In 2016 Intel will not only refresh its HEDTA (High-end Desktop) processor platform, but also intends to market a new consumer grade 7th Generation processors, code-named Kaby Lake, which is manufactured on the current 14-nanometer manufacturing process, but with some improvements. Kaby Lake will replace the current Skylake and it is true that we will not see a major increase in productivity from this generation, as Intel wants to maintain compatibility with existing platforms, but at the same time provide support for future platforms based on 200-series chipset.

Intel’s 7th Generation Kaby Lake and 200-series Chipset Detailed

We already know that Kaby Lake processor will be available on currently available motherboards with LGA1151 sockets. In a sense, a surprise may be, it is that Intel plans to introduce a new generation of 200 series chipset, and that means the appearance of the refreshed series motherboards. Just as the transition from systems Z87 to Z97 series and 200 with respect to retain most of the solutions from 100 series chipset, but will introduce several improvements after the interfaces that will prepare the whole platform for a new generation of data storage media Optane memory chips using Intel 3D xPoint. Intel’s 200 Series chipset in addition to handling the Kaby Lake processors will support up to 24 PCI Express signal lines (20 in 100 Series chipset), six Serial AT 6 Gb / s and ten USB 3.0 ports.

It is very important that, on currently available motherboards with 100 series chipset, new Kaby Lake processors will be installed, but on the other side Skylake processor will also be installed on the new 200 series chipset without any obstacle. According to reports in Kaby Lake processors, we can expect the efficiency level of approximately 5 to 10%, with comparable clock. A new generation of processors will retain previously offered solutions for computer enthusiasts, and so we expect models with fully unlocked multipliers and TDP of 95 W. Intel admittedly on a HEDTA platform intends to increase the maximum number of CPU cores in processors, but for consumer grade processors the changes will not change will not occur. As a result in new 7th Gen Kaby Lake series processors we will see 95-watt “K” models and 2, 4 core processors with a TDP of 35 and 65 W.

Intel Kaby Lake series processors will also provide support for a single display 5K (60 Hz) or two 5K video streams at a frequency of 30 Hz. In addition, the unit provides hardware decoding of 10-bit graphic video streams HEVC, 10-bit streams VP9, ​​and of course 4K resolution. Additionally, the new platform will natively support Thunderbolt interface 3.

It is worth noting that in the latter case, the additional cache generation eDRAM relative Broadwell-C will have twice the capacity – from 128 to 256 MB. Currently, it is anticipated that the 7th Gen Kaby Lake series processors should appear in the fourth quarter of next year.

Image Credits: Benchlife