The first two high-performance models were introduced during the first week of August, but if there is one detail that truly matters about the new Skylake architecture, it is the rest of the lineup, both in laptops and desktop systems. These days the IFA convention is taking place in Berlin, and as a preview, Intel decided to lift the embargo, presenting the rest of the family.
With a new version of Windows usually comes a new generation of hardware components, and in Intel's case, it's the chips based on the Skylake architecture. The two flagship models, the Core i7-6700K and the Core i5-6600K, made their public debut during the Gamescom fair in Germany. The subsequent benchmarks showed that Skylake's high-end does not take a big leap in performance, as long as the comparison is made with its Haswell equivalents. To this we must add the "double tock" that Intel will have to insert into its 14nm manufacturing... but even so, it would be truly crazy to discard the rest of the series. With the opening of the IFA convention on the horizon, Intel put all its cards on the table, revealing the Skylake variants that will soon arrive on desktops, laptops, Ultrabooks, and tablets.
Desktop Processors: From Pentium to Core i7
The fact that the chip list starts with Pentium models is not a mistake. Intel has confirmed that there will be Celeron processors with Skylake architecture, but we'll have to wait until 2016 to see them. As you can see, all Pentiums start with a frequency above 3.4 GHz, have two cores, and lack additional features like Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading. In the case of Core i3, the three models in the upper list receive Hyper-Threading, and are close to 4 GHz. However, anyone wanting four "real" cores will have to step up and enter the realm of Core i5 and i7. Alongside these intermediate processors (which Intel calls the "S series") come the low-power variants, easily recognized by their "T" designation at the end of the name. The total number of chips revealed amounts to eight, and they never exceed 35 watts of TDP, ideal for Mini-ITX platforms, HTPCs, and other flavors of hardware.
Mobile Processors: Core m, U, and H Series
As expected, Skylake's presence in the mobile space is much more varied and complex. On one hand, we have the Core m (Y series) processors, designed for smartphones, tablets, and other very low-power units. Then we see the entire U series, intended for ultra-thin systems, and logically Ultrabooks. This group is divided into two TDP categories, 15 and 28 watts, and covers more than a dozen processors. Finally, we come to the so-called H series, composed of processors for more demanding portable systems, willing to sacrifice a bit of battery in exchange for performance. Out of a total of nine processors, there are two under the Xeon brand (E3-1505M v5 and E3-1535M v5) that are worth keeping an eye on. The complete list is too long to place here, but don't worry: Intel has done the homework, and so have we. So far, Skylake has 48 processors under its wings, and if you want to get to know them more closely, the PDF file you can download below reveals every last detail.
