When will kaby lake go on sale. Fresh piece of data on the mobile generation of Intel Kaby Lake processors

2017, which began a few days ago, is the year of big processor announcements. So, this year AMD should introduce processors on the new Zen architecture, and Intel is going to introduce a new platform for LGA2066 enthusiasts. But all this - later. In the very first days of the new year, other processors come to the fore - Intel Kaby Lake, which are oriented to mass systems, where the LGA1151 platform is currently used, followers of Skylake.

And to be honest, this is the most uninteresting announcement from the entire set of new products that is expected in the near future. A lot of things have been known about Kaby Lake for a long time, and all this information does not give much optimism. It is well known that the new processor is a slightly tweaked Skylake, which means that it does not bring any special surprises. The fact is that Kaby Lake, in fact, is a forced patch on the canvas of Intel processor plans, and it was done in a relatively simple and hastily way.

Such an insignificant processor announcement has already happened once in the history of Intel - in 2014, the company missed the Broadwell release date and was forced to update the product range with Haswell Refresh and Devil's Canyon. Today's situation is much the same: problems with the implementation of the next 10nm process process are forcing Intel to come up with additional intermediate steps in the processor upgrade relay.

However, Kaby Lake is still not such a passable model. In it, the microprocessor giant was able to implement some improvements in the graphics core, but most importantly, the production of Kaby Lake now uses a 14-nm second-generation process technology. What all this can give ordinary users and enthusiasts, we will analyze in this article.

⇡ # New old process technology, or What is "14-nm +"

A key principle for Intel to develop new processors, well known by the code name "tick-tock", when the introduction of new microarchitectures alternated with the transition to more advanced technological processes, stalled. Initially, each stage in this pipeline took 12-15 months, but the introduction of new production technologies with reduced standards gradually began to take more and more time. And in the end, the 14-nm process technology finally broke the whole measured rhythm of progress. With the release of the Broadwell generation of processors, there were such critical delays that it became clear that the regular and methodical “tick-tock” no longer works.

So, mobile representatives of the Broadwell family hit the market almost a year later than originally planned. Senior desktop processors appeared with an almost one and a half year delay. And middle-level solutions on this design did not reach the stage of mass products at all. Moreover, the introduction of the Broadwell microarchitecture into complex multi-core processors has been so slow that when it finally made its way to older server products in the middle of last year, the mobile segment went almost two generations ahead - and this is also clearly not a normal situation. Even for companies the size of Intel, keeping multiple processor designs and multiple manufacturing technologies up to date is quite a challenge.

The upcoming transition to the next manufacturing technology promises no less problems, so the first processors released using the 10nm process technology can be expected no earlier than the second half of 2017. But if we remember that Intel began to use 14nm technology from the third quarter of 2014, and Skylake processors appeared in mid-2015, it turns out that between Skylake and their 10nm successors there is a too long, two-year pause that can negatively affect both on the image of the company and on sales. Therefore, in the end, Intel, in order to get rid of the constant backlog from the original plans and, if possible, unify its products, decided to radically change the development cycle and add an additional cycle to it. As a result, instead of the “tick-tock” principle, a new three-stage principle “process - architecture - optimization” will now be used, which implies a longer operation of technical processes and the release of not two, but at least three processor designs according to the same standards.

This means that, in accordance with the new concept, Broadwell and Skylake should now be followed not by a transition to 10nm standards, but by the release of another processor design using the old 14nm standards. It was this additional design, developed as part of an additional "optimization", that received the code name Kaby Lake. With its first ultra-oriented media mobile devices ah, we already know each other - they came out at the end of last summer. Now, the company is expanding Kaby Lake's reach into other markets, including traditional PCs.

Due to the fact that Kaby Lake is a kind of impromptu, which was forced to be designed by the microprocessor giant amid problems with the transition to a 10nm process technology, the optimizations embedded in this processor do not concern the microarchitecture, but primarily the production technology. The manufacturer even says that Kaby Lake is being produced using the second generation of the 14nm process technology - 14nm+ or 14FF+. In short, this means that quite significant changes have been made to the semiconductor structure of processor chips, but the resolution of the lithographic process still remains the same. More specifically, Intel's proprietary 3D transistors (3D Tri-gate) in Kaby Lake received , one side, higher silicon ribs of the channels, and on the other hand, increased gaps between the gates of transistors, which actually means a lower density of semiconductor devices on a chip.

Unfortunately, Intel refuses to provide any specific information about how much its 14nm process has changed with the release of Kaby Lake. And most likely, this is due to the fact that these changes can be considered a step backwards. When the company launched its 14nm manufacturing technology and announced the Broadwell generation of processors, it eagerly shared details and claimed that its FinFET process was superior to similar technologies used by other semiconductor manufacturers: TSMC, Samsung and GlobalFoundries. Now that the size and profile of transistors have changed again as part of the 14nm+ process, their characteristics, apparently, do not look as advantageous as before.

However, the absolute dimensions of transistors are of interest only for theoretical discussions about which of the semiconductor manufacturers owns the most advanced technology. We also need a qualitative description of the changes. Increasing the height of the edges of three-dimensional transistors, which are their channel, opens up the possibility of reducing signal voltages and, accordingly, minimizes leakage currents. The expansion of the gaps between the gates, on the contrary, requires an increase in voltage, but it reduces the density of the semiconductor crystal and simplifies the production process.

These two changes, made at the same time, somewhat cancel each other out - and therefore the Kaby Lake crystals operate at the same voltages as the Skylake. But on the other hand, Intel wins on another front: an improved process technology gives a better yield of good chips. Moreover, the rarefaction that occurred in the arrangement of transistors makes it possible to reduce their mutual thermal and electromagnetic influence, and this entails an increase in the frequency potential. As a result, Intel was able to do without compromising the energy efficiency characteristics of the new design, but at the same time get a higher frequency or even overclocking reincarnation of Skylake.

Of course, this raises certain questions that relate to the cost of semiconductor crystals grown using the 14-nm + process technology. Intel says that the average transistor density in Kaby Lake has not changed compared to Skylake, but this is most likely due to redesign and more rational use of previously unused areas of the crystal. However, Intel apparently still needed to change some of the equipment in the factories where Kaby Lake is launched. This, in particular, is indirectly indicated by the length of the announcement of Kaby Lake over time. Obviously, the company was unable to launch mass production of both ultra-mobile dual-core and powerful quad-core crystals precisely because of the need to reconfigure or re-equip production lines.

