Ahead of their Q1-2017 launch alongside the 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors, the boxes of two premium ASRock motherboards based on the upcoming Z270 Express chipset smiled for the camera. These are the ASRock Z270 Gaming K6, and the Z270 Pro4, or at least that's the best we could read through the blur. The Z270 Gaming K6 could be a premium offering, while the Z270 Pro4 could be an entry-mainstream one.

Just as Intel launched both the 6-series and 7-series chipset for the LGA1155 socket, and the 8-series and 9-series chipset for the LGA1150 socket; the Z270 could be Intel's second platform for the LGA1151 socket, in being compatible with both the upcoming 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors, and the existing 6th generation Core "Skylake" ones. Existing 100-series chipset motherboards will support "Kaby Lake" chips with BIOS updates.

-- images removed at request of AsRock --

MSI, world leading and most popular gaming component brand, is pleased to announce that all current MSI 100 series chipset motherboards fully support the next generation LGA 1151 socket processors. The BIOS updates are now made available for download via the official MSI website. With these BIOS updates users can benefit from better performance and compatibility using the latest Intel processors with better specification and higher frequencies. Highly acclaimed, MSI continues to push for outstanding performance, a unique and attractive look & feel and solid reliability for its 100 series motherboards.

Intel's silicon fabrication has evidently hit a huge roadblock. It turns out that not just "Kaby Lake," but its two successors "Cannon Lake" and "Coffee Lake" could also be built on the 14 nm node, at best with a few process-level improvements. "Coffee Lake" is the company's 9th generation Core architecture, which is two steps ahead of even the "Kaby Lake" architecture, which is due later this year. "Kaby Lake" makes its way to the 45W mobile (H-segment) and 15W mobile (U-segment), in Q4-2016 and Q3-2016, respectively. The 15W U-segment will be augmented by "Cannon Lake" (8th generation Core) in Q4-2017. By mid-2018, Intel plans to launch "Coffee Lake" across both H- and U-segments.

According to a "Hot Hardware" report, based on a job listing for a systems engineer at the company, Intel could be staring at the scary prospect of holding out on 14 nm for the next three years, only to be relieved by the stopgap 10 nm node, which makes its debut with the 10th generation Core "Tiger Lake" architecture, due for 2019. "Tiger Lake," its succeeding "Ice Lake," and one other architecture could be launched on 10 nm, before finally deploying 7 nm around 2022.

Microsoft recently sparked a stir when it was reported that the company will support upcoming CPU architectures by Intel and AMD only on Windows 10, with the keyword being "support" and not "compatibility." This means that Microsoft will offer customer-support and likely serve updates to Intel "Kaby Lake" and AMD "ZEN" machines only running Windows 10 (and its enterprise variant Windows Server 2016, based on the NT 10 kernel), and not older versions of Windows. The processors themselves are compatible with any x86 operating system, Windows or *nix, 32-bit or 64-bit. HotHardware dug out the likely causes of this decision.

Apparently, new power-management and SMT features are behind the decision. With its "Kaby Lake" microarchitecture, Intel is introducing a new power-management feature called Speed Shift Technology. This lets the processor adjust its clock-speed to match processing loads at response time of 15 ms. This likely requires OS-level hooks, so the on-die power-management components can poll for processing loads and accordingly raise or lower clock-speeds 66.66 times each second, at no CPU cost. In its ZEN microarchitecture reveal, AMD too spoke about fine-grained, multi-domain clock-gating (≠ power-gating) on its "ZEN" based processors, such as "Summit Ridge."

If you're holding out on Windows 7 as your PC gaming platform, you may also want to hold out on your current hardware for a long while. Microsoft is making good on a warning it made earlier this year, that it would not provide support to users of upcoming processors on older Windows operating systems. At their launch, Intel's 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors and AMD "Summit Ridge" and "Bristol Ridge" will receive support from Microsoft only on the Windows 10 operating system. Older Windows versions will not receive drivers from Microsoft that support the new platforms. This is similar to Microsoft cutting off support for Windows XP from Intel's 3rd generation Core "Ivy Bridge" processors.

Without platform support, your Windows installation won't utilize many of the CPU features introduced with "Kaby Lake" and "Zen" and will likely run on a bare-minimum compatibility mode. This effectively cuts off PC enthusiasts from using older Windows versions on new hardware, such as the still-popular Windows 7. Non-Microsoft operating systems such as the latest *nix distributions such as ChromeOS, SteamOS, and OS X are still fully compatible with the upcoming chips.

