New kaby lake processors. Seven facts about Kaby Lake. Testing a new generation of Intel processors. Selecting a power supply

Not so long ago, Intel introduced the 7th generation Kaby Lake microarchitecture. By the way, during its development, Intel departed from the tick-tock strategy that had existed for 10 years! The essence of the mission was that with each new generation of microprocessors, performance should have increased, but if the “tic” branch meant a decrease in the technical process using the existing microarchitecture, then “so”, on the contrary, meant the creation of a new microarchitecture, but based on the existing technological process.

The creation of Kaby Lake destroyed this strategy, since this microarchitecture, which belonged to the teak branch, was fabricated on a 14 nm process, like the predecessor of the 6th generation Skylake. Although at the beginning of the creation it was stipulated that Kaby Lake would be created in accordance with the tick-tock strategy on a 10 nm process. But Intel's strength is not unlimited, because every year transistors become thinner and the technological process becomes more complicated, as a result, they simply did not have enough time. Therefore, in 2016, Intel updated the tick-tock mission, stating that from now on it will be carried out in a cycle consisting of three stages:

1. "Tick" - reducing the technical process of the existing core
2. "So" - the creation of a new microprocessor, but without changing the technology
3. "So" - optimization of the new microarchitecture

Microarchitecture differences:

If we talk about the differences between these microprocessors, then we can distinguish 3 clear advantages of Kaby Lake relative to its predecessor:

1. The new integrated Intel HD 630 graphics card delivers as much as 30% faster performance than the previous Intel HD 620. As demonstrated in Benchmark testing, although the difference remains small in games, in the same Rainbow Six (2015) Intel HD 630 only 2-3 fps ahead of the "big brother".
2. The new microarchitecture has significantly improved power consumption, which is 7.5 W for Kaby Lake, which cannot be said about Skylake with its 15 watt consumption.
3. Kaby Lake implemented direct support for USB 3.1 ports, unlike Skylake, where this required additional controllers on the MP.

Skylake vs Kaby Lake - performance testing

For comparison, two processors were taken:

1. Intel Core I7 7700K with Kaby Lake microarchitecture
2. Intel Core I7 6700K with Skylake

The comparison was carried out in eight analyzers, including AIDA 64. It would seem that the new microarchitecture should provide much better performance than the previous one, but no, the difference turned out to be symbolic and totaled 1% on average. So now it's worth thinking 100 times, is it necessary to overpay for a laptop with a processor based on a new microarchitecture, when there is almost no difference in performance compared to the old one?

If we talk about battery life, then by transferring 4K format video processing to the GPU to Kaby Lake, the processor, firstly, receives a much 7-10% less load than the “stone” with Skylake. Secondly, it has a record battery life compared to its predecessor when playing movies. Namely, as much as 10 hours, which can not be called a serious advantage.

Summarizing:

Thus, despite the fact that the performance of processors with Kaby Lake microarchitecture is only 1% higher than that of predecessors with the 6th generation Skylake core. Due to reduced power consumption by almost half and, as a result, much longer battery life. The processor with Kaby Lake turned out to be much more energy efficient than the one with the Skylake core.

In short: we have the same Skylake chips, but with higher frequencies and an advanced video processing hardware engine. And yet some models are very interesting. In addition, there is an unshakable rule: it is better to assemble a computer from scratch on the most modern hardware possible.

Intel Core i3-7320

Briefly about the product: 2 cores but 4 threads, 4.1GHz, 4MB L3 cache, 51W TDP
Peculiarities: very high frequency in default - 4.1 GHz
Price:$149
Budget gaming computer with this processor: 35-40 000 rubles

Initially, this place in the selection was assigned to the Core i3-7350K. He is unique. As the song of the Kino group says: our hearts demand change! Indeed, since 2011, Intel has had two overclockable processors. One Core i5 and one Core i7 (there was also an anniversary Pentium G3258, but this is an exception that proves the rule). Such patterns are easy to recognize. They are the fastest, they are the most expensive, they have the letter "K" in the name. The wind of change blew precisely in 2017, with the release of the Core i3-7350K. For a long time, Intel has not released overclocking budget processors. Naturally, you will have to pay extra for overclocking capabilities. The chip costs $168, but it's still cheaper than the slowest Kaby Lake quad-core Core i5-7400 ($182).

