed to fully support Intel's newest Core i9 7980XE processor." said Vincent Liu, Senior Associate Vice President of GIGABYTE's Motherboard Business Unit. "With our tried-and-true approach and seasoned experience, we have designed a motherboard that truly fulfills enthusiasts' highest expectations."

MSI today introduced the X299M-A Pro, a socket LGA2066 motherboard in the micro-ATX form-factor, its second micro-ATX board for the platform after the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon. The X299M-A Pro sticks to the "no frills" design of products such as the X299 Raider and X299 SLI Plus. Unlike the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon, this board is designed for two processor models only - the Core i5-7640X, and the i7-7740X. The board physically lacks DDR4 memory slots for channels 3 and 4, and makes do with the limited PCIe lane budget of the "Kaby Lake-X" processors. This is similar to the Aorus X299 Gaming.

Built in the micro-ATX form-factor, the MSI X299M-A Pro draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 6-pin PCIe (optional). It uses a 9-phase CPU VRM to condition power for the 112W TDP chips. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel memory; and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x8/x8 with both populated). The third x16 slot is electrical x4, and wired to the X299 PCH. Storage connectivity includes two 32 Gbps M.2 slots, and eight SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes two 10 Gbps USB 3.1 ports (including a type-C port). The onboard audio solution combines a Realtek ALC1220 CODEC with audio-grade capacitors and ground-layer isolation. The board's sole gigabit Ethernet interface is driven by an Intel i219-V controller. The board is expected to be priced around USD $170.

Unlike other motherboards that are designed by engineers who don't have adequate experience in extreme overclocking or have never participated in an OC event, X299 OC Formula is the only motherboard in the market that is designed by a genuine overclocker, Nick Shih, who is hands down one of the most talented overclockers alive. ASRock is confident to say that X299 OC Formula is ideally focused on overclocking exclusively, without any other useless features, designs or gimmicks.

Take full control of your system. Hardware components are incredibly the most important. There're plenty of attractive sweeteners to make the newborn X299 OC Formula a more enticing upgrade. A rock-solid CPU VRM design which boasts a whopping 13 power phase to offer unmatched overclocking capabilities and enhanced performance with the lowest temperature. An additional 2 power phase that ensure memory area's stability. Dr. MOS solution that is optimized for monitoring current and temperature of each phase, thus delivering neater and smoother power to the system. An integrated Hyper BCLK Engine III controller that provides a wider range of frequency and more precise clock waveforms. XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink/Heatpipe design that effectively take away heat from the MOSFET, thus allowing this mainboard to support up to 450W CPU with airflow condition.

Intel created quad-core "Kaby Lake-X" processors for its latest HEDT platform as they provide an affordable entry to the segment, with a potential to upgrade to larger 6-core, 8-core, 10-core, 12-core, 16-core, and even 18-core processors. The two "Kaby Lake-X" SKUs launched are merely adaptations of the Core i7-7700K and i5-7600K for the LGA2066 socket, as they feature just 256 KB of L2 cache per core (and not 1 MB per core of "Skylake-X"), just a dual-channel DDR4 controller, even though the socket supports quad-channel memory; and just a 16-lane PCIe (while the platform supports up to 44 lanes). While the Core i7-7740X and i5-7640X are priced more or less on par with their LGA1151 twins, motherboards on this platform aren't cheap, with the cheapest LGA2066 motherboard priced a little over $200. GIGABYTE senses an opportunity in all this, in launching the Aorus X299 Gaming. This LGA2066 motherboard only supports the i7-7740X and i5-7640X, and no other LGA2066 Core i7 or Core i9 chip.

Built in the ATX form-factor, you could be mistaken for thinking the Aorus X299 Gaming to be a mainstream-desktop motherboard based on the Z270 chipset, were it not for the unmistakable LGA2066 socket. The board features four DDR4 DIMM slots, all towards the east of the socket, and so it only supports up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory. On boards with four DDR4 slots, yet quad-channel memory support, you typically find the memory slots split in groups of two, on either sides of the CPU socket. This "Kaby Lake-X" specificity carries over to even the PCI-Express slots, where there's only one slot with full x16 wiring, the second slot only features x8 wiring, while the third slot is x4. You can use up to two graphics cards in multi-GPU, where the first and second x16 slots configure as electrical x8/x8.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, announces new high-speed DDR4 memory specifications designed for the latest Intel Core X-series processors and X299 chipset motherboards. All the new memory kits are built with high performance Samsung 8Gb ICs, and tested under the highest standards of the Trident Z family.

With the improvement of overclocking performance on the latest Intel Core X-series processor and X299 chipset, G.SKILL is thrilled to release the fastest DDR4-4400 CL19-19-19-39 8GBx2 dual-channel memory kit designed for Kaby Lake-X processor. This high-end DDR4 memory kit will be available under the Trident Z RGB series and an all-new Trident Z Black series.