Someone with access to a Core i7-7700K "Kaby Lake" processor and an ASRock Z270-Extreme4 motherboard put the chip through SiSoft SANDRA 2015 CPU tests. Engineering sample or not, the clock speeds of the chip appear to check out with those of the lineup as we know it. The core ticks at 4.20 GHz, with a maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 4.50 GHz. You also get 8 MB of L3 cache, and HyperThreading. The benchmark confirms that Intel is working on a new platform refresh chipset, with the Z270 chipset succeeding the existing Z170. Existing LGA1151 could support the new chips, with BIOS updates.

At its stock speeds, the i7-7700K churns out a SANDRA 2015 "Processor Arithmetic" score of 151.94 GOPS. Its "Processor Multimedia" score yielded is 379.8 Mpix/s. To put things in perspective, a Core i7-6700K "Skylake" processor running at its stock speed of 4.00 GHz core with 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost typically yields 140.88 GOPS in "Processor Arithmetic" and 353.8 Mpix/s in "Processor Multimedia" tests, according to LegitReviews. Intel is expected to launch the 7th generation Core processor family, alongside the 200 series chipset, later this year. Kaby Lake is Intel's third CPU micro-architecture for the 14 nm process, after "Skylake" and "Broadwell."

Intel is preparing a broad lineup of enterprise CPUs based on the upcoming 14 nm "Kaby Lake" silicon, besides the first wave of its desktop lineup, with no less than 8 quad-core SKUs. What makes the lineup of the Xeon E3-1200 V6 family more comprehensive than previous generations is the fact that some of the SKUs feature integrated graphics. Predecessors of the E3-1200 V6 series generally lack integrated graphics. Intel denoted parts that feature integrated graphics with Xeon E3-###5 V6, and endowed them with the GT2 graphics available on the "Kaby Lake" common silicon shared between the Xeon E3-1200 V6 and 7th generation Core series.

All eight SKUs launched by Intel are quad-core and feature 8 MB of L3 cache, six of them feature HyperThreading. Three of the SKUs feature integrated graphics. The SKUs without integrated graphics have 74W TDP rating, the ones with it have 78W TDP rating. Some of the notable SKUs include the E3-1280 V6, with 3.90 GHz nominal clocks, E3-1275 V6 with 3.70 GHz clocks and GT2 integrated graphics; and E3-1225 V6, featuring 3.30 GHz clocks, and integrated graphics. The Xeon E3-1200 V6 series processors will be built in the LGA1151 package, and will be compatible with the C232 and C236 chipset motherboards. The company could launch these chips by the end of 2016.

Intel is reportedly planning launch its 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors by Q4-2016. Its desktop variants, built in the existing LGA1151 package, will be the third Intel micro-architecture built on the 14 nm process (after "Skylake" and "Broadwell" architectures). With this generation, Intel is planning to sub-classify LGA1151 into three categories, to ensure people don't try to install higher-powered CPUs on low-power machines.

These are LGA1151-Standard Power; LGA1151-Low Power; and LGA1151-Ultra Low Power. These are defined by the TDP of the packages. Standard Power chips run at 95W TDP, Low Power at 65W TDP, and Ultra Low Power at 35W TDP. There could be motherboards and machines that, depending on their VRM setup, completely shut out Standard Power or even Low Power chips.

Intel is preparing to launch its next-generation NUC (next unit of computing) compact desktops between 2016-17. A leaked company roadmap and slides revealed that the line of NUCs based on the company's higher-performance 7th generation Core processors could be codenamed "Baby Canyon," and the one based on its low-power Celeron processors could be codenamed "Arches Canyon." The company is readying five "Baby Canyon" NUCs under the NUC7 series, and two models under the NUC6C series.

The NUC7 series are driven by 14 nm Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 "Kaby Lake" dual-core processors, with support for dual-channel DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, and a unique USB type-C connector that routes 10 Gb/s USB 3.1, 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3, and DisplayPort 1.2. The platform's second USB 3.1 port is a front-facing type-A. The NUC6C series, on the other hand, is focused on legacy connectivity, and features an analog VGA port, besides HDMI 2.0, and a pair of USB 3.1 ports. The NUC6C series could make its debut within 2016, with the NUC7 following up in 2017.

