Intel has leaked data about the new Kaby Lake processors suitable for desktop computers. A document was briefly available from Intel’s website with new data. It was meant for system manufacturers like Apple. However, it did not reveal much awaited Kaby Lake quad-core laptop processors.
The documents for partner companies shows 11 quad-core processors that are expected to be released in the first quarter of 2017. The new lineup includes seven Core i5 models, three Core i7 processors, and a single Xeon E3 v6 chip.
The faster chips expected to replace the Skylake Processors. These show 200 MHz higher base frequencies across processors likely to be used in the iMac. There is no information about the Turbo speeds as yet. The new processors are made with the same 14nm process as the Skylake family. The Kaby Lake processors will also feature Intel’s Speed Shift v2 technology, that reduces the amount of time required for the processor to throttle up to 10ms, versus 30ms.
As of now, the Retina iMac line is powered by i5-5675R or i7-5775R processors on the 21.5-inch model, and the i5-6500, i5-6600, or i7-6700K processors on the 27-inch model. The corollary Kaby Lake processors for the 5K iMac are the i5-7500, the i5-7600, and the i7-7700K, respectively.
The new i5-7500 is a quad-core processor, running at 3.4 GHz [3.2 GHz in the Skylake version], while the i5-7600 should run at 3.5 GHz [3.3 GHz in the Skylake i5-6600]. The i7-7700K is a quad-core, eight-thread processor, running at 4.2 GHz [4.0 in the Skylake i7-6700K].
The Mac Pro is in dire need of an upgrade. The new E3-1205v6 processor is a 3.0GHz processor. The number of cores and threads is not known at this time. There are no Xeon processors in the ‘v6’ Kaby Lake family. The 2013 Mac Pro is powered by E5-1620, E5-1650, E5-1680, or E5-2697, based on the ‘v2’ Ivy Bridge technology.