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 5.92 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Engineer 5.92 software, a professional diagnostic and benchmarking solution for corporate IT technicians and engineers; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business 5.92 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Network Audit 5.92 software, a dedicated network audit toolset to collect and manage corporate network inventories.

The latest AIDA64 update implements optimized benchmarks for the upcoming Intel Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors, and supports the latest graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by both AMD and nVIDIA.DOWNLOAD: Finalwire AIDA64 v5.92

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.

An Intel Core i9-7900X has appeared for a full review at the site Hexus.net. Spoiler alert, it clocks to 4.7 GHz on all ten cores with relative ease (only taking 1.25 V, apparently, though it racked up nearly 100°C in Cinebench at that voltage).

The review praised Intel's overclocking headroom and general muscle in a mostly positive review. Still, not all is rosy in Intel land. They found performance per watt to not have improved much if at all, criticized the high price tag, and Hexus.net had the following to say about the overall experience:

"X299 motherboards don't appear to be quite ready, there are question marks surrounding the Skylake-X processors due later this year, and at the lower end of the Core X spectrum, Kaby Lake-X is nothing short of puzzling."

Intel announced the release schedule of its Core X HEDT (high-end desktop) processors and compatible socket LGA2066 motherboards. The first wave of Core X processors, which includes two quad-core SKUs, and one each of 6-core, 8-core, and 10-core (detailed in the table below); will be available from 26 June, 2017. Pre-orders for these chips will open from 19 June, on popular online stores. The first wave includes the quad-core Core i5-7640X, and Core i7-7740X "Kaby Lake-X;" six-core i7-7800X, eight-core i7-7820X, and ten-core i9-7900X "Skylake-X."

Intel plans to release the Core i9-7920X 12-core processor some time in August 2017, followed by 14-core, 16-core, and 18-core parts by October 2017. A large selection of compatible socket LGA2066 motherboards based on Intel X299 chipset, will be available for pre-order on 19 June, followed by retail availability from 26 June. With socket LGA2066 having a similar cooler mount-hole layout to the current LGA2011v3 socket, most current coolers which can cope with thermal loads of Core i7 "Broadwell-E" processors should be able to handle the Core X "Skylake-X" and "Kaby Lake-X" parts being launched this month.

TeamAU with GIGABYTE OC Lab successfully overclocked an Intel Core i7-7740K "Kaby Lake-X" quad-core processor to 7.50 GHz. Only 2 out of its 4 cores were enabled for the feat. A Gigabyte X299 SOC Champion was used for this feat, and liquid helium was used to keep the CPU cool. The overclockers dialed kept the base-clock constant at 100 MHz, while dialing up its multiplier to 75.0x, yielding 7.50 GHz. Its core-voltage was kept at 1.096V.

AMD recently cut the price of its current flagship desktop processor Ryzen 7 1800X from its USD $499 launch price to $469. At the time, it left prices of the Ryzen 7 1700 and Ryzen 7 1700X untouched. It looks like the two received small price-cuts as well. The Ryzen 7 1700X is now priced at $349 in leading online stores, down from its launch price of $399. The Ryzen 7 1700 (non-X), on the other hand, is now selling for $319, down from its launch price of $329. The two cuts may seem minor, but could help AMD turn up the heat against Intel's Core i7-7700K and its upcoming "Kaby Lake-X" Core i7-7740X and i5-7640X.

Based on the 14 nm "Summit Ridge" silicon, the Ryzen 7 1700 and 1700X are eight-core processors. The 1700 ships with clock speeds of 3.00 GHz, with 3.70 GHz boost, while the 1700X ships with higher 3.40 GHz clocks, with 3.80 GHz boost, and XFR, which adds a further 200 MHz to the boost clock. The Ryzen 7 1700 includes an AMD Wraith Spire RGB cooling solution, while the 1700X lacks a stock cooling solution.Update 03/06: AMD reached out to us and commented that this is not an official price-change. It could be implemented by local retailers or distributors.

Now that Intel has officially rolled out its "Core-X" family based on the Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X CPUs, overclocking of them has begun in earnest for those lucky few who have one in hand. As per usual, benchmarkers at the extreme end of the spectrum tend to shoot for the moon no holds barred, driven by the fumes of LN2 cooling. For one lucky i9-7900X owner calling himself "Elmor," he took his rightful place among the benchmarking stars, shattering the previous Cinebench world record for a 10-core chip with a very respectable 5.7GHz final clock. His score in Cinebench R15 was 3181, while Cinebench R11.5 scored 34.79.