The Core i3-7350K is fast and without any overclocking. Operates at a frequency of 4.2 GHz. It is quite possible to overclock it up to 4.8-5.0 GHz. Naturally, for this you will need to have a high-quality cooler in your arsenal. In general, overclocking requires a more expensive motherboard based on the Z170/Z270 Express chipset. Read about what devices are needed for the seventh generation Core in this material. So saving is a moot point. As well as the possibility of overclocking. But 4.2 GHz out of the box is already serious. And the Core i3-7320 runs at 4.1 GHz. Only 100 MHz less, but we save $19 right away.

Intel Core i3-7320

Intel Core i5-7400

Briefly about the product: 4 cores, 3.0 (3.5) GHz, 6 MB L3 cache, 65 W TDP
Peculiarities: cheapest quad-core Kaby Lake
Price:$182
Gaming computer budget: 50-55 000 rubles

And Core i5 processors, as you know, have full four cores. A modern games more and more love multithreading. Perhaps the most obvious example is Battlefield 1. In it, any Core i5 is 100% loaded. But such a chip is still enough to build a gaming computer with a powerful graphics card, including the Radeon RX 480 and GeForce GTX 1060.

Do not forget about one tempting feature of the new Kaby Lake. The chips received not very fast HD 630 integrated graphics, but it has an advanced media block. As a result, all the forces of the processor can be "thrown" to ensure the operation of the video card, and the hardware blocks of the integrated GPU, for example, will ensure the operation of the OBS streaming program.

Intel Core i5-7400

Intel Core i7-7700

Briefly about the product: 4 cores but 8 threads, 3.6 (4.2) GHz, 8 MB L3 cache, 65 W TDP
Peculiarities: fastest processor with 65W TDP
Price:$303
Gaming computer budget: 60-75 000 rubles

The capabilities of the Core i7-7700 are studied in detail in the review. The most “soft” is that with a rather low TDP for desktop processors (only 65 W) under load, all four cores of the chip operate at a frequency of 4 GHz. We get two things. Firstly, there is sense from eight streams, including in games. Secondly, high frequency. Helps with work and play. The Core i7-7700 will make great friends with a GeForce GTX 1070-level video card. A low level of typical heat dissipation will allow you to assemble a gaming computer of any complexity. Yes, even the size of a game console!

Intel Core i7-7700

Intel Core i7-7700K

Briefly about the product: 4 cores but 8 threads, 4.2 (4.5) GHz, 8 MB L3 cache, 91 W TDP
Peculiarities: accelerates up to 5 GHz. If you're lucky.
Price: $339
Gaming computer budget: 100 000 rubles

Intel's mainstream platform, which is what LGA1151 is, supports a maximum of quad-core Core i7 processors. Therefore, the Core i7-7700K differs from the Core i7-7700 only in frequency, the presence of an unlocked multiplier and, as a result, an increased TDP level. Overclocker model. With proper luck, it can be overclocked to 5 GHz using a good cooling system. IN last time such overclocking agility boasted Sandy Bridge chips, released back in 2011. It is clear that any modern video card can be used with the Core i7-7700K. Or even two.

The new generation of processors from Intel is a good reason to buy a new computer or upgrade an old one. When using Kaby Lake, the breakthrough does not seem impressive, however, users of older PCs extract significant benefit from hardware upgrade: Kaby Lake supports decoding and output of 4K resolution video using H.265 codec. While older computers barely move when playing such videos, when using Kaby Lake, the processor load tends to zero. In addition, the new chipsets improve the connection of the M.2 slot with the latest NVMe SSDs.

The first step for the user is to choose a processor, which raises additional questions: what kind of performance is needed? What chipset and what motherboard to choose? In addition, countless options random access memory, various solid-state drives and video cards also complicate the selection of components. Last but not least, you need a case of sufficient size and a power supply for a stable power supply. We make it easy for you to choose by introducing four sets of equipment - from an inexpensive entry-level PC to a top-class device. We also give recommendations on building a universal computer and a budget gaming system.

