Intel’s 7th-gen finally arrives on desktop

The wait for Kaby Lake on desktop may be over, but was it worth it? Josh Collins tests the chip giant’s new desktop Core i3, i5 and i7 CPUs alongside seven Z270 motherboards from the top vendors.

Intel’s latest processor and platform controller hub (PCH) is one we’re already fairly familiar with from its mobile variant, which landed about six months ago. Codenamed Kaby Lake, this successor to Skylake supersedes the Z170 platform and 6th-generation Core i processors, replacing them with a new Z270 motherboard platform and and 7th-gen processors. However, as with the last couple of Intel platform updates, these new parts demonstrate an evolution rather than revolution — namely further iteration of the 14nm manufacturing process and refinement of a microarchitecture that we’ve, frankly, got to know pretty well by now.

This new chipset feels akin to the move from Z87 to Z97 — a ‘jump’ which caused many PC enthusiasts to scratch their heads and wonder, “What’s new?” Frustratingly, we’re once again confronted by this kind of scenario where the updates are, at this point, minimal.

We say “at this point” because the core feature driving interest in the new Z270 platform, which is Intel’s much hyped Optane memory technology, isn’t actually launching with the Z270 platform. It will come later, though exact details are yet unknown. At the time of going to print, we have been advised of an upcoming Intel briefing; however, to bring this feature article and review roundup to you to meet the launch schedule, we’ve reached out to the motherboard vendors to help source the required CPUs for testing. Intel has been quiet, to say the least.

Regardless of the circumstances, what we’ve found through rigorous testing is a platform that simply feels like much the same, just slightly tweaked and bumped. The Core i7 and Core i5 K SKU CPUs carry a 300MHz clock speed increase, though this becomes somewhat redundant given the target, overclocking savvy market segment. But we do have a new Core i3 K SKU to explore, so read on to find out what’s hot and what’s not — literally, even.