But the main thing is that the new technical process, which can be called Intel's third 3D tri-gate process, really allowed the company to start producing chips with a higher clock frequency. For example, the base frequency of the older desktop Kaby Lake reached 4.2 GHz, while the flagship Skylake had a 200 MHz lower frequency. Of course, in the absence of improvements in the microarchitecture, all this has some associations with the Devil's Canyon, but Kaby Lake is not just an overclocked Skylake. It turned out thanks to deep tuning, which affected the semiconductor base of the processor.

⇡#Changes in the microarchitecture that do not exist

Despite significant transformations in manufacturing technology, no microarchitectural improvements have been made in Kaby Lake, and this processor has exactly the same IPC characteristic (number of instructions executed per clock) as its predecessor, Skylake. In other words, the whole advantage of the novelty lies in the ability to work at increased clock speeds and in individual changes in the built-in media engine regarding support for hardware encoding and decoding of 4K video.

However, for mobile processors, even seemingly insignificant innovations can have a noticeable effect. After all, process improvements translate into improved energy efficiency, which means a new generation of ultra-mobile devices will be able to offer longer battery life. In processors for desktop computers, we can get an additional increase of 200-400 MHz in clock frequencies, achieved within the previously installed thermal packages, but no more.

At the same time, at the same clock speeds, Skylake and Kaby Lake will produce completely identical performance. The microarchitecture is the same in both cases, so even the usual performance increase of 3-5 percent is simply nowhere to come from. It is easy to confirm this with practical data.

Usually, to illustrate the advantages of new microarchitectures, we use simple synthetic tests that are sensitive to changes in certain processor units. This time we used the benchmarks included in the AIDA64 5.80 test utility. The following charts show the performance of older quad-core processors from the Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake, and Kaby Lake generations running at the same constant frequency of 4.0 GHz.

All three groups of tests - integer, FPU and ray tracing - agree that at the same frequency, Skylake and Kaby Lake give absolutely identical performance. This confirms the absence of any microarchitectural differences. Therefore, it is legitimate to treat Kaby Lake as Skylake Refresh: new processors bring a performance boost only due to increased frequencies.

But the clock speeds of Kaby Lake do not make much of an impression. For example, when Intel released Devil's Canyon, the nominal frequency increase reached 13 percent. Today, the frequency increase of the older Kaby Lake model compared to the older Skylake is only about 7 percent.

And if you consider that in the 14nm processors of Broadwell and Skylake, the maximum frequencies rolled back compared to the 22nm predecessors, it turns out that the older Kaby Lake is only 100 MHz higher than Devil's Canyon in frequency.

⇡ # Kaby Lake line for desktop computers

Intel introduced the first processors of the Kaby Lake generation back in the summer. However, then they were only representatives of the energy-efficient Y and U series, focused on tablet and ultra-mobile computers. All of them had only two cores and a GT2 class graphics core, that is, they were relatively simple chips. The bulk of Kaby Lake, including quad-cores, are coming out just now. And we are talking about updating the assortment of all classes of processors at once, including the 4.5-watt Core Y-series; 15- and 28-watt Core U-series with HD Graphics and Iris Plus; 45-watt mobile Core, including their versions with a free multiplier; 45-watt mobile Xeons; and a selection of S-series desktop processors in 35W, 65W, and 95W TDPs.

Today's announcement covers a total of 36 different processor models, of which only 16 are desktop. But it is about them that we will talk today in detail.

Previously, when updating the lineup of processors for desktop PCs, Intel preferred to space the release of quad-core and dual-core chips in time. But this time the plan is somewhat different. The company still did not dump the entire range of updated LGA1151 processors on the market at once, but the first batch of desktop Kaby Lake turned out to be more massive than usual: it includes not only quad-core Core i7 and Core i5, but also dual-core Core i3. That is, during the second stage of the update, which will tentatively take place in the spring, only processors from the budget Pentium and Celeron families will be presented.

The 7th generation Core i7 desktop processor family (which includes the Kaby Lake design) includes three models:

The Core i7 family continues to include quad-core Hyper-Threaded processors with 8 MB L3 cache. But compared to Skylake, the frequencies of the new Core i7 have increased by 200-300 MHz, and in addition, the processors have official support for DDR4-2400. Otherwise, the new items are similar to their predecessors. Recommended prices have also remained at the usual level: Kaby Lake will replace representatives of the Skylake family in the old price categories.

Approximately the same picture is emerging with Kaby Lake processors belonging to the Core i5 class. Is that here the range is much wider.

The Core i5 line of quad-core processors lacks Hyper-Treading technology, has a 6 MB L3 cache, and offers slightly lower clock speeds compared to the Core i7. But, as in the case of the Core i7, the processors of the Core i5 series of the Kaby Lake generation are faster than their predecessors by 200-300 MHz. Otherwise, they inherited the characteristics from Skylake without any significant changes.

But in the Core i3 series, important changes have taken place. With the introduction of the Kaby Lake design, an overclocker processor with an unlocked multiplier was added to this family, which traditionally received the letter K in the model number.

The Core i3 series combines dual-core processors with support for Hyper-Threading Technology, equipped with 3 or 4 MB L3 cache. The characteristics of the new Kaby Lake generation again repeat the specifications of the corresponding Skylake with the difference only in clock frequencies, which have become 200 MHz higher.

However, in addition to updated versions of the usual dual-core processors, the Core i3 series now has a fundamentally new model - the Core i3-7350K processor, which is characterized by its overclocking capabilities. Previously, Intel never had such offers among dual-core processors (the experiment in the form of the Pentium Anniversary Edition does not count), but now the company seems to have decided to officially lower the entry barrier to the world of overclocking. And the Core i3-7350K seems like a really interesting option for budget-conscious enthusiasts, as it's priced a whopping 30 percent less than the overclocking Core i5. Moreover, it is very likely that due to the reduced core area with low heat dissipation, this processor will also be able to please with a high overclocking potential, which we will try to test in practice as soon as possible.

A few words should be said about the graphics core of new products. All desktop processors of the Kaby Lake generation received the same GT2-level integrated graphics, which includes 24 execution units - exactly as many as Skylake processors had in the GT2 core. And because the underlying GPU architecture hasn't changed in the new processor design, Kaby Lake's 3D performance remains the same. The appearance of a higher numerical index 630 in the name of HD Graphics is entirely due to the new capabilities of the hardware media engine, which added tools for fast video encoding / decoding in VP9 and H.265 formats, as well as full support for materials in 4K resolution.

