A new Intel desktop roadmap obtained by Chinese tech site Benchlife reportedly shows that the company’s upcoming desktop processors based on the “Kaby Lake” architecture will make their debut during the CES trade show taking place in January 2017. This seemingly confirms previous reports that Intel and AMD would duke it out in the processor ring with their new “Zen” and “Kaby Lake” processor lineups, respectively, during January’s show.
According to the roadmap, the 4+2 core Kaby Lake S desktop processors will go into quality sampling during week 35, which is in the beginning of September, followed by mass production in week 42 (October) and ready-to-ship status during week 50 (mid-December). These will supposedly be Core i5 and Core i7 chips packed with four CPU cores and GT2 graphics.
Next up is the 2+2 core Kaby Lake S desktop processors. The roadmap shows that quality sampling will start in week 44, which takes place at the beginning of November. Mass production is scheduled to start in the middle of December, followed by a ready-to-ship status in February 2017. These chips will reportedly include the Core i3 series, and have two CPU cores and GT2 graphics.
Finally, the leaked roadmap mentions the Kaby Lake “PCH-H” chipset (200-series) that goes into quality sampling in August. Cool features that this chipset will bring include support for 10 USB 3.0 ports, six SATA 3 ports, and 24 PCI-e 3.0 lanes. The new Skylake 4+4e processor family slated to launch later this year will supposedly only be compatible with this specific chipset.
Unfortunately, the leaked roadmap shows absolutely nothing in regard to the mobile Kaby Lake processors. These are expected to actually launch before their desktop counterparts in devices that will be showcased during IFA 2016 in September. These will consist of the Kaby Lake U, Y, and H processors, mostly utilizing two physical cores save for the H models, which will have four.
That said, the leaked roadmap only refers to the upcoming Kaby Lake S processors. Previously, the four core variants were expected to launch between week 50 of 2016 and week 09 of 2017, whereas the two-core models were expected to be released between week 06 and week 18 of 2017. The roadmap doesn’t seem to be too far off form the original expectations.
The Kaby Lake platform is essentially a refresh of Skylake. Built on 14-nanometer process technology, the new family will consist of locked and unlocked consumer processors in addition to solutions for workstations and servers. The desktop models mentioned in the leaked roadmap will be compatible with Intel’s 100-series chipsets and support the latest in both DDR3L and DDR4 memory. The two-core variants will supposedly have thermal envelopes between 35 and 65 watts, while the four-core models will range between 25 and 80 watts.
As previously reported, AMD is expected to reveal processors based on its “Zen” core technology during CES 2017 as well. These processor cores will be based on 14-nanometer FinFET process technology and inserted into its “Summit Ridge” processors that will slide into the company’s new AM4 processor socket. Zen cores will first appear in desktop processors followed by server chips, laptop chips, and then finally the embedded market.
