<h3>Crave high-end performance? Weβre diving into all the details about Intelβs Skylake-X processors.</h3><p><img src="http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MMBdRb6SEvpyDvCtquovyk.jpg"></p><p>Over the last few years, there has been a ton of newfound competition in the CPU space – reigniting the endless war of AMD vs Intel. Enter Skylake-X, Intel’s answer to AMD’s massively successful <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-ryzen-release-date-news-and-features-everything-you-need-to-know">Ryzen</a> and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-ryzen-9-release-date-news-and-rumors-everything-you-need-to-know">Threadripper</a> CPUs.</p><p>First, a bit of backstory. Back in 2017, AMD revealed its Ryzen line of CPUs and caught Intel completely off-guard. For a minute, nobody knew how Intel was going to respond. There were of course rumors that Intel would announce <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/intel-cannon-lake">Cannon Lake</a> at <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/computex-2017-what-to-expect-from-the-years-biggest-computing-show">Computex 2017</a>, but that didn’t happen. Instead, Intel announced a <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/intel-announces-18-core-core-i9-cpu">new line of Core i9 processors</a> aiming to reclaim the enterprise market. </p><p>And, in large part, it succeeded. Intel launched the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/intel-core-i9-7980xe">Core i9-7980XE</a> at Computex 2017, and while we all knew it was going to happen, we were still impressed by its beastly performance – even though it came in at a price that was prohibitive, to say the least. It isn’t over yet, though. <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/intel-may-have-an-influx-of-hedt-processors-planned-for-the-next-year">Intel’s latest roadmap</a> suggests that Skylake-X isn’t going anywhere, and we’re going to see a HEDT ‘Basin Falls refresh’ announced in October. We’re also going to get a 28-core HEDT Skylake-X A-series processor by the end of the year.</p><p>Keep this page bookmarked, as we’ll update it with all the Intel Skylake-X news that comes our way.</p>
<h3>Cut to the chase</h3>
<ul ><li><strong>What is it?</strong> Intel’s high-end enterprise processors</li><li><strong>When is it out? </strong>June 2017</li><li><strong>What will it cost? </strong>From $389 (£329, AU$519) to $1,979 (£1,649, AU$2,729)</li></ul>
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<h3>Release date</h3>
<p>Intel released the lower-end Skylake-X processors immediately following their reveal at Computex 2017 with the Core i7-7800X, Core i7-7820X and Core i9-7900X. All of which released on June 19, 2017. </p><p>Intel didn’t stop there either, releasing three more enterprise-level processors over the following months in the Core i9-7920X, Core i9-7940X and Core i9-7960X all releasing by September 2017. Then, finally, Intel released the beast itself, the Core i9-7980XE in late September, absolutely blowing away the competition. </p><p>And, now that Kaby Lake-X chips are a thing – or, were a thing when they <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/intel-kills-off-kaby-lake-x-processors-and-boosts-windows-10-april-2018-update-graphics-for-laptops">died unceremonious</a>ly – you might be thinking to yourself that all the fun ended with the 7980XE. However, Skylake-X isn’t dead yet. Intel’s latest roadmap shows a Basin Falls Refresh launching at the end of 2018, which will feature even better HEDT chips, including that 28-core A-series behemoth we saw at <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/computex-2018">Computex 2018</a>. </p>
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<h3>Price</h3>
<p>The biggest thing holding Intel Skylake-X chips from an easy recommendation is their price – they’re some of the most expensive consumer CPUs you can buy today. If you want to pick up a Core i9 processor for your latest build, you might actually need to sell your car first, as they start out around $999 (about £750, AU$1,340).</p><p>Now, the Core i7 Skylake X processors are a bit more reasonable, but you’re still paying to adopt a high-end platform, so don’t expect to base a budget build off of Skylake-X. Below you can find the pricing for all of the Skylake-X processors currently available.</p>
