Inside the Skylake: Intel’s 6th Generation Processor

by Dennis Kralik on August 7, 2015 in Product Overviews

Intel released more details of their newest chipset and CPU architecture. Here are the details:

14nm Process

With every new processor, we see an even smaller die, and this is no exception. It’s pretty tiny when you consider Lynnfield cores were already 45nm. At this rate we are going to need a new measuring scale soon.

Expected Chipset Names

As of right now the Z170 is out, but you can expect H110, B150, Q150, and H170 to be available soon.

Socket 1151

No new chipset is complete without a new socket. Unfortunately that means a new CPU will be needed as well. One nice thing is that this socket shares a similar external design to its predecessors, which means most of your current water and air cooling solutions should be compatible.

DDR4

A new CPU and more memory, too, mean upgrades all around. The new architecture supports up to 64GB with 16GB sticks, or 32GB with 8GB sticks. Current boards have 4 slots, so pick your memory wisely. The new default speed will be 2133MHz with plenty of higher clocks through overclocking.

DDR3L

There will be a small variety of Skylake motherboards with DDR3L or laptop memory. Expect to see this used on the micro ATX variants.

Performance

With the new i7-6700K processor, Intel expects up to 30% increase in speed over an I7-3770k and 10% better when compared to an i7-4790K. Intel also promises a lot more overclocking features with faster I/O lanes and new PCI Express 3.0, plus storage support with their Rapid Storage Technology.

Availability

Processors are selling out quick, but there are some combo deals and complete desktop systems available right now. For some it might be a good time to build a whole new system when considering the number of components to upgrade including CPU, MEM, MB, and switching Windows 10 .

Is it Time to Upgrade?

Like snowflakes, everyone’s PC is unique. It really depends on when it was last upgraded and what you want to do. For some, this is a good time to switch to SSD and swap out that video card to support DirectX 12. If your system is starting to feel the inevitable slow down, this might be a good time to consider upgrading. While it’s certain there will always be better technology around the corner, no one wants to be the last.

Let us know what you think about Skylake below. Is this the upgrade you’ve been waiting for? Or are you holding out to see what’s next on the horizon?

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