Home Gaming Intel could cancel Broadwell-H for Skylake

Intel could cancel Broadwell-H for Skylake

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Skylake replacing Broadwell?

Intel finally pulled the curtain up on their fifth-generation of processors at CES 2015, but unfortunately it was only the laptop and home desktop market that really benefitted. The truly powerful, quad-core Broadwell chips were delayed until June, but curiously Intel also has their sixth-generation of processors launch then. Could Broadwell be scrapped altogether?

With the more powerful Broadwell-H series only coming in June, many assumed that Intel would push back the launch of Skylake in order to avoid competition between the two. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich put these claims to bed over the weekend, confirming that the sixth-generation Skylake chips would also be launching in June, as previously promised.

This puts Intel, and more importantly consumers, in a weird position. Intel runs on a tick-tock development cycle, with the Broadwell chips falling on the tock stroke. This meant that Broadwell, while still a little bit more powerful than Haswell, primarily focused on decreasing the processor die size. Skylake on the other hand is all about performance, making it a far more desirable product when the two launch simultaneously. For this reason alone, could Broadwell-H be dead in the water?

If Intel doesn’t revise the way these chips are being marketed, then yes. Skylake is the better in most situations, although Intel could keep both alive by competitively pricing them. Making Broadwell-H considerably cheaper could appeal to a more mid-range market, while the Skylake chips are reserved for high-end enthusiasts.

Still, if you were planning on upgrading anytime soon, it’s probably a good idea to hold out until June. Grabbing a Haswell processor now would be a waste, especially with Skylake decreasing die size and boosting performance considerably. It’s only a few more months.

Last Updated: January 19, 2015

65 Comments

  1. My i7 3770k Ivy Bridge is still performing wonders, so I see no need to touch it for a good while. It’s funny, Intel make such good CPU’s that there’s little need to upgrade for a long time if you buy a decent model in the iteration of the time.

    Reply

    • R1ker

      January 19, 2015 at 11:44

      Damn – I am still on the i7 2600k and myself also don’t see a need for an upgrade yet. That baby still got some kick left.

      Reply

      • RustedFaith

        January 19, 2015 at 16:01

        still have a 2600k at 4.9ghz and no reason to upgrade yet

        Reply

    • Captain JJ Saga

      January 19, 2015 at 11:50

      That’s because it’s an i7. You can keep that thing for a long time still.

      Reply

      • ToshZA

        January 19, 2015 at 11:51

        Precisely why I got it 🙂

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Saga

          January 19, 2015 at 11:53

          I got an i5 3570K a few years back and the thing is still perfect. But that’s Intel for you. Think I’ll still run it for a while before replacing. Still feels 100% to me.

          Reply

    • HairyEwok

      January 19, 2015 at 11:58

      My i5-2500 is still doing wonderful but this weekend I saw the end of my cpu flash before my eyes literally. Was playing Evolve Beta and all of a sudden PC just dies (wasn’t overheating because i have a fan temp controller in the case) and as I stand up to check inside i see this flash of light coming from the cpu and that hair raising you get when it’s something electrical. Time for me to save abit and get ready to get a skylake it seems.

      Reply

      • ToshZA

        January 19, 2015 at 12:00

        Yoh, I know that feeling. It’s not a nice one. Good luck on the saving man.

        Reply

        • HairyEwok

          January 19, 2015 at 12:02

          Yeah I’m blaming Eskom for this, the power grid is so irregular here, power dips alot and this weekend was no exception with the whole of Sunday from 6am to 8pm being without power. Had to use a gennie to work on freelance designs.

          Reply

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:04

            This power story hey… I’ve been thinking of investing in a UPS for my PC for the same reason. It’s an extra grand, but if it saves your PC parts, that’s not much for a great investment.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:08

            getting a UPS is wonderful just make sure you get one with a decent voltage regulator otherwise you will still be supplying dirty power.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:12

            Dirrrrdy powaaaa

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:15

            Them blackouts rolling
            Eskom Hating.
            But I’m still using powa Dirty.

  2. Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

    January 19, 2015 at 11:39

    I upgraded in December and funnely enough decided to just paint the town Red.

    AMD FTW! (Although power wise intel sorta still wins but who cares 😛 )

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      January 19, 2015 at 11:41

      What did you get? I too, did ye olde upgrade!

      Reply

      • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

        January 19, 2015 at 11:51

        Nothing big. MSI Gaming 970 Board.A FX 8350 and some gaming ram.

        Edit: And a butload of water cooling.

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Saga

          January 19, 2015 at 11:51

          MSI ftw

          Reply

        • Admiral Chief

          January 19, 2015 at 11:58

          I wanted the 8350, but settled for the 8320

          Reply

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:06

            As long as you are running windows 8 (or 10) you should still have a stellar experience.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:07

            8.1

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:09

            Yep. Really massively improves multi core systems and start button aside is my second favorite windows (xp sp2 still takes nr 1 spot).