Almost all components are interchangeable in the variants we reviewed: the most powerful i7 processor and the most expensive SSD are suitable for an entry-level motherboard, while the weakest processor is suitable for an expensive board. This provides the opportunity further modernization. latest generation Ryzen processors from AMD saw the light after this review.

Intel Kaby Lake processors only officially support Windows 10. However, Windows 7 can still be installed: using a utility from the motherboard manufacturer, you need to create installation disk with the USB drivers, then additionally download the NVMe driver during installation, and then the Intel graphics driver from the motherboard manufacturer's website. Despite this, many 4K movies are difficult to play, such as streaming Netflix video or content with a color depth of 10 bits.

Processor: which Kaby Lake is right for me?

Intel has kept the division of processors into lines different classes performance and cost: as an initial - Celeron and Pentium, then Core i3, i5 and i7. However, in the initial class, Pentium processors significantly outperform their classmates. previous generations. The two processing cores of these processors now additionally support hyper-threading technology.

This improves core efficiency and improves performance in multitasking (running multiple programs at the same time) as well as multi-threading (for example, video encoding and games that support multiple threads). As a result, even the smallest Pentium has a serious advantage over the Celeron, which does not support hyperthreading and is not particularly cheaper.

Since the Pentium has hardly any disadvantages compared to the i3 series processors (which are at least twice as expensive), we definitely recommend the lower-end Pentium G4560 for entry-level PCs. This CPU has more than enough performance for the Office suite, web surfing, and video and image playback. H.265 video decoding up to 4K resolution in this model is carried out at the hardware level, which almost completely eliminates the load on the processor when watching movies.

Anyone who does not count every ruble can buy a processor faster. Experience has shown that the quad-core CPUs of the first generation "Core i" (2009) in most cases have sufficient performance for current use. Against this background, to build an all-in-one PC with an i5 processor that meets the requirements of tomorrow, we advise you to pay attention to a processor with four cores.

We recommend the most powerful mid-range model, the Core i5-7600, which comes with a cooler. This is especially interesting from an economic point of view, since the price of the models of the next series (i7) is either noticeably higher, or you need to purchase an additional cooler.

Such a step will be justified if it is necessary to obtain maximum performance for a relatively small amount; this is where our "budget gaming PC" configuration fits perfectly. It includes an unlocked Core i5-7600K processor and an inexpensive but very efficient Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev cooler. B. This allows the processor to run at an increased clock speed of 4.2 GHz for extended periods of time, or even reach the 4.5 GHz mark when overclocked, depending on the chassis and motherboard you choose.

An interesting novelty among the representatives of Kaby Lake is the dual-core Core i3-7350K processor (about 12,000 rubles) with a free multiplier. In our test, this chip, already operating at a very high base frequency of 4.2 GHz, was able to overclock to 5 GHz without any problems. Of course, modern games are optimized for multi-core processors, so we still recommend choosing the Core i5-7600K for a gaming PC. If we are talking exclusively about maximum performance (for example, for video editing), it is best to pay attention to the most powerful representative of Kaby Lake - the Core i7-7700K model. The quad-core processor with hyper-threading technology makes no compromises and can be overclocked to 5 GHz.

Video card: which one do you prefer?

Currently, NVIDIA graphics cards use a more advanced architecture than their competitors from the AMD camp. The latter, however, scores points in the lower price category.

entry-level PC
The Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 Windforce OC 4G video card (about 8,500 rubles) allows you to run modern games in Full HD resolution, albeit with slightly reduced detail. Cheaper graphics cards are not practical for gaming.

Middle class
For about 16,500 rubles, you can buy Palit GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB Dual - a fairly powerful video card that is suitable for 4K resolution. Only for particularly demanding games do you have to reduce the resolution to Full HD.

Top class
Thanks to the Asus GeForce GTX 1080 STRIX OC (about 42,000 rubles), you can not make any compromises, and 8 GB of video memory is enough to run any modern and many future games in 4K resolution, as well as to use virtual reality helmets.

Right Platform: Motherboard and RAM

An entry-level motherboard with a low-cost B250 Express chipset forms the basis for a modern and upgradable system. It is compatible with all Kaby Lake and Skylake series processors and offers a port for connecting fast M.2/NVMe SSDs. Unlike more expensive boards, it has only two RAM slots, in which we installed only one 8GB DDR4 memory module. Although the installation of two modules could slightly increase the performance of the video core, however, the configuration we recommended (1x 8 GB) can be easily and inexpensively increased to 16 GB if necessary. Other limitations of the B250 Express chipset, such as fewer PCIe lanes and USB 3.0 ports, are easy to live with.

