Intel rolling out its non-desktop Skylake CPUs

Big Intel Best Ever.jpg

Intel has begun rolling out its non-desktop Skylake CPUs, and has released a whole range of specification and pricing information.

There are four different Skylake chip series on the way. The Y-Series is for 2-in-1 detachables, tablets, and Intel’s new pocket sized compute sticks. The U-Series is for thin notebooks and portable all-in-one systems. The H-Series is for mobile devices and workstations. Finally, the S-Series is all about desktops, all-in-one systems, and mini-PCs. All in all, the 6th Gen Intel Core and Intel Xeon processor line contains 48 new processors which will be released over the coming weeks.

small core m SKUs

The Y-Series (previously known as Core M) is expanding to incorporate Core m3, Core m5, and Core m7. There are some minor differences in clock speed, ranging from 0.9GHz base frequency in the m3, to 1.1GHz in both of the m5 processors, up to 1.2GHz in the m7. There are also differing graphics clocks between each model. All of the Y-Series have a base of 300MHz, with a maximum of 850MHz in the m3, 900MHz in the m5, and 1000MHz in the m7. They each have a TDP of 4.5W, ranging down to 3.5W under low load, and up to 7W under high load.

The price for the m3 and m5 products is listed at $281, with the more powerful m7 listed at $393. Of course, you won't be buying these processors directly the way you would a Core i7-6700K, but that should give you an idea of how much Intel's charging for its mobile chips.

There are a whole range of processors in the U-Series, with the 15W products either having Intel HD Graphics 520 or Intel Iris Graphics 540. They range from 1.8GHz base clock up to 2.6GHz, and have DDR4 memory support. Just like the Y-Series, you can expect to be paying $281 for most of them, while the i7 products in the U-Series will cost you $393.

The more powerful processors in the U-Series have 28W TDP, and range from 2.7GHz clock speed in the i3, to 3.1GHz and 2.9GHz options in i5, up to 3.3GHz in the i7. The pricing for these is still to be determined.

Images via HotHardware

As for the H-Series, the Core processors will feature 45W TDP, DDR4 memory support and Intel HD Graphics 530 across the board. These are the CPUs that will be most relevant to gamers, and you'll likely be seeing chips like the i7-6700HQ show up in new gaming notebooks in the near future.

The base / maximum graphics clock in the i7 processors is 350 / 1050MHz, in the i5 it’s 350 / 950MHz, and in the i3 it’s 350 / 900MHz The base clock speeds will range from 2.3GHz up to 2.9GHz depending on the SKU. You can pay anywhere from $225 for an i3, up to $568 for the most expensive i7.

Meanwhile the two Xeon processors in the H-Series have Intel HD Graphics P530 instead (350MHz / 1050MHz base/ maximum graphics clock in each), and have a 2.8GHz or 2.9GHz base clock frequency. They both also have an 8MB L3 cache. These are pricier options, at $434 for the E3-1505M v5 model, and $623 for the E3-1535M v5 model.