Intel unveils Kaby Lake, its first post-“tick-tock” CPU architecture

Intel’s tick-tock model may be dead, but the PC industry still demands new hardware every year. Many PC models are refreshed once a year or so, and that means that the PC makers need new stuff to put into those computers whether or not the laws of physics want to comply.

Enter “Kaby Lake,” the first of Intel’s post-tick-tock processor architectures. Kaby (rhymes with baby, named for a lake in Canada) first appeared on Intel’s public roadmaps in mid-2015 when the company realized that Cannonlake and its attendant 10nm manufacturing process wouldn’t be ready in time. No major architecture has changed, and Intel is still using a tweaked version of its 14nm manufacturing process, so most changes are relatively minor and built to serve a particular market niche.

Know your codenames
Codename and year Process Prominent consumer CPU branding Tick/tock
Westmere (2010) 32nm Core i3/i5/i7 Tick (new process)
Sandy Bridge (2011) 32nm Second-generation Core i3/i5/i7 Tock (new architecture)
Ivy Bridge (2012) 22nm Third-generation Core i3/i5/i7 Tick
Haswell (2013) 22nm Fourth-generation Core i3/i5/i7 Tock
Broadwell (2014-15) 14nm Fifth-generation Core i3/i5/i7, Core M Tick/”Process
Skylake (2015-16) 14nm Sixth-generation Core i3/i5/i7, Core m3/m5/m7 Tock/”Architecture”
Kaby Lake (2016-17) “14nm+” Seventh-generation Core i3/i5/i7, Core m3 “Optimization”
Cannonlake (2017?) 10nm TBA “Process”

As usual, Intel is releasing the Kaby Lake processors in waves. Today, we’re getting dual-core low-voltage processors, the kind you’d find in thin-and-light consumer laptops. The first Kaby systems are slated to ship in September, and you’ll see lots of new laptops at IFA next week. Desktop CPUs and other higher-performance chips, including those with Intel Iris GPUs, will be announced in January around CES.

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Source: Ars Technica – Intel unveils Kaby Lake, its first post-“tick-tock” CPU architecture