⇡#New features of Intel QuickSync

In terms of traditional processor capabilities, Kaby Lake does not look like a major step forward compared to Skylake. This feeling is created due to the fact that there are no microarchitectural improvements in the new processor. Nevertheless, Intel called the new processor its own code name - Kaby Lake, which is trying to convey the idea that we are not just Skylake with increased operating frequencies. And partly this is true. Some fundamental improvements that may be noticeable to end users are in the graphics core of the new CPUs. Despite the fact that the GPU architecture of Kaby Lake processors belongs to the ninth generation (like Skylake), its multimedia capabilities expanded significantly. In other words, the basic design of the graphics core (including the number of execution units) in Kaby Lake has remained the same, but the blocks responsible for encoding and decoding video content have undergone significant improvements both in terms of functionality and performance.

Most importantly, the Kaby Lake media engine can now fully hardware accelerate the encoding and decoding of 4K HEVC video with the Main10 profile. In Skylake, we recall that HEVC Main10 decoding was also announced, but there it was implemented according to a hybrid scheme, and the load was distributed between the media engine, the shaders of the built-in GPU and the computing resources of the processor itself. Because of this, high-quality playback was achieved only in the case of 4Kp30 video, but more complex formats could not be played qualitatively and without frame drops even on older CPU models. With Kaby Lake, these problems should not arise: new processors decode HEVC video, relying on the media engine alone, and this allows them to digest complex profiles and high resolutions no stress on cores: high efficiency, no dropouts, and low power consumption. Intel promises that specialized blocks of the Kaby Lake media engine can have enough power not only to play 4K video at 60 and even 120 frames per second, but also to simultaneously decode up to eight standard 4Kp30 AVC or HVEC streams.

In addition, the Kaby Lake media engine received hardware support for the VP9 codec developed by Google. Hardware video decoding is possible with 8-bit and 10-bit color depth, and encoding - with 8-bit. In Skylake, work with VP9 video, as in the case of HEVC, was carried out according to a hybrid hardware-software scheme. As a result, Kaby Lake can be very useful for those who like to watch 4K videos on YouTube, since the VP9 codec is being actively implemented in this service.

In total, the situation with hardware support in Kaby Lake for various video formats is as follows:

The block diagram of the graphic part of Kaby Lake is shown in the illustration below. There are almost no structural differences from Skylake, but they are present at a lower level. Thus, hardware support for HEVC Main10 and VP9 has been introduced into the MFX (Multi-Format Codec) block. As a result, this block received the ability to independently decode video in VP9 and HEVC formats with 10-bit color depth, as well as HEVC encoding with 10-bit color and VP9 with 8-bit color.

In addition to MFX, the VQE (Video Quality Engine) block, which is responsible for the operation of the hardware encoder, has also been updated. Innovations are aimed at improving the quality and performance when working with AVC-video. So, Intel wants to gradually introduce the ability to work with HDR content and systematically expands the supported color at different stages of the pipeline. However, it must be borne in mind that this moment all encoding functions focus on 4:2:0 chroma subsampling only. This is not a problem for amateur video work, but professional applications require more accurate 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 encoding, which is not yet available in Intel QuickSync.

I must say that usually users of Intel desktop processors do not pay too much attention to the capabilities of media engines. After all, they are part of the graphics core, which in ordinary productive systems is turned off in favor of a discrete graphics card. However, in fact, in modern Intel platforms, the media engine can be used even with a discrete video card. To do this, it is only necessary not to disable the integrated graphics, but to activate it through the BIOS of the motherboard as a secondary video adapter. In this case, two graphics adapters will be detected in the operating system at once, and after installing the Intel HD Graphics driver, the Intel QuickSync processor media engine will become available for use.

Here are a few simple examples the practical benefits of such a configuration.

Here, for example, is how things stand with the playback of complex media content on the Core i7-7700K - a 4Kp60 HEVC Main10 movie with a bitrate of about 52 Mbps. Decoding is done using Intel Quick Sync.

There are no frame drops, processor load is minimal. The built-in graphics of the Core i7-6700K, and even more so of processors with earlier designs, could not play the same video without dropping frames. Therefore, to play such videos, you used to rely on software decoding, which works only on high-performance platforms, and even then not always.

Another example is video transcoding. As part of our introduction to Kaby Lake, we looked at the performance of transcoding the original 1080p video with various software and hardware encoders. For testing purposes, we used the popular HandBrake 1.0.1 utility, which allows transcoding both via Intel QuickSync and programmatically using x264 and x265 encoders.

The tests used the standard Fast 1080p30 quality profile.

The performance benefits that can be obtained by transcoding using the hardware capabilities of the media engine are more than significant. Despite the fact that in both cases the result was approximately the same in quality with a bit rate of about 3.7 Mbps, the Intel QuickSync engine can offer many times higher transcoding speed, which also occurs with a minimum load on the processor cores. True, the speed of hardware transcoding in Kaby Lake has almost not increased compared to Skylake.

Another example is streaming. Since Intel QuickSync allows you to encode video without the load on the processing cores of the processor, streamers for their broadcasts may well make do with one system with a Kaby Lake processor. For example, the popular online streaming software OBS Studio supports H.264 encoding via the Intel media engine and in this case is able to work in parallel with gaming applications running on a discrete video card without reducing their performance.

In other words, even in a productive system equipped with an external graphics card, you can find a lot of applications for Intel QuickSync. And its increased functionality in Kaby Lake comes in handy. The hardware multimedia capabilities of this block, which has become almost omnivorous, really expand the scope of a typical personal computer.

Speaking of the integrated graphics core in Kaby Lake, we cannot fail to mention that, like in Skylake, it can support up to three 4K monitors simultaneously. However, despite expectations, native support for the HDMI 2.0 interface in the new generation of desktop processors has not appeared. This means that HDMI-connected monitors on most motherboards will only be able to deliver a maximum resolution of 4096 x 2160 @ 24Hz. Full-fledged 4K resolution, as before, will only be available when using a DisplayPort 1.2 connection. However, there is an alternative solution that allows system manufacturers to equip HDMI 2.0 outputs, it consists in using additional LSPCon (Level Shifter - Protocol Converter) converters installed in the DP path. However, this approach, of course, requires additional costs.

However, Intel promises that systems based on Kaby Lake processors will be able to play DRM-protected premium 4K content (for example, from a premium Netflix account) without any problems in terms of compatibility. If you don't have an HDMI 2.0 port, a DisplayPort system connected to a HDCP2.2-enabled 4K TV or monitor will work.

As a result, in the Kaby Lake media engine, an answer was given to the main complaint against Skylake - about the lack of hardware acceleration of 4Kp60 HEVC Main10. Plus, some other useful features and improvements have been added, making Kaby Lake integrated graphics really better suited to work with the growing popularity of 4K video and content streaming services. However, keep in mind that hardware improvements alone are not enough to introduce new features, and there is a lot of work ahead to update and adapt. software.

