Intel Kaby Lake release date, UK price, features, specs
Late in 2016 Intel released its Kaby Lake – or 7th generation Core – processors forlaptops. Then in early 2017, the desktop chips arrived. Some of them, at least. Now, rumour has it that two more Core i7 chips, codenamed Kaby Lake X, will be unveiled in June. Below you will find everything you need to know about Kaby Lake, including thesub-£100 Pentium chipswhich, for the first time, get Hyper-threading.
Kaby Lake isn’t the newest CPU in town. Intel has already teased its successor –Coffee Lake– and AMD has launched its own high-performanceRyzen chips.You canread our Ryzen 7 review, to find out more.
What is Kaby Lake?
The 7th-gen Core processors are based on the same 14nm process as Skylake and its predecessor, Broadwell. Intel won’t make the move to 10nm until the 8th-gen Cannonlake CPUs which are due to launch later in 2017. The original plan was to switch to 10nm back in 2015 but, because of manufacturing problems, it’s sticking with 14nm for Kaby Lake.
Instead of the old Tick-Tock development, it’s now Process-Architecture-Optimisation. So when we finally get ‘Canonlake’, there will be two more generations based on the 10mm manufacturing process before a move to an even smaller one.
When is the Kaby Lake release date?
You can buy Kaby Lake desktop processors fromOverclockers UK,Scanand other retailers. You can also buy the 7th generation CPUsfrom Amazon UK.
A leak on Anandtech’s forum, via userSweepr, says Intel will launch Kaby Lake X (andSkylake X) chips in June at Computex.
There will reportedly be quad-core models withaTDP of 112W andgo hand-in-hand with the new ultra-high-end X299 chipset that supports quad-channel DDR4 RAM. They will fit in an LGA 2066 socket. Motherboard manufacturers are expected to show off the new boards as early as 30 May.
What are the Core i7 specs and prices?
Here are the main specs of the new desktop Core i7 chips that are expected to launch shortly.
Model
Core i7-7740K
Core i7-7640K
Price
TBC
TBC
TDP
112W
112W
Cores / Threads
4 / 8
4 /4
Base Frequency
4.3GHz
4.0GHz
Boost Frequncy
4.5GHz
4.2GHz
L3 Cache
8MB
6MB
PCIe lanes
16
16
As the pair above are rumoured, not officially announced, there’s no pricing yet. But price will be crucial to their success, since AMD’s Ryzen 7 1700 processor already offers twice as many cores than the Core i7-7700K at a similar price.
Model
Core i7-7700K
Core i7-7700
Core i7-7700T
Price
£339
£309
£309
TDP
91W
65W
35W
Cores/Threads
4/8
4/8
4/8
Base Frequency
4.2GHz
3.6GHz
2.9GHz
Boost Frequency
4.5GHz
4.2GHz
3.8GHz
Unlocked
Yes
No
No
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Smart Cache
8MB
8MB
8MB
View the Intel Core i7 Kaby Lake processors on Amazonhere.
How much do Kaby Lake Core i5 CPUs cost in the UK?
Four seventh-gen Core i5 models have been announced (see table below), plus a further three chips with a ‘T’ suffix which denotes they use less power – they all have a 35W TDP. As the table shows, they’re all quad-core parts, but with no Hyper-Threading.
View theIntel Core i5 Kaby Lake processors on Amazonhere.
Model
Core i5-7600K
Core i5-7600
Core i5-7500
Core i5-7400
Price
£239
£219
£199
£189
TDP
91W
65W
65W
65W
Cores/Threads
4/4
4/4
4/4
4/4
Base Frequency
3.8GHz
3.5GHz
3.4GHz
3.0GHz
Boost Frequency
4.2GHz
4.1GHz
3.8GHz
3.5GHz
Unlocked
Yes
No
No
No
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Smart Cache
6MB
6MB
6MB
6MB
These are the 35W ‘T’ models:
Model
Core i5-7600T
Core i5-7500T
Core i5-7400T
Price
£219
£199
£179
TDP
35W
35W
35W
Cores/Threads
4/4
4/4
4/4
Base Frequency
2.8GHz
2.7GHz
2.4GHz
Boost Frequency
3.7GHz
3.3GHz
3.0GHz
Unlocked
No
No
No
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Smart Cache
6MB
6MB
6MB
How much do Kaby Lake Core i3 CPUs cost in the UK?
View the Intel Core i3 Kaby Lake processors on Overclockers UKhere.
