Intel Begins Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X HEDT CPU Sampling – Massive Skylake-X CPU Pictured, Designed For LGA 2066 Socket

A few days ago, we talked about the Intel X299 chipset which would support Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X CPUs. Well, it looks like Benchlife has confirmed that Intel has already begun sampling these chips in the industry.

Intel Begins Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X Sampling - First Sample For LGA 2066 Socket Pictured

Intel Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors are expected to launch in second half of 2017. These processors are being aimed specifically at enthusiasts. The platform would be totally new with a new chipset, socket, CPU line and support for next-generation I/O technologies such as Intel Optane.

Intel Begins Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X HEDT CPU Sampling – Massive Skylake-X CPU Pictured, Designed For LGA 2066 Socket

Industry sources confirm that Intel has begun sampling their HEDT processors for LGA 2066 socket. One such CPU has already been pictured. The chip is stamped with the "Intel Confidential" label along with a codename that says "QL2T" and a clock speed of 2.40 GHz. Being an early sample, it's expected to see lower clocks on such models.

There's also the R4 label on the PCB of the chip. The R4 label is for the socket type, we confirmed it earlier that the LGA 2066 is codenamed R4.

Intel Skylake-X HEDT Processors For X299 Chipset

The Intel Skylake-X family is a new name for Skylake-E which is built for high-end desktop PCs. The family will be aimed at enthusiasts and will be launching in 2H 2017. The Skylake-X chips will be replacing the Broadwell-E family which launched a few months ago.

Information suggests that Skylake-X processors will be available in same core configuration as Broadwell-E with 10, 8 and 6 core variants and TDP’s adjusted around 140W while delivering better IPC with the new Skylake architecture. We can expect similar if not higher pricing structure for these processors.

It's mentioned that only the 10 core variant will deliver 44 PCI-e Gen 3 lanes while the 6 core variant will come with 28 PCI-e Gen 3 lanes.

Intel Kaby Lake-X HEDT Processors For X299 Chipset

Intel would also be offering Kaby Lake-X processors on their HEDT platform. They would launch at the same time as Skylake-X but available in only Quad Core package. The surprising thing here is that the Kaby Lake-X SKUs will feature a TDP between 95-112W on a 14nm node. This means that we might be looking at much higher clock speeds compared to current generation quad core models.

In fact, the Kaby Lake family uses a more optimized architecture compared to Skylake which will allow Intel to finer tune its performance for better performance and efficiency. The Kaby Lake-X series of processors feature up to 16 PCI-E Gen 3.0 lanes.

Intel HEDT Processor Families:

Intel HEDT FamilySapphire Rapids-X? (Sapphire Rapids Expert)Alder Lake-X? (Sapphire Rapids Mainstream)Cascade Lake-XSkylake-XSkylake-XSkylake-XBroadwell-EHaswell-EIvy Bridge-ESandy Bridge-EGulftown
Process Node10nm ESF10nm ESF14nm++14nm+14nm+14nm+14nm22nm22nm32nm32nm
Flagship SKUTBATBACore i9-10980XEXeon W-3175XCore i9-9980XECore i9-7980XECore i7-6950XCore i7-5960XCore i7-4960XCore i7-3960XCore i7-980X
Max Cores/Threads56/112?24/4818/3628/5618/3618/3610/208/166/126/126/12
Clock Speeds~4.5 GHz~5.0 GHz3.00 / 4.80 GHz3.10/4.30 GHz3.00/4.50 GHz2.60/4.20 GHz3.00/3.50 GHz3.00/3.50 GHz3.60/4.00 GHz3.30/3.90 GHz3.33/3,60 GHz
Max Cache105 MB L345 MB L324.75 MB L338.5 MB L324.75 MB L324.75 MB L325 MB L320 MB L315 MB L315 MB L312 MB L3
Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU)112 Gen 565 Gen 544 Gen344 Gen344 Gen344 Gen340 Gen340 Gen340 Gen340 Gen232 Gen2
Chipset CompatiblityW790?W790?X299C612EX299X299X99 ChipsetX99 ChipsetX79 ChipsetX79 ChipsetX58 Chipset
Socket CompatiblityLGA 4677?LGA 4677?LGA 2066LGA 3647LGA 2066LGA 2066LGA 2011-3LGA 2011-3LGA 2011LGA 2011LGA 1366
Memory CompatiblityDDR5-4800?DDR5-5200?DDR4-2933DDR4-2666DDR4-2800DDR4-2666DDR4-2400DDR4-2133DDR3-1866DDR3-1600DDR3-1066
Max TDP~500W~400W165W255W165W165W140W140W130W130W130W
LaunchQ4 2022?Q4 2022?Q4 2019Q4 2018Q4 2018Q3 2017Q2 2016Q3 2014Q3 2013Q4 2011Q1 2010
Launch PriceTBATBA$979 US~$4000 US$1979 US$1999 US$1700 US$1059 US$999 US$999 US$999 US

Expect more information on Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X chips when launch approaches. For now, we are close to the launch of Kaby Lake-S family of processors which will be launching on 5th January at CES 2017.

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