It looks like Intel is putting the touches on a new line of high-end desktop (HEDT) processors which will fall under a new Core i9 brand extension. Up until now Intel has used the Core i7 brand for its HEDT processors as well as many parts in its mainstream desktop segment. With the upcoming LGA2066 socket Intel will be launching two different sockets, these include Core i7 “Kaby Lake-X” quad core processors and Core i9 “Skylake-X” 6-core, 8, core, 10-core, and 12-core processors.
The Core i7 “Kaby Lake-X” processors will include the Core i7-7740K and Core i7-7640K (there is no Core i5 Kaby Lake-X). These two processors will feature up to 1MB of dedicated L2 cache per core, which is for times that of the existing Core i7-7700K chip. The i7-7740K features 8MB of shared L2, while the i7-7640K has just 6MB. The i7-7640K will also lack HyperThreading. The i7-7740K will have higher clock speeds than the i7-7700K with a 4.30 GHz core and 4.50 GHz Turbo Boost. The i7-7640K on the other hand will have a 4.0 GHz core and 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost.
The Core i9 series is completely different however. It will consist of four different parts, Core i9-7800X (6-core), Core i9-7820X (8-core), Core i9-7900X (10-core), and the Core i9-7920X (12-core). All of the chips will feature HyperThreading as well as 1MB of dedicated L2 cache per core. Here are the stats for each chip:
i9-7800X: 8.25 MB shared L3 cache, 3.50 GHz core, and 4.00 GHz Turbo Boost
i9-7820X: 11 MB shared L3 cache, 3.60 GHz core and 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost
i9-7900X: 13.75 MB shared L3 cache, 3.30 GHz, with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost
i9-7920X: 16.5 MB shared L3 cahce, unknown clock speeds
Now the Core i9-7800X and Core i9-7820X as well as the “Kaby Lake-X” parts will feature 28-lane PCI-Express gen 3.0 root complexes. This means your 2-way SLI / CrossFire setup will run at x8 speeds. The other Core i9 parts will have 44-lane PCI-Express gen 3.0 root complexes, which will enable 3-way and 4-way GPU setups.
Also the Kaby Lake-X parts will only have dual-channel DDR4 memory interfaces, while the Core i9 series will all have quad-channel DDR4 memory interfaces. Socket LGA2066 motherboards will have quad-channel wiring, but when a Kaby Lake-X chip is installed two of the memory channels are inactive.
We expect to see the launch of the Core i7 “Kaby Lake-X” and Core i9 “Skylake-X” parts in June 2017 with the top dog Core i9-7920X coming in August 2017.