If you had your eyes on those new Intel HEDT processors, which were posted just today with some... Interesting... price-points, you'll be a little miffed to know that Intel has gone on and done it again. The few cents per unit that soldering the CPU would add to the manufacturing costs of Intel's HEDT processors (starting at $999, tray-friendly prices) could definitely bring the blue giant to the red. As such, the company has decided to do away with solder even on its HEDT line of high-performance, eye-wateringly-expensive CPUs in favor of their dreaded TIM.

The news have been confirmed by der8auer, a renowned overclocker. And as you have probably seen in our own VSG's review (and if you haven't shame on you and click that link right away), delidding Intel's CPU's and ridding them of their TIM can improve temperatures by up to a staggering 21 ºC (case in point, an i7-7700K). And that's a quad-core CPU; imagine an Intel Core i9-7980XE 18-core processor sitting under that TIM, and overclocking it to boot. Those are more than four times the cores under an equally bad thermal interface; add to that the likely presence of a thermally-insulating air-gap, and you can imagine where this is going. If you are planning on going for Intel's HEDT platform, you better take those delidding tools off your shelf.

Update: Check this video here for some more information. Turns out both Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X will make use of the referred TIM, but Skylake-X dies, which make use of a stacked PCB, won't be deliddable with current tools. A new tool is going to be developed by der8auer alongside ASUS for these chips.

Videocardz is advancing an exclusive in that Intel seems to be about to introduce even more cores in a single package than previously thought. Intel's X299 platform, which we've just started officially started seeing some motherboards for (just scroll down on our news feed), looks to be the awakening of a slumbering giant. But you don't have to believe me on this: before we ever knew of AMD's Ryzen line of processors (much less about their Threadripper line), leaks on Intel's Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors only showed core counts up to 10-cores - in line with previous Intel HEDT platforms (see below image.) Cue more recent leaks, and it would seem that Intel is increasing the core-counts on its upcoming platform on a daily basis - especially if the most recent leak referencing 14, 16 and 18-core parts pans out. (I am reminded of a "moar cores" meme that used to float around the web. Maybe one of you in the comments can find it for me?)

A new, leaked slide on Intel's X-series processors shows 18, 16, 14, and 12-core configurations as being available on the upcoming X299 platform, leveraging Intel's turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 (which is apparently only available on Intel's Core i9-7820X, 7900X, 7920X (which we know to be a 12-core part), 7940X (probably the 14-core), 7960X (16-core) and the punchline 7980XE 18-core processor, which should see a price as eye-watering as that name tumbles around on the tip of the tongue. There is also mention of a "Rebalanced Intel Smart Cache hierarchy". But you don't want me to be rambling on about this. You want to comment about this story. Feel free to partake in a joyous conversation over these news (I'll also leave you with a bonus picture of some purported, upcoming Intel X-series packaging efforts. They're certainly colorful.)

MSI posted its third teaser pic for one of its upcoming socket LGA2066 motherboards, which is likely the X299 Gaming Pro. Designed for Core i7 "Kaby Lake-X" and Core i9 "Skylake-X" processors, the board appears to feature eight DDR4 DIMM slots (four slots on the left side of the socket). The teaser also gives us a glance of the LGA2066 socket, which could feature a similar retention mechanism to the current LGA2011v3 socket, even if the cooler support isn't consistent, given that some cooler manufacturers such as Noctua are already giving away LGA2066 brackets. The teaser pic also reveals two CPU power inputs, an 8-pin EPS and 4-pin ATX. This is unusual for a "mid-range" brand extension such as Gaming Pro, unless some of the Core i9 "Skylake-X" chips really do have >140W TDPs that demand more power inputs than your run of the mill single 8-pin EPS.

Intel is reportedly giving final touches to a new line of high-end desktop processors under the Core i9 brand extension. Until now, the company used the Core i7 brand extension broadly, to cover both the top-end parts of the mainstream-desktop (LGA115x) segment, and the high-end desktop (HEDT) segment, consisting of the LGA1366 and LGA2011-series sockets. With the advent of the new LGA2066 socket, Intel will be launching two distinct kinds of products - the Core i7 "Kaby Lake-X" quad-core series; and the Core i9 "Skylake-X" 6-core, 8-core, 10-core, and 12-core processors.

The Core i7 "Kaby Lake-X" will include the much talked about Core i7-7740K and i7-7640K quad-core processors (there's no Core i5 Kaby Lake-X). These chips will feature up to 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache per core, which is four times that of the existing i7-7700K chip. The i7-7740K features 8 MB of shared L2 cache; while the i7-7640K features just 6 MB. Interestingly, the i7-7640K also happens to lack HyperThreading, while the i7-7740K features it. The i7-7740K will ship with higher clock speeds than the i7-7700K, with 4.30 GHz core, and 4.50 GHz Turbo Boost. The i7-7640K features 4.00 GHz core, with 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost. The Core i9 series is a whole different beast.

