Intel has everyone a little confused. Broadwell was supposed to be the next big generation of processors from the market dominator, but the delay of the desktop quad-cores has it directly competing with the sixth generation of chipsets, Skylake. Intel is expected to merge the two lines (in a sense) at this point, and thankfully it seems like Skylake will be more accessible then previously expected.
Early reports suggested that Intel’s Skylake range would take the plunge and force DDR4 RAM support, ruling out any compatibility with mainstream, and far cheaper, DDR3 memory. It would’ve been a bold, risky move, but a new leaks suggests that even Intel aren’t willing to take the risk. According to the leak, Skylake chipsets will support both DDR3 and DDR4 memory, making then temptingly accessible.
Skyline will also make use of a brand new slot, namely the LGA 1151. That means you’ll need to fork out cash for a new motherboard come the end of Q2 this year, when the chips are expected to hit shelves. Unlike Broadwell, Skylake falls on the tock of Intel’s “tick tock” cycle. So not only will it feature the smaller die that Broadwell introduced, it’s also expected to be more powerful. It could, finally, end up being a worthy reason to ditch the aging (but still incredibly capable) Sandy Bridge line. Maybe.
But we’ll have to wait until the middle of this year to really find out, and hope that Intel doesn’t try and delay Skylake to give Broadwell some breathing room. Desktop users are demanding power, so I wouldn’t advise Intel to hold it back.
Last Updated: March 2, 2015
Pariah
March 2, 2015 at 09:33
I’m still on an Ivy Bridge i7 3770k. Maybe in the next tok cycle I’ll upgrade, but for now I’m good, thanks Intel.
HairyEwok
March 2, 2015 at 11:26
What you on about, I’m still on a Sandy i5 2500 and it’s holding it’s weight just fine with game releases of today. (Waits for i3 and pentium to comment too)
Pariah
March 2, 2015 at 11:35
Lol, that’s pretty much my point. I’ll be fine for another 2 generations of Intel processors at the very least.
z1n
March 2, 2015 at 11:59
My only Pentium comment is that TIL that you can still buy a brand new Pentium. I’m shocked.
Uberutang
March 2, 2015 at 09:37
I am still on Sandy Bridge. To date no game has pushed my CPU in the red.
Alessandro Barbosa
March 2, 2015 at 09:41
Same! Although I am looking at Skylake very closely. I think a lot of modern open-world games are going to start pushing things.
That said: liquid cooling and a 5GHz overclock is pretty incredible 😀
Uberutang
March 2, 2015 at 09:45
Air cooled 4.5ghz here 🙂
Admiral Chief
March 2, 2015 at 12:44
Same here, but I’ve left it at 4GHz now, winter time I’ll push it up again
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 2, 2015 at 09:37
…
RinceThis
March 2, 2015 at 09:49
Play nice… Remember what the doctors said…
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 2, 2015 at 09:56
You’re right. I’m sorry.
“If you feel the urge to kill rising, just remember your happy place… where they’re already dead.”
Admiral Chief
March 2, 2015 at 09:49
Team RED
DrKiller
March 2, 2015 at 10:52
And here I am still on the 1st Generation i5 CPUs…. Still havent found much reason to upgrade.
Will probably do it when USB 3.1 becomes standard in motherboards.
Vulcha
March 2, 2015 at 11:13
I don’t think Sandy should write articles on Mondays.
HairyEwok
March 2, 2015 at 11:32
This sandy? (refresh)
FoxOneZA
March 2, 2015 at 11:43
Skyline? Fast and Furious muchness?
Vinak
March 3, 2015 at 01:39
Still using an I7 920. Been itching to upgrade for a year now. Was waiting for Broadwell. Hoping Intel doesn’t screw me out of getting a Skylake.
Michael
March 3, 2015 at 05:48
I have the exact same processor i7 920. Everything in my rig is going since I bought the thing about 5 years ago.
– HDD, already replaced w/ 1 HDD and 1 SSD
– PSU – dying
etc.
Vinak
March 3, 2015 at 07:14
I’ve had to replace the motherboard twice.
Had to replace my RAM last year.
upgraded GPU 2 years ago.
Lost a hard drive 3 years ago. (took it apart a few days ago to see what it looked like inside. lol)
upgraded boot drive to an ssd few months ago.
Had to replace my PSU 3 years ago.