Intel Premieres Skylake 14nm Processors With PC Gaming Parade

Intel has lifted the lid on its sixth-generation processors, using the new 14-nanometer Skylake architecture.

The quad-core i5-6600K and the i7-6700K CPUs are being targeted at dedicated desktop PC gamers as the chips come unlocked for overclocking capabilities, meaning that enthusiasts can beef up the specs of the chips themselves to get better performance.

By continuing to ship unlocked processors, Intel is admitting that it must chase the PC gaming fanbase to cement sales in a waning PC segment.

“PC gaming is driving the platform,” said Simon Lambden, a user experience engineer at Intel.

“Intel is committed to PC gaming and overclocking. It dipped, but it’s come back with a vengeance.”

Four cores

But overclocking may not be needed for all, as the two K-series chips are already clocked at 4GHz and 3.5GHz. The chips will found in high-end gaming desktops, however, Intel will start releasing further Skylake chips over the next few months designed for more devices such as laptops and tablets.

Along with the two chips, Intel announced the Z170 series of motherboards and a new socket that will be needed to use Skylake. That does mean a DIY-types will need a new PC, or at least a new motherboard to enjoy the benefits of the K-series CPUs. Intel also wheeled out dual channel DDR4 memory kits along with the chips. However, this does mean DDR3 RAM just isn’t going to cut it with the new processors, so you’ll have to purchase the new RAM too.

Intel promises “new levels” of overclocking with the chips, with Full Range Base Clock (BCLK) tunging and finer grain tuning.

The i7-6700K CPU can be pushed up to 4.2GHz, with the i5-6600K able to be pushed from 3.5Ghz up to 3.9GHz. Further technical details of the chips will be released at this year’s Intel Developer Forum on August 18th in San Francisco, along with more information about the rest of the Skylake family.

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