⇡#Chipsets for Kaby Lake: Intel Z270 and others

Traditionally, along with new processors, Intel also introduces new sets of system logic to the market. That is, despite the fact that the "tick-tock" principle has been replaced by the "process - architecture - optimization" principle, everything remains the same with chipsets: they are updated at each stage of progress. However, this time, the minor improvements in Kaby Lake compared to Skylake made it possible to maintain full compatibility with the old platform. Kaby Lake is not only installed in the already familiar LGA1151 processor socket, but also works great in motherboards with old hundredth series logic sets.

The optimizations that took place in the production technology of new processors did not require changes in the power scheme. It, as in the case of Skylake, Kaby Lake should be on the board, and not in the processor. At the same time, the requirements for voltages and currents remained the same as they were before. And this means that there are no circuitry obstacles to installing Kaby Lake in old LGA1151 boards. The only thing that is required for new CPUs to be supported by older motherboards is the presence of the appropriate microcode in the BIOS of the motherboard. And most boards based on the Z170 and other chipsets of the previous generation received the necessary update in a timely manner.

The new chipsets with model numbers from the 200th series are designed by Intel rather out of habit and simply so that motherboard manufacturers have some reason to upgrade platforms. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that, in terms of capabilities, the differences from previous chipsets turned out to be minimal and, one might say, even cosmetic. There are no really useful additions in the form of support for USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt interfaces in the Intel Z270 and other chips in the series, and the main improvement that Intel is pushing is support for promising Intel Optane drives.

Here's how they relate to each other purely specifications senior chipsets in the 100th and 200th series:

Moreover, with regard to the main marketing argument in favor of the 200th series chipsets - support for Optane, Intel is cunning in many ways. In fact, Optane drives do not require any special interfaces or connectors. To work, they will need a regular M.2 slot with a PCI Express 3.0 x4 bus running into it, and many older LGA1151 boards have such slots. In the case of new chipsets, we are simply talking about the fact that they have slightly increased the number of PCI Express lanes, and this allows board manufacturers to easily add more than one M.2 slot to their platforms. The fact is that, as expected, the first versions of Intel Optane will not replace conventional SSDs. They will receive extremely small volumes and will be positioned as additional caching drives, so they are supposed to have a separate independent slot, which is easier to implement in 200-series chipsets. In addition, a special Rapid Storage Technology driver will be made for the new chipsets, which will contain some algorithms optimized for Optane, similar in essence to the new version of Intel Smart Response technology.

Thus, the significant difference between the Z270 and the Z170 should be considered not the contrived support for Optane, but the maximum number of PCI Express 3.0 lines supported by the chipset increased by four (up to 24). Moreover, this change was also reflected in the change in the I / O Port Flexibility scheme, within which the simultaneous implementation of 30 high-speed interfaces is now allowed. At the same time, the number of SATA and USB ports remained at the old level, but in the Z270 in the USB 3.0 standard, not 8, but 10 ports can work.

Many of the new 200-series chipsets consist of more than just one Intel Z270. We decided to focus on it because it is the most equipped and the only one that supports processor overclocking (both through changing multipliers and the frequency of the base clock generator). However, in addition to it, the line of new chipsets includes a couple of simpler consumer chipsets - H270 and B250, as well as a couple of chipsets for a corporate environment - Q270 and Q250, which are distinguished by the presence of a set of Intel Standard Manageability functions for remote control and administration.

The H270 and B250, which are most interesting for ordinary users, differ from the Z270 not only in the absence of overclocking capabilities. They reduce the number of PCI Express 3.0 lanes and USB 3.0 ports, as well as cut down the number of M.2 interfaces that can be connected to the Intel RST driver. In addition, low-end chipsets do not allow splitting the PCI Express processor bus into several slots.

A complete picture of the correspondence between the characteristics of the 200 series logic sets can be obtained from the following table.

⇡ # Test processor: Core i7-7700K

For testing, we were provided with a senior representative of the Kaby Lake desktop line, Core i7-7700K.

This quad-core processor with Hyper-Threading Technology and 8MB L3 cache has a factory clock speed of 4.2GHz. However, the test showed that in practical conditions, the frequency of the Core i7-7700K is 4.4 GHz with an all-core load and 4.5 GHz with a low-threaded load. Thus, in terms of frequencies, the older Kaby Lake managed to overtake not only the Core i7-6700K, but also the old Core i7-4790K, which until recently remained the highest frequency Intel processor for desktop systems.

The operating voltage of our copy was 1.2 V: there are no significant differences from the processors of previous generations.

In the idle state, the Kaby Lake frequency drops to 800 MHz, and, in addition to the usual Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology, the processor also supports the newer Intel Speed ​​Shift technology. It transfers frequency control from the operating system to the processor itself. Due to this, a significant improvement in response time to changing load is achieved: the processor exits power-saving states faster and, if necessary, turns on turbo mode faster. But there is a limitation: Speed ​​Shift technology only works in Windows 10.

Left - Core i7-7700K (Kaby Lake), right - Core i7-6700K (Skylake)

Certain changes have also taken place in appearance CPU. True, they are more cosmetic in nature. For example, Intel has not abandoned the use of thin textolite, which appeared in Skylake, in Kaby Lake. But the shape of the heat-distributing cover has changed. She has additional tides that increase the contact area with the sole of the cooler. However, this, most likely, will have little effect on the efficiency of heat removal. After all, the main problem in the way of heat from the processor chip is that the polymer thermal interface does not best quality, which is located under the processor cover. And in this regard, everything is as before: highly efficient solder remains the prerogative of flagship processors in LGA2011-v3 execution.

There are also changes from the processor "belly". However, Kaby Lake retains compatibility with the LGA1151 socket, so there are very few differences compared to Skylake. The stabilizing circuit remained the same, so the set of attachments was preserved. A slight difference can be seen only in their relative position.

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The end of Intel's tick-tock manufacturing rhythm means that Kaby Lake has become the third architecture based on a 14nm processor. Starting with Broadwell (5th generation, tick), the manufacturer introduced a new microarchitecture Skylake (6th generation, "tock"), which was optimized in the 7th generation. Energy efficiency improvements and higher frequencies have been achieved through less stressful transistor layouts. Intel has launched a wide range of new Kaby Lake processors, ranging from the 15W and 28W mobile KBL-U and 45W KBL-H to KBL-S workstation models rated at 35-91W. There are also 3 overclockable options, including i3.