Intel's first client SSDs based on the company's revolutionary 3D XPoint memory technology, under the company's new Optane brand, could debut alongside the company's 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors (late-2016), according to a leaked company slide. According to the slide, the company could launch at least three Optane branded SSD lines in either late Q4-2016 or Q1-2017, addressing three distinct market segments.

Leading the pack is the Optane "Mansion Beach" SSD, positioned in the upper-end of the "Enthusiast Workstation" segment, with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 interface, and NVMe support. A notch underneath this is the Optane "Brighton Beach" series, featuring PCIe gen 3.0 x2 interface. Interestingly, Intel doesn't have a mainstream SSD based on the 3D XPoint tech around this time, yet has an entry-level "System Accelerator" segment drive codenamed "Stony Beach," which also takes advantage of PCIe gen 3.0 x2. This drive comes in M.2 form-factor. Some time later (2018?), the company plans to launch a single-chip successor to "Stony Beach," codenamed "Carson Beach."

This could very well be the first picture of a socket LGA1151 motherboard based on Intel's upcoming 200-series chipset, which succeeds the 100-series. Named the Z2T0-Anniversary (is that a typo for Z270-Anniversary?), the board is likely based on the chipset that succeeds the Z170-Express (Z270-Express?), and will be timed with Intel's launch of the 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors. MSI did not finalize the board's aesthetics (heatsink design, PCB markings), but the development board seems pretty loaded with features, that rival the current Z170A-Gaming M7 (we know this from the 6-layer PCB markings). MSI says that the board will be launched in November, 2016.

This week on TechPowerUp News (after a brief sabbatical), we'll talk about Intel's exciting new Core i7-7700K "Kaby Lake" processor, Core i7-6950X and i7-6850X "Broadwell-E" benchmarks, and AMD 8-core "Summit Ridge."

It looks like Intel's 7th generation performance desktop processor, the Core i7-7700K, will be a quad-core part, like the seven generations before it. Leaked SiSoft SANDRA benchmark leaderboards reveal interesting details about the chip. To begin with, this quad-core part will feature HyperThreading enabling 8 logical CPUs for the OS to deal with. It will be clocked at 3.60 GHz, with a TurboBoost frequency of 4.20 GHz. Compare this, to the 4.00 GHz nominal and 4.20 GHz TurboBoost clocks of the current-generation i7-6700K. Bear in mind that this is a pre-release engineering-sample, and may not be accurate for the production chips.

The IMC of the i7-7700K will be clocked at 4.00 GHz, and its integrated graphics core will feature 24 execution units, much like "Skylake-D." The cache setup is unchanged, too, with 256 KB per-core L2, and 8 MB shared L3 caches. The "Kaby Lake" silicon will be built on Intel's 14 nm node, and is rumored to be slightly more energy-efficient than "Skylake." It will be built in the LGA1151 package, and will be compatible with current Intel 100-series and future 200-series chipset motherboard. "Kaby Lake" is the third mainline CPU architecture by Intel on the 14 nm node (after "Broadwell" and "Skylake"). The first 7th generation Core processors could launch later this year.

Today FinalWire released an update to the PC editions of its award-winning system information software. Version 5.70 comes with new multi-threaded ray tracing benchmarks, which fully utilize the latest instruction set extensions (AVX, AVX2, FMA). The new floating point tests use more realistic workloads and put more intensive load on the CPU.

The new AIDA64 edition is now capable of displaying hardware monitoring information on RGB LED backlit mice and provides information on the Vulkan capabilities of the latest AMD and NVIDIA graphics processors. Additionally, it can now read and display sensor readings for Corsair AXi power supply units.DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 v5.70

A surprise weekend commit by Intel to the LLVM Clang compiler frontend project Git reveals support for the company's 8th generation Core "Cannonlake" processors. Cannonlake succeeds the 7th generation "Kaby Lake" chips which come out later this year; and is targeted at a 2017 release. Intel's three-letter designation for the architecture, "CNL" tagged a list of processors added to Clang, besides a few processors tagged with "SKL" (Skylake).