Intel's immediate answer to AMD's Ryzen challenge, the Core i7-7740K processor and "Basin Falls" platform, could launch on the 12th of June, 2017. Intel is the main sponsor of the PC Gaming Show hosted by PC Gamer magazine, in the backdrop of E3-2017, and we expect it to launch its first product, the Core i7-7740K on the occasion. Intel could announce retail availability of the chips immediately after. The Core i7-7740K launch will be accompanied by a more cost-effective Core i5-7640K, and the X299 Express chipset. Motherboard vendors could announce their first waves of socket LGA2066 motherboards based on this chipset.

Built on the 14 nm "Kaby Lake-X" silicon, the Core i7-7740K is a quad-core processor featuring higher clock speeds than the current i7-7700K. It features a dual-channel integrated memory controller, and lacks integrated graphics. It could feature a 28-lane PCI-Express gen 3.0 root-complex. The only ace up its sleeve is the X299 platform itself, which could be ready for bigger six-, eight-, and ten-core processors with more PCIe lane budgets.

Noctua today announced that it will continue its tradition of supplying customers with its premium-class SecuFirm2 mounting kits for novel platforms free of charge. While most current Noctua heatsinks support the new LGA2066 socket of Intel's 'Basin Falls' X299 platform for 'Skylake-X' and 'Kaby Lake-X' CPUs out of the box, older models can be upgraded with the NM-I2011 or NM-i20xx kits at no additional cost.

"We're determined to provide the best possible support to our customers and, over the years, we've sent many thousands of mounting kits free of charge to users who wanted to upgrade to new platforms", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "With Skylake-X just around the corner, we're pleased to announce that we'll extend this offer for LGA2066. Owners of older Noctua retail heatsinks that don't support LGA2011/LGA2066 out of the box will be able to upgrade to the new socket free of charge!"

Two days, two leaks on an upcoming Intel platform (the accelerated release dates gods are working hard with the blue giant, it would seem.) Now, it's Intel's own i7-7740K, a Kaby Lake-X HEDT processor that packs 4 cores and 8 threads, which is interesting when one considers that AMD's latest mainstream processors, Ryzen, already pack double the cores and threads in a non-HEDT platform. Interesting things about the Kaby Lake-X processors is that they are rumored to carry 16x PCIe 3.0 lane from the CPU (which can be configured as a singularly populated 16x or as a triple-populated 1x @ 8x and 2x @ 4x PCIe ports. Since these parts are reported as being based of on consumer, LGA-1151 Kaby Lake processors, it would seem these eschew Intel's integrated graphics, thus saving die space. And these do seem to deliver a quad-channel memory controller as well, though we've seen with Ryzen R7 reviews how much of a difference that makes for some of the use cases.

Intel's X299 HEDT platform, whose launch we recently covered as having been pushed forward by the company so as to better compete against AMD's upcoming X399 HEDT platform, has some new, juicy rumors floating about it. Namely, Bench.Life has reported that Intel's upcoming Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X lines of high performance CPUs will also feature 12-core offerings on its Skylake-X materialization, instead of just the previously reported 6, 8, and 10-core designs.

This really looks like an Intel that's stretching its manufacturing and chip design prowess so as to prevent itself from being buried in higher-performing, higher core and thread count offerings from its rival AMD, which has turned Intel's line-up in the mainstream consumer market head-over-heels already. Latest reports peg the new series as being presented on Computex 2017 (specifically, on may 30th), with availability being expected on June 26th. Which platform are most interested in, and what do you think of this move from Intel?

According to DigiTimes, sources among Taiwan-based PC vendors have indicated that Intel's upcoming Basin Falls platform, which includes Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors on a new X299 chipset, will be unveiled at Computex 2017 (May 30th, June 3rd), in Taipei - two months earlier than expected. This move comes accompanied by an accelerated launch of the Coffee Lake microarchitecture, which still uses the 14 nm process, to August 2017 from an initial January 2018 launch. If true, this is big in a number of ways - that Intel would bring forward a product launch 4 months has some interesting implications - or at least, confirmations.

Remember that Coffee Lake is supposed to carry an increased number of cores in its mainstream designs. And we all know how Intel's line-up has almost been torn apart by Ryzen's aggressive core and thread-count, with AMD offering more cores and threads than Intel at virtually all price-points. And even if an argument is made regarding Intel's better gaming performance, that's one scenario out of many. Future proofing, professional work, multimedia, all of these assert AMD's dominance in a pure price-performance ratio. I, for one, would gladly give up some FPS in some games and accept an increased number of cores than go the other way around (especially with AMD's platform support and the number of patches that have increased game performance on Ryzen CPUs.)