Lake Kabi

The first official launch of Kaby Lake took place in September 2016 and included 6 mobile processors designed for installation in premium laptops and mini PCs. They performed well, and at the beginning of 2017, Intel introduced more than 25 new models. The main feature of Kaby Lake processors is support for Optane Memory and 200-series chipsets. In addition, Gen9 graphics have been updated with Main10 and other low power video playback systems, and circuitry has been corrected to improve the voltage frequency curve.

Overview of Kaby Lake processors

Intel defines its product lines in Y, U, H, and S segments. Recent changes to the naming scheme have made it difficult to tell which segment a chip belongs to without knowing the TDP or core schematics.

Using the Kaby Lake Pentium, Core m3, Core i5/i7, and Core i5/i7 vPro nomenclature, the Y-series are hyper-threaded 2- and 4-core processors with a TDP of 4.5W that are targeted at small and light mobile PC. Such low power consumption is achieved thanks to the ultra-low base frequency. This allows you to install batteries with a smaller capacity, providing a small weight and a long time. battery life.

The U series consumes 28W and 15W, has 2 hyper-threaded cores but with a much higher clock speed. Includes Kaby Lake Pentium, Celeron, Core i3/i7 processors. They are often cheaper than the Y range because they are not limited by stringent voltage and frequency requirements and find use in premium gaming laptops. Some processors are equipped with an additional 64 or 128 MB eDRAM chip, which serves as a DRAM buffer with main memory and affects graphics speed.

The H-series chips have a rated power consumption of 45W and deliver the ultimate in mobile performance. Intel markets them under the VR Ready brand, which indicates their use in virtual reality systems. Available in various combinations of components and performance.

The S series is designed for desktop PCs. Nothing remarkable. There were 3 versions of the Core i7 released with 4 cores of the Kaby Lake processor and hyper-threading, one of which allows overclocking, and the other is low power. There are also several 4-core i5s in similar modifications and 2-core i3 chips.

The new KBL-S lineup features an overclockable Core i3-7350K, a hyper-threaded 60W dual-core processor with a base clock of 4.2GHz (no turbo) and a configurable multiplier. This was in response to the requests of enthusiasts, who in this way achieve CPU performance corresponding to devices more than high class.

Speed ​​Shift v2

One of Skylake's new features was the Speed ​​Shift feature. With the correct driver present, the system may refuse to control the processor's turbo mode in favor of the processor itself. Using an internal metric collection, combined with access to system sensors, the CPU can adjust the frequency with greater accuracy and faster than the OS. The purpose of Speed ​​Shift is to allow the system to respond faster to performance requests (such as interacting with a touch screen or browsing the web), reduce latency, and improve the user experience. Therefore, when the operating system is constrained by predefined P-state parameters, a Speed ​​Shift-enabled processor with the right driver is able to change CPU frequency multipliers almost continuously over a wide range of values.

The first iteration of Speed ​​Shift reduced the peak frequency gain time from 100ms to 30ms. The only limitation was the driver, which is now included with Windows 10 and shipped by default.

With the advent of the new architecture, the hardware control of Speed ​​Shift has improved. Intel hasn't changed the name of the technology, but the improvements have been significant. The driver has not changed, so it works with all modifications of Speed ​​Shift, but the processor can now reach its maximum frequency in 10-15ms, instead of 30.

Optane memory

One of the goals of the memory industry is to create something as fast as DRAM, but more durable, so that data can be retained even when there is no power. DRAM uses energy to update data, but is the main source of software data movement. Much of software acceleration depends on the speed of memory access or the ability to have data closer to the core when needed, so having large, close, non-volatile memory can increase performance and reduce power consumption. Most of the decade was spent on its creation. Intel (and Micron) officially announced their solution, 3D XPoint, a year ago, but it hasn't been officially released yet.

media opportunities

Although in terms of functionality, Intel Kaby Lake does not differ much from Skylake, there are clear improvements in the graphics. As with the CPU cores, the 14nm+ process allowed for higher frequencies and improved GPU performance, but perhaps more impressive changes are the upgraded media capabilities. The core architecture of the Gen9 GPU has not changed, but Intel has revised the video processing units to add functionality and improve efficiency.

4K hardware acceleration

The main difference in the Kaby Lake-U / Y media engine is the presence of full hardware acceleration for encoding and decoding 4K videos in the HEVC Main10 format. This is in contrast to Skylake, which supports 4k p30, but does so using a hybrid process that shares the load between the CPU, media processors, and GPU shader cores. As a result, Kaby Lake not only handles more HEVC profiles, but consumes only a fraction of the power at a much higher throughput. Also in the new architecture, 8-bit encoding and 8/10-bit decoding of the VP9 codec from Google were implemented. Skylake offered hybrid codec decoding, which did not provide sufficient power efficiency. The new HEVC Main10 and VP9 hardware acceleration scheme is part of the MFX block. The video quality engine received support for HDR and Wide Color Gamut.

According to Intel, Kaby Lake U/Y is capable of handling up to 6 4K30 AVC and HEVC codecs simultaneously. Support for HEVC decoding is rated at 4K60 up to 120 Mbps, which is necessary for playing premium content and UHD Blu-ray. Thanks to process improvements, even 4.5W Y chips are able to process HEVC 4Kr30 in real time. Thus, in the U and Y series, one of the main complaints about Skylake was resolved: the lack of hardware accelerated 4Kp60 HEVC Main10 decoding. There are other improvements that provide a more satisfying multimedia experience for consumers.

Connectivity

Kaby Lake U/Y processor graphics flow is the same as Skylake. This means that the iGPU serves up to 3 displays at the same time.

One disappointing aspect of Skylake that wasn't addressed in Kaby Lake-U/Y is the lack of a native HDMI 2.0 port with HDCP 2.2 support. Intel is in favor of adding LSPCon to DP 1.2. This approach has been used on several motherboards and even mini PCs such as the Skull Canyon NUC (NUC6i7KYK) and the ASRock Beebox-S.

Chipsets

The new PCH controller hubs are paired with LGA1151 sockets and thus support both Skylake and Kaby Lake. 100 series chips such as the Z170 are also compatible with new processors after a BIOS update.

Today is pretty predictable. The Z-series is focused on multi-graphics chips and overclocking, H is notable for the absence of the latter, Q is intended for platforms with vPro support and B is focused on cheaper solutions.

There are also 3 mobile chipsets available with similar differences, including a Xeon kit in the CM238 that allows the use of the new E3-1500 v6 processors.