<ul ><li><strong>Intel Core i7-7800X: </strong>$383 ( £329, AU$519)</li><li><strong>Intel Core i7-7820X: </strong>$589 (£509, AU$799)</li><li><strong>Intel Core i9-7900X: </strong>$989 (£819, AU$1,309)</li><li><strong>Intel Core i9-7920X: </strong>$1,189 (£990, AU$1,589)</li><li><strong>Intel Core i9-7940X: </strong>$1,387 (£1,099, AU$1,899)</li><li><strong>Intel Core i9-7960X: </strong>$1,684 (£1,399, AU$2,279)</li><li><strong>Intel Core i9-7980XE: </strong>$1,979 (£1,649, AU$2,729)</li></ul>
<p>As for the Basin Falls Refresh chips coming out later this year, we don’t know the pricing yet. However, we do know that the 28-core A-series chip is going to be extremely expensive – building a PC with that CPU slotted in will likely set you back $10,000. </p>
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<h3>Specs</h3>
<p>This is where Intel flexes its silicon muscles with Skylake-X. If you have the cash, you’re going to have a hard time finding better performance from a consumer CPU. At least, until the CPUs Intel and AMD showed off at <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/computex-2018"><u>Computex 2018</u></a> make it to market. </p><p>With the Skylake-X Core i9 processors, you’re paying for core counts that are, frankly, bananas. Starting with the Core i9-7900X, you’re getting 10 cores with 20 threads – clocked at 3.3GHz with a boost clock of 4.3GHz and a 13.75MB L3 cache. Even at the baseline, the Core i9 processors are overkill for anything like gaming.</p><p>It only gets better from here. The Core i9-7920X includes 12-cores and 24-threads with a core clock of 2.9GHz that turbos up to 4.3GHz – with an even more impressive 16.5MB L3 Cache. Then, you have the Core i9-7940X with 14-cores and 28-threads, with core clock of 3.1GHz and boosting up to 4.3GHz. This is topped off with a whopping 19.25MB L3 cache.</p>
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<p>Then, when you get to the top end of the Core i9 stack, you get processors that defy physics. The Core i9-7960X features 16-cores, 32-threads, a 4.2GHz boost clock and 22MB of L3 Cache. And, if that’s still not enough, the top-of-the-line Core i9-7980XE comes with 18 cores and 36 threads, clocked at 2.6GHz with a 4.2GHz boost clock.</p><p>If these absurdly high-end processors are a little out of your reach, there are still some high-performing Skylake-X processors that don’t cost as much as your car. </p><p>There are two Skylake-X Core i7 processors available in the Core i7-7800X and the Core i7-7820X. While they don’t reach the same highs as their Core i9 counterparts, they’re still worthwhile chips. The Core i7-7800X features 6-cores and 12-threads, clocked at 3.5GHz with a turbo boost of 4.0GHz. The Core i7-7820X is much beefier, with 8-cores and 16-threads, clocking in at 3.6GHz and boosting up to 4.3GHz.</p><p>Now, we’d actually recommend going with the Core i7-7800X or the Core i7-7820X for most average users. However, as you can see above, if your workload requires it, Intel Skylake-X allows for massive amounts of computational power – as long as you have the budget to support it.</p><p>Keep in mind, though, that none of these Skylake-X processors come with a heatsink in the box. However, if you’re using this high-end platform, you’re probably going to be using an aftermarket cooler anyways, so no big loss there. </p><p>Intel is rumored to release new HEDT chips in the near future, and we can’t blame it – especially when the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-threadripper-2990wx">Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX</a> and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-threadripper-2950x"><u>2950X</u></a> are out. However, we don’t know any actual specs. There is a rumor that the top end will be occupied by the 28-core, 56-thread A-series chip that we saw at Computex – but that’s all we know right now. </p>
<ul ><li>Meanwhile, AMD is forging ahead with <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-ryzen-threadripper-2nd-generation">Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Generation</a></li></ul><p><sup>Found on: <a href="www.techradar.com">TechRadar</a></sup></p>
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