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:11

            What? XP?
            *spits*
            Ag nee sies man

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:12

            XP was the first windows I took part in the dev process as an mcp so it has some feels attached.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:24

            I must agree with you on XP. Still can’t take 8 though. Sure it’s well optimised, but it looks like one of those kiddy “edu-fun” dashboards.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:31

            Then use 8.1

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:38

            Looks the same though. Can’t you just deactivate those apps tiles kak?

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 13:16

            Just don’t use it

          • ConcernedCitizen

            January 19, 2015 at 13:26

            I use this to deal with the tiles: http://www.classicshell.net/

          • RustedFaith

            January 19, 2015 at 16:03

            I still think Windows 7 is the best OS MS produced so far.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 16:26

            Wish it was a new OS but in reality Win 7 is Vista with the memory leak bug patched out.

          • RustedFaith

            January 20, 2015 at 10:43

            Oh really you mean the same memory leak that’s still present in Windows 8.1 ? You are quite misinformed by the looks of it … if you say thats the only difference.

            But hey I cant stop you for making up stuff to justify it to yourself.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 20, 2015 at 10:50

            Dude … read the comments again. Slowly. We all know the leak is there but that is not what we are talking about here. There are major differences between vista and 8 but not between vista and 7. If you wanna troll be my guest but at least keep context.

          • RustedFaith

            January 20, 2015 at 11:11

    • Captain JJ Saga

      January 19, 2015 at 11:51

      I’m doing Intel CPU but AMD graphics.

      Reply

      • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

        January 19, 2015 at 11:51

        What I usually do but I felt like giving AMD a go again.

        Reply

      • Viking Of Science

        January 19, 2015 at 11:51

        I’m Going Opposite: team Red CPU, team Green GFX

        Reply

        • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

          January 19, 2015 at 11:53

          I don’t approve Nvidia’s shady business practice so I usually would not support them even when their cards become better than AMD.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 11:55

            I’ve just had bad experience with my last 3 Nvidia cards, so switched to AMD.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 11:56

            Yeah … AMD cards tend to be better built for long lifetime. They do run hotter and draw more power as a tradeoff but not really a big deal for me.

          • Ryanza

            January 19, 2015 at 12:11

            Don’t Support Nvidia’s shady business practices. I approve this message.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:13

            XD

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:13

            OMG we actually agree on something!!!!!

            I’m off to go see if it is snowing! 😛

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:14

            I’ve already checked! I’m expecting something huge today!

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            January 19, 2015 at 12:16

            Winter 3 is coming!

          • geel slang

            January 19, 2015 at 14:55

            “even when their cards become better than AMD.” Not sure what you mean, Nvidia cards are faster and runs cooler, they are already better.

        • Captain JJ Saga

          January 19, 2015 at 11:54

          Haha. I can hear the sound of the AMD overlords’ hearts breaking.

          Reply

          • Viking Of Science

            January 19, 2015 at 11:58

            Well, I really want a GTX 970…. AMD don’t have one… also, PhysX….

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:01

            PhysX is dying out due to it being a closed property. Hell many popular games already use something else like Havok physics etc.

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:01

            Honestly, I’m with you 100%. I prefer Nvidia.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:01

            Running an R9 270. Lovely thing that.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:02

            R9290x and it is a beast!

            With some custom watercooling it runs at 48 degrees under max load. 😛

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:03

            That’s insane, I think my heart rate just doubled.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:05

            Had issues with cooling cause it is a reference board and a rather good PSA for not buying stuff the second it is available but hell my BF4 experience is epic.

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:06

            *BF4 Beta

            Fixed.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:06

            Hahaha … lol so true.

  3. Admiral Chief

    January 19, 2015 at 11:39

    [cue movie announcer voice]
    This summer, James Bond, stars in, Skylake. More guns, more pew pew, more bewbs, this summer…

    Reply

    • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

      January 19, 2015 at 11:39

      But no TresFX. 😛

      Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 19, 2015 at 11:40

      FRIDAY ACTION NIGHT! ONLY ON EEEEEEEEE!

      Reply

      • Quo Vadis?

        January 19, 2015 at 11:44

        Lets not start this again…. LOL

        Reply

        • Ceyber, The Metal Rabbit

          January 19, 2015 at 11:59

          Walkah! Texas Rainja!

          BIG GUUNZ… BIG BLOWZ and BIG… TRABBALLL!!

          Reply

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:01

            SKOP! SKIET! en DONNOR!

  4. Ghost In The Rift

    January 19, 2015 at 12:23

    No body knows prices yet?

    Would love a Skylake for my next build.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Saga

      January 19, 2015 at 12:24

      “Price of soul expected to change”

      Reply

      • Ghost In The Rift

        January 19, 2015 at 12:54

        0_O so mine plus my dog and half of my girlfriends??Enough??

        Reply

  5. CypherGate

    January 19, 2015 at 13:32

    Im still on the AMD Athlon Tri-core cpu of like 6 years ago ;(

    Skylake with a whole new PC would be the perfect upgrade.

    Reply

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