For mid-range PCs, Intel provides the H270 Express chipset with more PCIe lanes and USB 3.0 ports than the B250 Express. For our system, we chose the inexpensive Gigabyte GA-H270-HD3 board, which has four memory slots and a large number of expansion slots: three PCIe x16 3.0, two PCIe x1 3.0, and one PCI port for legacy boards. As RAM, a 16 GB kit is used, which operates at a frequency of 2400 MHz in dual-channel mode.

The "older" chipset for Kaby Lake (Z270 Express) provides overclocking support, as well as a slightly larger number of ports and PCIe lanes. In addition, it can share the PCIe lanes connected directly to the controller in the processor, allowing for optimal multi-GPU performance. For our budget gaming PC, we chose the inexpensive ASRock Z270 Pro4 motherboard, which allows you to overclock the Core i5-7600K using the appropriate UEFI settings or using the A-Tuning utility.

The Gigabyte Aorus GA-Z270X Gaming 7 motherboard for our top gaming PC has a lot of features, such as a second M.2 slot, USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt interface, a second gigabit network slot, an improved sound chip, etc. Not less important are the mesmerizing visual effects that come with LED backlighting. With both Z270 boards, we combine DDR4-3200 memory modules, which provide a performance increase of several percent.

Water cooling system

Core processors can increase their frequency under load up to a certain limit if the temperature allows it. Thanks to an efficient cooler, they keep the increased frequency longer. Thus, K-series CPUs can operate in this mode for a long time. This is best done with water cooling.

> be quiet! Silent Loop 240 is optimally matched to be quiet! cabinets. The radiator has two 120mm fans. Like the pump, they work almost silently. The refrigerant circuit is closed and maintenance-free, but liquids can be added if necessary. Fans and pump are connected separately to the motherboard.

SSD: high-speed NVMe becomes available

All new motherboards the standard is an M.2 slot for new NVMe SSDs. They are up to seven times faster than SATA-SSD drives and more than 20 times faster than magnetic HDDs. This is ensured by the high bandwidth of the M.2 slot, which is connected to the system via four PCIe 3.0 lanes, which ensures optimal use of the new NVMe access protocol.

Among the new products today, we can distinguish fast drives in the form factor of replaceable modules. Previously, they were significantly more expensive than SATA drives of equal size, but recently Intel released an NVMe drive that is comparable in price to SATA. At the same time, in terms of write speed, it is only slightly better than SATA drives, but in terms of read speed, it is two to three times ahead of them. This also applies to access times. Regardless, we recommend the Intel 600p as a highly a budget option with a capacity of 256 GB for an entry-level PC - it is important that the module, connected to the motherboard without a cable, contributes to order inside the system unit. The budget gaming PC comes with 512GB of storage to store some games on an SSD.

For a mid-range PC, we recommend the SSD Samsung 960 Evo as a drive. It's the most affordable drive available, and has been shown to be close to the best NVMe drives in intensive benchmarking of read/write speeds and access times. The fastest solid state drive for end users is the Samsung 960 Pro.

Under more difficult benchmark conditions (larger data, high I/Os), its performance is 25-30% faster than the Evo model - which, however, is rarely felt in practice. In order not to make any compromises in the top-class system, we chose the 960 Pro model with a capacity of 1 TB. Users whose data volumes are so large that they cannot fit on an SSD will need an additional hard drive.

Selecting a power supply

Gone are the days of high power processors and graphics cards: a system with an overclocked Core i7-7700K processor and GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card consumes 400 watts of power at peak load, so a 550 or 600 watt power supply will be the best solution for it. The 850W model we recommended also handled the second graphics card.

> A warranty period of at least five years indicates that the manufacturer expects a long service life of the installed electronic components.

Case and power supply: installation quality and accuracy

In our PSU and case recommendations for entry-level and budget gaming PCs, we were looking for a quality product at the lowest price. There should be enough room in a gaming PC case to install a huge cooler. In a mid-range computer, elegant design and a high level of service can be worth the extra money.