The commit confirms that Cannonlake will introduce some new instruction sets, such as AVX-512 (abx512ifma and avx512vbmi), new SHA extensions, and UMIP. With IFMA and VBMI extensions, the AVX-512 instruction set on Cannonlake is more extensive than the one found on current "Skylake" enterprise CPUs (limited to avx512f, avx512cd, avx512dq, avx512bw, and avx512vl).

With Intel's "tick-tock" product development cycle slowing down to a 3-launch cadence per silicon fab process, the company is preparing to launch no less than three micro-architectures on its next 10 nanometer silicon fab process. The first 10 nm CPU by Intel will launch in 2017.

In 2016, Intel will launch its 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processor, its third chip on the 14 nm process (after "Broadwell" and "Skylake"). The first 10 nm micro-architecture will be codenamed "Cannonlake," and will launch some time in 2017. Intel will build chips on the 10 nm for two more generations after "Cannonlake." The company's 2018 micro-architecture, built on the 10 nm will be codenamed "Icelake," and its 2019 release will be codenamed "Tigerlake." It's only 2020 that the company will pull out its next silicon fab process, 5 nm.

Microsoft, in a tactfully-worded blog post by Exec VP for its Windows and Devices Group, Terry Myerson, announced that it won't support older versions of Windows (eg: Windows 7 and Windows 8.1) on the latest/upcoming processors. The software might run on the new hardware, but the company won't provide enterprise support for such platforms. This could include software updates, as the platform won't technically meet the software's requirements.

In the post, Microsoft named upcoming platforms from the big three CPU makers - Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm, to which the company will provide enterprise support only for Windows 10. These include the 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors from Intel, "Bristol Ridge" processors from AMD, and the "8996" SoC from Qualcomm. Machines running a select few models of Core "Skylake" processors will receive enterprise support, but only till 17th July, 2017. After this date, only the most critical security updates will be released for the OS running on those platforms.

This week on TechPowerUp News: Intel's next-generation "Kaby Lake" and previous-generation "Broadwell-E" being slated for 2016; AMD Radeon "Star Wars: Battlefront" bundle with Radeon R9 Fury; and Rocksteady's guarded "no" for multi-GPU support on "Batman Arkham Knight" PC.

The next update to Intel's high-end desktop (HEDT) platform will arrive no sooner than Q2-2016 (April-June), according to a leaked company roadmap slide for its client computing platforms. These chips will be based on Intel's 5th generation Core "Broadwell" micro-architecture, although in the lineup, they will be sold as Core i7-6800 and i7-6900 series.

Core i7 "Broadwell-E" will see Intel release its first consumer 10-core processor, besides 6-core and 8-core. The cheapest ($400-ish) part will likely be 6-core, the mid-tier part ($600-ish) will likely be 8-core, and the top-dog $1000 part 10-core. The TDP for these parts will continue to be rated at 140W. These chips will be supported by existing LGA2011v3 motherboards, with a firmware update, just like Core i7 "Ivy Bridge-E" were supported by existing LGA2011 motherboards of the time. Elsewhere on the roadmap, we see Core "Kaby Lake" desktop processors making an entry in Q4-2016.

Intel's tick-tock product development cycle is disturbed. The cadence of launching a new CPU microarchitecture on a given silicon fab process, miniaturizing it to a smaller fab process, and then launching an even newer micro-architecture on that process; is about to change with the company's 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processor. When launched, it would be the third microarchitecture built on the company's 14 nm process, besides "Skylake" (current new architecture) and "Broadwell" (miniaturization of "Haswell" to 14 nm.) Some of the very first documents related to Kaby Lake began to move about, making news along the way. The architecture is scheduled to launch along with its companion 200-series chipset some time in 2016.

To begin with, Core "Kaby Lake" will continue to be built on the LGA1151 package, and will likely be backwards compatible with existing 100-series chipset motherboards with a firmware update. From what we get to understand from leaked material, it will not be a vastly newer architecture than Skylake, at least not of the kind Skylake was to Broadwell. There are still CPU performance enhancements on offer, an "enhanced full-range BClk overclocking," which could mean improved overclocking on chips with upwards-locked multipliers (although we won't get our hopes too high and call it a return of the BClk overclocking era). A bulk of the R&D will fall into improving the integrated graphics, to support multiple 5K displays, 10-bit HVEC and VP9 hardware-acceleration; platform-integrated Thunderbolt 3, and platform interface support for Intel Optane (3D XPoint memory).