Compatible Boards

Motherboards for Kaby Lake processors - ASUS Maximus IX Code, GIGABYTE Z270X, Supermicro С7Z270-CG, ASRock Z270, MSI Z270, ECS Z270H4-І. They have new controllers, including the USB 3.1 10Gb/s ASMedia ASM2142, which uses two PCIe 3.0 lanes to support up to 2 ports. Previously, only 1 PCIe 3.0 slot was used for this.

The Realtek ALC1220 audio controller has also been updated: there is a 120 dBA output and a 113 dBA input. This should provide the best measurable quality. The network connection is still handled by the Intel I219-V gigabit Ethernet controller. The big change here should be the introduction of the multi-gigabit Aquantia 5G/2.5G AQC107. New is the 10Gbps USB 3.1 interface on the front of the MSI Z270 Gaming M7. It is currently activated via ASM2142 using two PCIe lanes to provide one USB 3.1.

Technically everything motherboards, equipped with Kaby Lake, should be able to support Optane Memory. LED backlighting also plays a big role in the 200-series motherboards: only a few models in each price category are deprived of it.

Performance

As expected, there is no performance gain. Based on user feedback, the 3GHz Kaby Lake i7-7700K performs similarly to the 3GHz Core i7-6700K (with hyperthreading disabled). The only difference is in memory support. Whereas Skylake is DDR4-2133 compatible, Kaby Lake is DDR4-2400 compatible, however this does not significantly affect almost all benchmarks.

Power consumption

One of the main advantages of the Kaby Lake processor is the same frequency with less power or more with the same power compared to Skylake. The i7-7700K supports 4.5GHz turbo mode with 91W of thermal power. All tested Kaby Lake processors, even with manual overclocking, have close to calculated consumption, although usually the CPU supplier significantly overestimates the voltage required for stable operation of the chip.

Overclocking

According to user feedback, their perception of the increase in clock speed in Kaby Lake has changed thanks to the new AVX Offset feature found in the BIOS of every Z270 motherboard. AVX instructions are known to be detrimental to overclocking, reducing stability and making it difficult to move code without AVX. The user can now apply an offset (eg -10x) which will decrease the multiplier when the AVX command is encountered. This means that when overclocking a Kaby Lake CPU to 4.8GHz with 8x AVX bias, the AVX command will run at 4.0GHz, generating less heat and keeping the system stable.

According to users, the 4.8GHz AVX frequency is easily achievable even at a reasonable voltage. The i7-7700K reaches 4.9GHz with an AVX offset of -10, while the i5-7600K reaches 5.0GHz even with AVX enabled.

By and large, overclocking the i7-7700K from 4.2 to 4.8 GHz does not provide a practical advantage. A difference of 600 MHz corresponds to a 13-14% increase in performance, which is not much. However, given the voltage profile of the chips, 4.5 GHz provides good temperatures and voltage, still outperforming the i7-4790K or i7-6600K.

Test results

Based on user feedback, the Kaby Lake CPU comparison confirms that the Core i7-7700K wins in almost every test (except for a few where the i7-5775C still outperforms due to 128MB eDRAM).

The Core i5-7600K performs pretty much the same except for low-threaded scenarios (such as ray tracing), but the processor certainly doesn't fall short in day-to-day tasks. The Core i5-7600K, due to the lack of IPC growth, is essentially the base i5-6600K, aside from a few extra megahertz. The processor overclocks well - its temperature is much better than the i7-7700K, but it is nothing more unusual.

The elephant in the china shop, however, is the Core i3-7350K. At $159, it's only $11 from the Core i5-7400, which costs $170 but has 2 two full cores, albeit at a lower frequency (3GHz vs. 4.2GHz).

Is the new Intel architecture a new milestone?

For the most part, Kaby Lake doesn't offer much change. Support for Optane memory is a plus, but otherwise it's just a shift in the power/efficiency curve. Power consumed at 3.0 GHz last year is now 3.3 GHz, which means saving time spent doing work or saving electricity. Speed ​​Shift v2 is a really nice feature, but limited to Windows 10 users. Of more interest is the set of new controllers (ALC1220, E2500, Aquantia). The optimization architecture does not cause admiring surprise, but provides a 10% increase in efficiency.

In this article, we have made a comparison between Kaby Lake and Skylake, sixth and seventh generation Intel processors, which will help you decide which processor is better and which one to choose.

When Intel announced Kaby Lake, it quickly became apparent that the traditional upgrade cycle was over. Kaby Lake is just a "tweaked" version of Skylake, but it brings some important new features with it. For those unfamiliar, Intel used a tiktok schedule, which meant they were (tick) introducing a new processor that had a new design and performance.

Then there was the next range of processors (tock) that specialized in improving and optimizing the same architecture to provide better performance. Kaby Lake is, in fact, a “tock”, an improvement on Skylake. However, don't limit your choice to Intel. AMD Ryzen processors offer an unbeatable alternative these days.

What are the new features of Kaby Lake processors

So we've established that 7th gen Intel Core processors basically just optimize 6th gen chips. For desktop PCs, they both use the same LGA 1151 socket, so you can use Kaby Lake on a motherboard that had a Skylake chip installed (and use the same CPU cooler).

However, since Kaby Lake has several new features that motherboards based on 100 series chipsets do not support them. The best package is a Kaby Lake chip and a motherboard with a 200-series chipset.

4K video

The new Kaby Lake has an updated graphics chip that supports HEVC encoding and decoding. This is the latest video codec that is designed for 4K video, which means that the Kaby Lake chip will allow you to watch Netflix, Amazon or any other 4K HEVC video without stuttering. It also supports VP9 decoding, which is a Google codec designed to compete with HEVC.

As the GPU handles the load, the CPU cores can be used for other purposes so your PC won't freeze while you're watching 4K video. In addition, Kaby Lake supports HDCP 2.2, which is, simply put, the copy protection used for 4K video, and you'll need it to connect a compatible monitor and view copy-protected UHD content.

This is a real benefit for laptops as native support for HEVC and VP9 means the CPU won't be as heavily stressed as the Skylake chip - it will have to use its CPU cores to decode video and therefore battery life should be longer when watching video. 4K. Intel says it could actually be 260 percent better.

Intel Optane support

Support for the new Optane memory from Intel. It's similar to an NVMe SSD, but faster - and sits in a single M.2 slot on the motherboard. But it is only compatible with the Z270 chipset, which requires a Kaby Lake processor (you can run a Skylake processor on a Z270 board, but you won't be able to use Optane Memory).

Performance

Kaby Lake chips work better than Skylake. Not great, but there is a slight improvement. Base clocks are higher than the equivalent Skylake processor, but Turbo Boost is the same.