The top-end PC gets a big case and a PSU that can handle a second graphics card. The Pure Base case will find a place like a be quiet! Silent Loop and Thermalright Macho cooler. You can use the old case, but you should not save on the PSU: its malfunction can lead to the failure of other components.

PHOTO: manufacturing companies; CHIP Studios

If the 22nm Intel Haswell Refresh processors appeared spontaneously in some respects, as a reaction to unforeseen delays with the commissioning of the 14nm process technology, then the 14nm Intel Kaby Lake processors became a completely planned phenomenon. The release of the first models of Kaby Lake - they were officially announced yesterday afternoon - marked the introduction of a new three-stage concept from Intel. Instead of a two-phase tick-tock strategy, when a new technical process and new cores appeared in stages over two years, a three-phase tick-tock-tock+ strategy was launched. The third phase is the release of slightly improved processors on a more or less debugged architecture. In general, if you have been waiting for Intel Skylake processors, but have been putting off the purchase until now, you can safely buy Skylake Refresh processors. Sorry, Kaby Lake processors.

The first models on the new cores were three Kaby Lake-Y and Kaby Lake-U processors. The first - for tablets and convertible laptops, the second - for what used to be called an ultrabook. Mainstream laptop and desktop Kaby Lake processor models will be available early next year. Novelties cannot be called fully SoC. The south bridge is made on a separate chip and placed on the same substrate with the processor. It should also be noted that the Kaby Lake-Y models have been upgraded in status. Of the three models presented, two belong to the high society in the form of Core i5 and i7 lines. Only the youngest comes in the Core m3 line.

The base specifications of the processors assume operation within a TDP of 4.5W for Kaby Lake-Y and 15W for Kaby Lake-U. At the same time, scenario modes of consumption can be increased to the level of 7 W and 25 W, or reduced to the level of 3.5 W and 7.5 W. Everything is at the discretion of laptop manufacturers. By the end of the year, by the way, about a hundred varieties of mobile PCs and tablets will be released on new processors.

Since the release of Skylake, the architecture of computing cores has not changed. Intel's improved (and polished) 14nm process, which it calls 14nm+, helped boost Kaby Lake's clock speeds compared to similar Skylake models from Intel. In general, Intel claims a 12% performance advantage for new products and a 19% advantage for Internet browsing.

More significant changes have been made to the block for processing video streams. The developers have provided full hardware acceleration for decoding and encoding HEVC (H.265) streams. built-in block real mode processing up to 8 streams of video with resolution up to 4K at 30 frames per second without involving the resources of computing cores. At the same time, the integrated graphics cores remained the same as in the Skylake processors. Finally, the Intel Kaby Lake-Y and Kaby Lake-U processors have acquired a PCI Express 3.0 bus, which will allow you to connect, for example, high-speed SSDs to them.

In the early days of January Intel officially introduced a new generation of processors Intel Core on architecture Kaby Lake. The update turned out to be rather strange, so today we will do without lengthy discussions and tell only about what you really need to know.

Fact one: no tick-tock

For a long time, Intel followed a simple "tick-tock" processor upgrade pattern. In one year, the technical process was updated, and in the next, a new architecture was released. For the first few years, the rhythm was maintained almost flawlessly, but in last years the scheme began to noticeably fail. And with Kaby Lake, the manufacturer officially admitted that it was no longer possible to live with tick-tock, and another stage was added to it, called “optimization”, at which already created crystals would be finished. Unfortunately, it was on this new round that Kaby Lake fell.

Why Intel decided to change itself is hard to say. According to the company itself, the high cost of switching to new technical processes is to blame. We, however, believe that the overall decline in sales in the computer market is more to blame - it is becoming increasingly difficult to recoup money with such short production cycles.

Fact two: architecture

Despite the new name and the solid word "optimization", technically and structurally Kaby Lake exactly copies last year's Skylake. The structure of the chips, the structure of the memory, the logic of operation, the sets of instructions - everything remained the same. Even the numerical indicators have not changed: a maximum of four cores, 8 MB of cache and 16 PCIe lanes for communicating with the video card. In general, except for the name - no innovation.

