Intel launches its latest 6th gen Skylake processors aimed at enthusiasts

Intel has announced its 6th generation of Core series processors which will be based on the 14nm manufacturing process - codenamed Skylake. Intel launched the Intel Core i7-6700K and the Intel Core i5-6600K at the Gamescom fair in Cologne, Germany. These two unlocked processors are aimed at the enthusiast desktop users and come with improved integrated graphics, new chipset support and a new core microarchitecture. This update represents the ’tock’ in Intel’s ‘ tick-tock’ cadence of releasing processors. With the launch of **Windows 10 OS** recently, the time is just right for anyone planning to upgrade their old machines with the latest processors.  The Intel Core i7-6700K will be the flagship processor in the Skylake lineup and is clocked at 4GHz, with the maximum turbo frequency going up to 4.2GHz. This is a quad-core hyper-threaded part, which means you can get eight virtual cores. The Intel Core i5-6600K is clocked at 3.5GHz with the maximum turbo frequency going up to 3.9GHz. Unlike the 6700K, the Core i5-6600K is a quad-core non-hyperthreaded part. Of course, since both the parts are unlocked, you can take the operating frequency much higher than what it is rated for, by overclocking. [caption id=“attachment_277069” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Intel 6th gen core processors will work with the Z170 chipset[/caption] The Intel Core i7-6700K is priced at $350 (approx Rs 23,000) and the Intel Core i5-6600K is priced at $243 (approx Rs 15,500). Both the processors have a thermal design power (TDP), which is the maximum power under load, of 91 Watts. As of now the company has only released the desktop parts. But Intel has plans to release a Skylake based notebook in the near future. “Intel also announced plans to deliver an unlocked 6th Gen Intel(r) Core processor “K” SKU for enthusiast notebooks later this year. This will be the first unlocked enthusiast “K” SKU for mobile,” said its press statement. The new processors will need Socket 1151 motherboards which also come with the newest Intel Z170 chipset. The native USB 3.0 ports has increased from six on the Z97 chipset to 10 on the Z170 chipset. There will be support for 6 SATA 6 Gbps ports. Apart from the ability to overclock the base clock, DDR4 memory overclocking, Intel hasn’t revealed much architectural details of the 6th gen processors. Hopefully that will happen during the Intel Developer Forum which will take place on August 18. It hasn’t been very long since Intel had announced the updated Broadwell desktop parts . Maybe that is one reason why Intel is just releasing only two Skylake parts at the moment. We are testing the new platform and will be putting up our review and benchmark scores soon.