It might have been delayed for numerous times but nevertheless, the new era for Intel’s Core family of processors is finally here with the official arrival of the 6th generation Core processors. Also fondly known by the Skylake codename, Intel has decided to kick things off by launching not only just two processors but these processors are also targeted for enthusiasts instead of mere mortals mainstream users.
Specifically, the processors that we meant here are the Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K which were just leaked few days ago. According to the official specifications, the Core i7-6700K runs at a base clock speed of 4.0 GHz which can go even further up to 4.2 GHz. The quad-core octa-thread processor also has a total cache of 8 MB.
Meanwhile, the Core i5-6600K has a base clock speed of 3.5 GHz as well as maximum Turbo Boost speed of 3.9 GHz. It is also a quad-core processor but doesn’t come with Intel Hyper-Threading feature unlike its more powerful Core i7 sibling. Additionally, it also comes with lower amount of caches at 6 MB.
Nevertheless, both 14nm processors are fully unlocked models which allows users to take full advantage of their full range base clock (BCLK) tuning granularity and improved memory overclocking. Of course, these overlocking feature are apparently only possible on motherboards that are equipped with the equally new Intel Z170 chipset.
With TDP rated at 91W, these processors are also equipped with the same Intel HD Graphics 530 integrated solution together with the support for dual-channel DDR4-2133 and DDR3L-1600 memories. Since Skylake processors utilize the new LGA1151 CPU socket, users that are interested to get their hands on either of these new 6th generation Core processors need to obtain a new motherboard with such socket.
For now, the availability and pricing for these two new processors in Malaysia is not yet known at the moment although the recommended consumer pricing in United States for Core i7-6700K is USD 350 (RM 1,361) while Core i5-6600K goes for USD 243 (RM 950). We’ll keep you posted once we have further information from Intel Malaysia or local retailers.