While you'll need additional tools and programs to notice the difference in most applications, it won't be hard to spot the improvement in 3D graphics power, at least for mobile chips.

The Kaby Lake U series processors (we'll get to them later) have Intel Iris Plus graphics, which promise 65% better performance than the GPU in equivalent Skylake chips.

Unfortunately, on desktop chips, the Intel HD Graphics 630 GPU is largely identical to the 530 found in Skylake. The only real update here is support for HEVC and VP9.

PCIe lanes

Skylake processors have 20 connected lanes with PCH (Platform Controller Hub), but Kaby Lake adds four more. With 16 PCIe lanes on the processor itself, a Kaby Lake system can have 40 PCIe lanes.

USB and Thunderbolt

These additional connections are important, especially when PCIe is now being used for storage, as SATA speeds become too restrictive.

Kaby Lake also supports the latest version of USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2), which means speeds up to 10Gbps, not 5Gbps on Skylake. Again, this is built-in support without the need for a separate controller or extra board on the motherboard. Similarly, there is built-in support for Thunderbolt 3.0.
Kaby Lake systems can have up to 14 USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports and three PCIe 3.0 storage slots.

You can spend up to $750 on a Z270 motherboard like the Asus Maximus IX Extreme, although most are significantly cheaper.

Low power Kaby Lake-Y processors

One confusing aspect is that Intel has renamed the ultra-low-power Kaby Lake chips, which you think will be called Core m like Skylake, to Core i3, i5 and i7.

These so-called Y-series chips have a TDP of just 4.5W and provide much less performance than their U-series counterparts. They tend to be used in thin-and-light hybrids like the Dell XPS 2-in-1, but the "Core i" branding might fool you into thinking you're getting the same chip as in the XPS 13 laptop.
So keep an eye on it.

What is better to choose Kaby Lake or Skylake?

Obviously, when choosing two PCs or laptops for the same price - with a Skylake processor and with Kaby Lake - you would choose a Kaby Lake machine.

For laptops with integrated graphics, you'll see better performance from the Kaby Lake chip thanks to the Iris Plus GPU, as well as better performance and battery life when watching 4K Netflix.

Indeed, a Skylake-based laptop may not even have the CPU power to play 4K video. However, there aren't many laptops equipped with 4K screens.

Our verdicts

If you already have a computer with a sixth generation Skylake processor, there is no point in upgrading it to Kaby Lake. You'll miss out on most of the new features, and you won't see a performance boost unless you upgrade from older i5 processors, say to the Core i7-7700K. If you have an older computer with an Ivy Bridge (3rd gen) or Haswell (4th gen) processor, then it might be time to upgrade - unless it was a late-series Core i7, in which case you might not notice a significant boost. performance.

Video: Comparison of Intel processors, which is better Kaby Lake vs Skylake?

Intel has scheduled an update to its line of Intel Core processors for desktop PCs. The chips created on the Kaby Lake S microarchitecture are not a radically new product, but just a refinement of the current, 6th generation. Therefore, you should not expect a significant increase in performance from the new CPUs. However, the manufacturer promises that while maintaining the same level of energy consumption, the performance will increase slightly.

There has not yet been an official announcement of the Intel Core i7 7700K and other new-generation processors, although data about them appeared on the network a long time ago (back in late spring). However, WCCFTech and other sources have scoured the data for specs, pricing, and a release date for the Intel Core i7 7700K and other 7-series chips. According to their information, shipments of processors to retailers will begin in November. It was previously reported that the release of new CPUs on sale will occur from the 50th week of 2016 to the 2nd week of 2017. Now the data has been clarified: the release of the chips is scheduled for January 5th. At this time, several new Intel Core i5 and i7 will appear. The release of Intel Core i3 and budget Pentium will take place later, from February to March 2017.

Features of the Intel Core i7 7700K and other new products

The price of the Intel Core i7 7700K will be from $350, the processor will receive 4 cores operating at a frequency of 4.2 GHz and 8 MB of cache. Its non-overclocked version, the Intel Core i7 7700, is $40 cheaper ($310). For the Intel Core i5 7600K, you will have to pay from $240. It is also equipped with 4 cores, but operates at a frequency of 3.8 GHz, and the cache is reduced to 6 MB. The version of this processor without the letter K will cost twenty less, 220 USD. A more modest chip, Intel Core i5 7500, will get 4 cores with a frequency of 3.4 GHz, and 6 MB of cache. For him, the manufacturer will ask from 200 US dollars. The i5 7400 model, whose frequency is reduced to 3 GHz, will cost even less: its price starts from 190 USD.

The characteristics of other Intel processors are also known, but their prices are still a mystery. The Core series will be replenished with a dual-core Intel Core i3 7300, running at 4 GHz, with 4 MB of cache. Its price, approximately, will be about 150 dollars, but in this case the information is not confirmed by anything. The series will also include the budget Intel Pentium G4620, which for the first time in this niche will acquire HyperThreading support. It will operate at a frequency of 3.8 GHz and will receive 3 MB of cache memory. Closes the list of new products Intel Pentium G3950, operating at 3 GHz and equipped with 2 MB of cache. It is quite possible that by the time of the release this processor will be “demoted” and it will be named Celeron, because the G3900 model bears exactly this name.

The manufacturer is preparing the 200th series of chipsets for new processors, and major manufacturers are already creating motherboards based on them. However, the current generation of motherboards based on 100-series logic will also support the new Intel processors. Developers are already releasing BIOS/UEFI updates that add support for upcoming 7th generation Intel processors.

Kaby Lake is the next generation of processors from Intel. We are currently using the SkyLake generation. At least most of us, if you are not in a hurry to buy an updated .

You will still see laptops for sale with previous generations of processors, like Broadwell and Haswell, but officially they are already in the past.

In this article, we have collected all the details you need to know about the upcoming revolution in the world of Intel Core Kaby Lake processors.

In pursuit!

• What's this? 7th generation Intel Core processors;
• When to expect? Laptops out now, PCs in Q1 2017;
• What is the price? Pricing is similar to modern Intel Skylake;

ProcessorsIntelKabyLake: Release Date

On July 22, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich confirmed that Kaby Lake chipsets were moving from development fields to factory conveyor belts and then to PC manufacturers. In other words, Kaby Lake processors are officially on the doorstep.

This means we could expect some Kaby Lake (PCs) before the end of 2016. However, at the moment it is not known exactly which chipsets will come in the first wave.

Intel Kaby Lake includes Intel Core i3/i5/i7 desktop and laptop processors and new Core M.