As with the Core i5 models, the Core i3 is also available as a ‘T’ model which has a 35W TDP. The Core i3 chips have no boost capability, so rely on high base frequency. They’re dual-core chips with Hyper-Threading. Note that the flagship model is unlocked, so Intel is catering to enthusiasts who want to overclock a more affordable chip. Unlike the Pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition processor from 2014, the i3-7350K supports Hyper-Threading.
Model
Core i3-7350K
Core i3-7320
Core i3-7300
Core i3-7100
Price
£185
£159
£149
£119
TDP
60W
51W
51W
51W
Cores/Threads
2/4
2/4
2/4
2/4
Base Frequency
4.2GHz
4.1GHz
4.0GHz
3.9GHz
Boost Frequency
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Unlocked
Yes
No
No
No
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Smart Cache
4MB
4MB
4MB
3MB
Overall, there is a similar lineup of Kaby Lake processors to Skylake, so you’ll have a choice of an entry-level Core i3, right up to a 10-core Extreme Edition Core i7 (this hasn’t launched yet). Prices are unlikely to vary much from the Skylake range, so there will be something to suit every budget.
There are of course be laptop and mobile versions of the Kaby Lake desktop chips for everything from ultraportables to all-in-one PCs.
Many speculated that Intel would slash the prices of its processors in the wake of the newRyzen 7processors. But that hasn’t happened, and both Kaby Lake and Skylake chips are still pretty much the same prices they were prior to Ryzen’s release.
It’s still early days of course, and Intel could be waiting to see whether buyers will flock to AMD-based systems or not. As it stands, a Ryzen 7-based PC is better value for most people.
And if you’re upgrading, remember that you’ll only get the full set of benefits from Kaby Lake chips – such asOptane Memory– if you also buy a new motherboard with one of the new chipsets. You can stick with a Z100-series motherboard, otherwise.
What are the Kaby Lake Pentium specifications?
There are three new Pentium models, each also available in a low-power ‘T’ model. They support the new Kaby Lake features such as Intel Optane, 4K video and have DDR4 memory controllers. The big news is that they’re the first Pentiums to get Hyper-threading, so while they’re not true quad-core parts, they do get the performance advantage of being able to process four threads.
View the Intel Kaby Lake Pentium processors at Overclockers UKhere.
Model
Pentium G4620
Pentium G4600
Pentium G4560
Price
£94.99
£83.99
£64.99
TDP
51W
51W
54W
Cores/Threads
2/4
2/4
2/4
Base Frequency
3.7GHz
3.6GHz
3.5GHz
Boost Frequency
N/A
N/A
N/A
Unlocked
No
No
No
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 630
Intel HD Graphics 610
Cache
3MB
3MB
3MB
What new features does Kaby Lake have?
Optane Memory
So what’s new? Well, there’s the obvious performance improvement, but the new 200-series chipset supportsIntel’s new Optane memory. This isn’t to be confused with Optane SSDs – it’s a brand new memory module which is designed to make a PC with a traditional mechanical hard drive feel more like one equipped with an SSD.
It uses 3D XPoint memory, but initially comes in only 16- and 32GB capacities. It has confirmed that Optane Memory modules won’t work in older Z170 boards, or with Skylake chips, though.
These should be available to buy within the next six months.
Better overclocking
Kaby Lake chips have a 300MHz base frequency boost over the equivalent Skylake chips, but are also better for overclocking. For example, they will automatically adjust voltage to make a given base clock more stable.
The second improvement is better control over Turbo Boost. When the chip has to process an AVX instruction it will downclock, then return to a higher clock for normal instructions.
With faster clock speeds than Skylake at a given TDP, Kaby Lake is already around 25 percent quicker, but it remains to be see just how fast they will go. Early benchmarks show they are no faster than Skylake (when compared at the same clock speeds). The performance boost comes from using higher clock speeds than the equivalent Skylake chips.
If you already have a PC with a 6th-gen Skylake chip, you won’t see any better performance simply by upgrading to the equivalent Kaby Lake chip. But if you’re still on a third, fourth or fifth-gen Core processor, it could well be a good time to upgrade.
Better graphics
Certain new U-series processors (which will appear in 2-in-1 laptop/tablet devices) have Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPUs integrated. Intel says this GPU is 65 percent faster than the equivalent Intel HD graphics system. It’s 40 percent faster for quick sync video, and is also capable of 4K video playback.
Backwards compatible with 100-series chipsets
Desktop Kaby Lake chips are compatible with the existing 100-series chipsets, so it’ll be an easy upgrade from Skylake, assuming manufacturers provide BIOS updates for the new chips.
However, you will miss out on Optane Memory support (which we’re assured won’t be added to any 100-series boards) and possibly certain overclocking features.
Author: Jim Martin, Executive Editor, Tech Advisor
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