Fact three: technical process

The process technology has also remained unchanged. Kaby Lake is manufactured to the same 14nm standards. Only now a plus (14 nm +) is attributed to their name, behind which some updates really lie. In Kaby Lake, the transistors have slightly increased the height of the fins and the distance between them. As a result, leakage currents and heat dissipation slightly decreased, and this made it possible to increase the frequency of crystals.

Fact four: frequency of work

The official frequency record for the Core i7-7700K is 7383 MHz. Installed, by the way, by the Russian team on the ASUS Maximus IX Apex motherboard.

Compared with the processors of the previous generation, the frequency of the new crystals increased by 200-300 MHz on average. At the same time, the TDP of the models remained the same. That is, with the same 90 W, the new Core i7-7700K takes the bar at 4.5 GHz, while the i7-6700K only rose to 4.2 GHz.

Not only that, processors also overclock better. If on average it was possible to squeeze out 4.4-4.5 GHz from Skylake, then for Kaby Lake 4.8 GHz is considered the norm, and with luck, 5 GHz. And yes, we are now talking about working under conventional air coolers.

We note right away that, as before, all Intel Core and Pentium crystals can be overclocked via the bus, and models with the “K” index are also driven by the multiplier. By the way, unlocked crystals are now available not only in the Core i5 and Core i7 series, but also in the Core i3. A family Pentium, the cheapest Kaby Lake, now supports Hyper-Threading.

Fifth Fact: Embedded Kernel

Remained in Kaby Lake and built-in graphics. But if earlier it was Intel HD Graphics 530, now it is HD Graphics 630 . Evolution? Far from it, there are still the same 24 blocks with a frequency of 1150 MHz on board. The new figure in the name was registered thanks to the updated media engine Quick Sync. It can now decode H.265 and VP.9 video on the fly. In other words, if you are a connoisseur of 4K movies or are going to stream in this resolution, you should know - with Kaby lake processor will no longer be loaded at 100%.

As for the performance of the graphics itself, it is a sin to complain about it. It copes with Windows rendering without problems, and as a bonus, it also pulls not very demanding toys. Maybe a village in Rome World build, and a prison in Prison Architect win back, and even DOTA2 drive. The latter in Full HD and at medium settings produces quite decent 62 fps.

Fact six: chipsets

Along with Kaby Lake, Intel also introduced new 200-series chipsets. True, there are just as few changes in them as in processors. The older models, the Z270, received an additional four PCIe lanes, to which motherboard manufacturers can tie up extra USB or M.2 ports. Frankly speaking, the list is not particularly intriguing, but board manufacturers compensate to some extent for scarcity.

So, for example, in the top ASUS Apex motherboards, DIMM.2 technology appeared, which allows you to install two M.2 drives in a slot for RAM. And our test Maximus IX Formula could easily connect a custom “dropsy” to remove heat from the power circuits.

However, if none of these novelties appeals to you, we have a pleasant fact in store. They didn’t change the socket for Kaby Lake, leaving the already familiar LGA 1151. That is, the new processors work great on old Z170 Express motherboards, but Skylake feels good on the Z270.

Fact seven: performance

And finally, about the most important thing: performance. We were tested by the senior representative of the line - Core i7-7700K, which replaced the Core i7-6600K. As we have already said, technically, the crystals differ only in frequency: under Turbo Boost, the new product gives out 300 MHz more, and in the standard it keeps the speed 200 MHz higher. Actually, this difference in frequency also fits into the increase in performance. In all tasks, the i7-7700K is about 5-6% faster than its predecessor. And when comparing at the same frequency, the difference fits into the measurement error.

As for the processor temperature, nothing has changed here. At the limit, the processor easily reaches 80 ° C. But our processor was scalped and even at a frequency of 4.8 GHz it did not warm itself above 70 ° C.

* * *

The seventh generation of Intel Core i7 can hardly be called "new". In fact, we have the same Skylake, but at slightly higher frequencies. Whether it's good or bad, decide for yourself, our opinion is this. If you are sitting on a relatively fresh Intel architecture (Skylake or Haswell), there is no point in upgrading to Kaby Lake. But if you are building a computer from scratch, then before the release of AMD Ryzen, the seventh Core is the only correct option.

We thank ASUS for the provided equipment.