Even after Intel's keynote at Intel's own Developer Forum in San Francisco, California, we don't know a release date for Intel's 7th generation desktop processors, but all signs point to CES in January, at least that's what they think some publications, and we agree with them.

At the same time, we have not experienced a lack of information leaks regarding the new Kaby Lake processors and the release date. Some tech publications like WCCFtech have unearthed documents that point to prices and specifications, while the folks at Tom's Hardware claim to have bought their own (possibly retail) Kaby Lake processor.

ProcessorsIntelKabyLake

In addition to the mobile series, 20 Kaby Lake processors are waiting for their users on sale. From the Pentium G3930 to the Core i7-7700K, there's almost a complete selection available with the latest generation.

The Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K is the flagship processor this time, unlocked for overclocking, as indicated by the "K" in the name. The new Kaby Lake series continues to use the company's serial names: "7" indicates the Kaby Lake series of processors, since it is the seventh generation, and Skylake are the 6th generation with the numbers "6" in the number.

The Core i7-7700K is a 4-core hyper-threaded processor, and while early benchmark results (for March) promised us clock speeds between 3.6GHz and 4.2GHz (Turbo Boost), recent reports tease fans a lot more. fruitful 4.2GHz / 4.5GHz. Of course, actual results may vary.

The original leaks come from SiSoft's benchmark benchmark database, but unfortunately these data are significantly worse than the current generation i7-6700K. The positive side of the rumors promises us more reliable "boost" per core, 200 MHz / 500 MHz (Boost), respectively, compared to its predecessor.

The leaks also hint at a price tag of $350 ($22,000), which is very close to the cost we'd expect with an equivalent Skylake generation processor at release.

Next up is the Core i7-7500U, which went online alongside the i7-7700K. This is the kind of CPU we'd eventually expect to see in high-end ultrabooks. It's a relatively high performance chipset, but it still bears the "U" in its name, meaning it belongs to the ultra-low voltage family.

It has two cores, four threads and is clocked at 2.7GHz - 2.9GHz (Turbo). Some of you may turn up your nose at dual-core chipsets on laptops, but they play an important role.

On the mobile front, the previous generation Core M5 and M7 are now integrating the "Y" in the Core M family. These include the Core m3-7Y30, Core i5-7Y54, and Core i7-7Y75, which are used in leading laptops with fanless designs and convertible formats to addition to U-series processors.

The first laptopsIntelKabyLake

Where will we see these chipsets end up? Well, they currently appear on a short list of laptops, some of which have already made it through our reviews. The new chips are featured on the Razer Blade Stealth and HP Specter x360, along with ultrabooks, 2-in-1 hybrids, and traditional laptops, among a host of others.

If you're wondering why the latest MacBook Pro is still clinging to Skylake, the answer is simple: at the time of the laptop's release, the required Kaby Lake processor series didn't exist yet. Thankfully, DigiTimes reports that we'll be seeing high-end laptops with these chips at CES in January.

Some say that Apple may skip Kaby Lake altogether, but this seems unlikely as the next generation of Cannonlake is not expected until the second half of 2017. According to the schedule, the 12-inch MacBook should receive 7th generation Intel processors this spring.

ArchitectureIntel Kaby Lake

Cannonlake is likely to be much more exciting than the Caby Lake update. You see, Kaby Lake is very similar to the Skylake family. This is not what we expected from the successor to Skylake, but Intel has changed the strategy for developing its processors.

Since 2007, Intel has followed a "tick, tock" upgrade mode, where one generation leads to a smaller processor, and the next generation changes the architecture. The situation has changed this year. As of 2016, Intel is using "Process, Architecture, Optimization" as an approach, and KabyLake represents, frankly, not the most interesting stage.

It's still a 14nm processor that's broadly similar to Skylake, and desktop processor models will use the same LGA 1151 socket. If all goes well, Cannonlake promises to shrink processors to the long-promised 10nm in 2017.

And while there are probably some performance and overall efficiency improvements to come, we feel there is no need for Skylake processor owners to upgrade to the same level of KabyLake.

UpdateIntelKabyLake

There are a few different improvements specific to Kaby Lake, though. Fully integrated USB-C Gen 2 support comes first. Skylake is offering support now, but requires additional hardware. Soon the technology will become "native". Yet again, interesting solution but not necessary.

Gen 2 USB 3.1 provides 10Gbps of bandwidth instead of 5Gbps. Thunderbolt 3 support is also there. In the same vein comes support for HDCP 2.2. This is digital copy protection, a new version designed for certain 4K video standards. Ultra HD Blu-Ray is becoming key, though 4K Netflix video also requires Kaby Lake processors.

It's also true that Kaby Lake also offers integrated GPUs that are better suited for 4K video. Thanks to the new media engine based on the Gen9 graphics architecture, users will be able to edit 4K video in real time using nothing more than integrated graphics. In terms of video consumption, the new VP9 and HVEC 10-bit decoder will allow you to stream 4K video all day on a single charge.

Kaby Lake processors also officially support Windows 10 among Microsoft operating systems. This is another attempt by Microsoft to push those who linger on Windows 7 and other operating systems.

Apollo Lake: Poor RelativeKabyLake

Also worth considering are the Atom chipsets, which occupy the bottom of the series and will be used in very cheap Windows 10 laptops and tablets. Although they are not part of the Kaby Lake series, the latest "Apollo Lake" chips began to appear at the end of November, ASUS and HP are among the first to implement new processors.

They are also capable of accelerating 4K video playback thanks to the HEVC and VP9 codecs. This is partly due to the transition of Gen8 graphics to Gen9 graphics, just like the Skylake processors.

KabyLake-X: Best Last

If you're only interested in the mainstream Kaby Lake processors, the future doesn't look too bleak. They will go into production before being replaced by Cannonlake at the end of 2017. However, the outlook for serious high-end chips is far more confusing.

Now the latest high-performance Intel processors are part of the Broadwell-E series, although among the mainstream processors, Broadwell has become obsolete. Simply put, real high-end hardware will come later. We are talking about processors like the Core i7-6900K for 100,000 rubles.

The Kaby Lake alternative will not be called Kaby Lake-E, instead we are waiting for Kaby Lake-X, which is expected to launch in the second half of 2017, along with Skylake-X. That's right: two generations at the same time.

Intel Kaby Lake-X will be tentatively a 4-core processor, while Skylake-X will be a very puzzling 10-core processor.

What mere mortal laptop and desktop buyers should know about Kaby Lake, however: a) we'll see more machines using the new chipset sets very soon and b) unless you're in need of an upgrade right now, 2017 will bring Cannonlake with interesting improvements .