Intel Desktop CPU Roadmap Confirms Broadwell-E In Q3 2015

The latest Intel 2013-2015 CPU roadmap has been leaked on the web detailing Intel’s upcoming CPU platforms which include the HEDT Haswell-E and Broadwell-E, Mainstream LGA 1150 Broadwell and Skylake plus the mobility Bay-Trail and Braswell SOCs. According to the roadmap, Intel will have a total of 13 new platforms in this time-frame aimed at various markets for different users.

The roadmap has various platform lines listed starting with the HEDT X99 Chipset platform which is going to get updated with the latest Haswell-E processors in Q3 2014 (September 2014). The Intel Haswell-E processor lineup would include three SKUs, the Core i7-5960X, Core i7-5930K and Core i7-5820K. All processors are built on the 22nm Haswell architecture which means that they will improve the IPC performance while keeping the same power limits as previous generation processors due to enhanced power efficiency of the Haswell architecture.

The next major update to the LGA 2011-3 platform will arrive in the form of Broadwell-E processors which will ship in Q3 2015. Little is known about Broadwell-E at this moment but Intel’s roadmap does confirm it will stay compatible with the X99 chipset. Being based off cut down Xeon E5-2600 V4 chips, the Broadwell-E processors are likely to get higher clock speeds and possibly more cores (rumors point out to 10 in the flagship variant). The current Haswell-E processors will include the flagship Core i7-5960X which boasts 8 Cores but the clock speed has been cut to 3.0 GHz base and 3.4 GHz boost to support the high 140W TDP of the chip.

	Intel Ivy Bridge-E	Intel Haswell-E	Intel Broadwell-E
Series	Core i7-4***	Core i7-5***	Core i7-6***
Max Cores	6	8	8-10?
Threads	12	16	16-20?
LLC Cache	15 MB L3	20 MB L3	25 MB L3
Memory	DDR3-1866	DDR4-2133	DDR4-2400
Memory Population	Quad Channel DDR3	Quad Channel DDR4	Quad Channel DDR4
Chipset	X79	X99	X99
TDP	130W	140W	140W
Launch	Q3 2013	Q3 2014	Q3 2015

Intel To Launch Broadwell K-Series in Q1 2015, Skylake Processors in Mid-2015

Intel clearly stated a few months back that they will have Broadwell ready for shipping till Holiday 2014. That statement is true for the mobility parts however the socketed variants for the LGA 1150 platform won’t arrive until Q1 2015. Intel recently launched their Haswell Refresh K-Series “Devil’s Canyon” processors last month which included the first 4 GHz clocked processor from Intel, Core i7-4790K. Built on the Haswell architecture, the processor deliver no architectural enhancements but overclocking was improved due to better materials used in packaging such as the Next Generation Polymer Thermal Interface Material (NGPTIM) inside their Devil’s Canyon CPUs offering better heat dissipation to allow overclocking.
The Broadwell K-Series processors will adopt the 14nm process node delivering improved power efficiency, better clocks and the latest Iris Pro graphics chips on the top most K-Series variants. The Broadwell K-Series processors will be compatible with the 9-Series platform control hub featured on the LGA 1150 socketed motherboards while Devil’s Canyon has been made compatible with the older 8-Series chipset motherboards.

Broadwell K-Series won’t last long enough as Intel would launch their Skylake processors in less than 6 months after them which will introduce the latest Skylake microarchitecture built on a 14nm die. Skylake desktop processors would be compatible with the latest LGA 1151 socketed boards and Z170 chipset which is part of the new 100-Series chipset “Sunrise Point” replacing the 9-Series “Wild Cat” PCH. The second most interesting thing covered is that Skylake processors would have both DDR3 and DDR4 memory controllers so they will support both types of memory. The initial cost of the DDR4 memory while suitable for the HEDT Haswell-E platform won’t be that good for the mainstream Z170 platform hence users will have the choice to stick with cheaper DDR3 sticks till DDR4 prices fall down or upgrade if they have the cash to afford a DDR4 memory kit on the mainstream platform.

Aside from all these details, the SKUs for Skylake have also been confirmed along with their TDPs. The desktop variants will have six different variants which will include the flagship 95W Quad Cores with GT2 and GT4e GPU while the lowest 35W TDP variant will feature Dual Cores and GT2 graphics. The H-Series lineup will also include the 95W Quad Core with GT4e graphics chip but that’s the only flagship chip followed by 65W, 55W and 45W Quad Core variants with a mix of GT4e and GT2 graphics. This H-Series doesn’t seem to include a dual core model at all. The U-Series lineup will have TDPs of 25W and 15W with the flagship part featuring Dual Cores and GT3e graphics while the other models consist of GT2 graphics. Last up is the Y-Series Skylake lineup featuring two SKUs, both featuring 4.5W TDP and 2 Cores plus GT2 graphics. The difference between them is not clearly mentioned however we think its related to clock speeds. You can get a better representation of the variants in the following chart:

SKUs	x86 Cores	Graphics	TDP
Skylake DT	4	GT4e	95W
Skylake DT	4	GT2	95W
Skylake DT	4	GT2	65W
Skylake DT	2	GT2	65W
Skylake DT	2	GT2	35W
Skylake DT	4	GT2	35W
H-Series	4	GT43	95W
H-Series	4	GT4e	65W
H-Series	4	GT4e	55W
H-Series	4	GT4e	45W
H-Series	4	GT2	65W
H-Series	4	GT2	55W
H-Series	4	GT2	45W
U-Series	2	GT3e	25W
U-Series	2	GT3e	15W
U-Series	2	GT2	25W
U-Series	2	GT2	15W
Y-Series A	2	GT2	4.5W
Y-Series B	2	GT2	4.5W

Intel Braswell Atom SOC To Power High-Performance Tablets and Notebook PCs

At the developer forum in China, Intel PC chief Kirk Skaugen told Intel employees about Intel’s hopes to help Google grow its Chromebook and Chromebox business as well. Chromebook, as we know is a growing sector of the notebook market. The notebooks run Google’s Chrome OS and are generally cheaper than $ 400. Intel also claimed that the chip will now boost the notebook designs of Chromebook to 20 in 2014 from four previous year. The move might also be aimed at attracting more manufactures to manufacture the Chromebook. We can also expect better power efficiency and a significant power boost from Braswell as well. This is due to the shrinkage in its architecture. It will therefore be able to power budget laptops and desktops much effectively. The chip will also make use of the Intel Iris. The SoC design, Intel claims will reduce the overall size of the final product as well as the number of supporting chips required.

Intel Mainstream Platforms Comparison Chart:

	Intel Sandy Bridge Platform	Intel Ivy Bridge Platform	Intel Haswell Platform	Intel Broadwell Platform	Intel Skylake Platform	Intel Cannonlake Platform
Processor Architecture	Sandy Bridge	Ivy Bridge	Haswell	Broadwell	Skylake	Cannonlake
Processor Process	32nm	22nm	22nm	14nm	14nm	10nm
Processors Cores (Max)	4	4	4	4	4	TBA
Platform Chipset	6-Series “Cougar Point”	7-Series “Panther Point”	8-Series “Lynx Point”	9-Series “Wild Cat Point”	100-Series “Sunrise Point”	200-Series “Union Point”
Platform Socket	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1150	LGA 1150	LGA 1151	TBA
Memory Support	DDR3	DDR3	DDR3	DDR3	DDR4 / DDR3	DDR4
Thunderbolt	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes “Alpine Ridge”	Yes
Platform	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA
Launch	2011	2012	2013-2014	2015	2015	2016