Intel had already launched the new Haswell-based CPUs in 2013, offering up revamped processors for desktops and mobile PCs that not only improved upon the overall performance of their third generation Core i-series but also reduced energy consumption in an effort to remove some stress off of batteries. Many tablet PCs like the Surface Pro 3 have greatly benefited from using a Haswell CPU in its configuration, but for work/play professionals that are looking for the best Intel has to offer, earlier Haswell chips offered only slight advantages over the Ivy Bridge series in terms of raw computing performance.
Make no mistake about it: Haswell is currently the superior CPU generation (compared to Ivy Bridge) that not only offers better energy management while in-use but also better embedded graphics performance. Still, if you"re looking to make a sizable upgrade that justifies the money sink you"re not going to enjoy the mild upgrade that comes from moving from an unlocked Ivy Bridge i5 or i7 to the newer unlocked Haswell i5 or i7 CPUs. The good news is you now have a few sizable upgrade options on the horizon and they will be taking CPU performance to the "extreme".
Intel is at Pax Prime in Seattle, WA this weekend and has used the event to reveal their previously rumored Extreme Edition i7 CPUs under the Haswell chipset. Dubbed the "Haswell-E" processor line, Intel will now offer the Core i7 5960X (eight-cores), the current flagship of Haswell-E, as well as the new i7-5930K and i7-5820K CPUs (both six-cores). These new CPUs are heavy hitters for computing and are firsts for Intel in the six/eight core configuration, offering significant advantages over what was previously the best Haswell had to offer. These three new CPUs will not have embedded graphics, so for those wishing to find a great all-in-one CPU that will do their graphics processing should look elsewhere.
As indicated with the family comparison chart below, not only do the new Haswell-E CPUs bring advances to things like PCI-E lane offerings, physical cores and cache sizes but the inclusion of four-channel DDR4-2133 support. With the new 5820/30K and 5960X CPUs you"ll be able to drop in quad-channel DDR4, a memory type that hasn"t been widely adopted yet but has seen companies like Samsung in the early manufacturing stages for the memory type. The baseline i7-5820K starts at $389 and the prices quickly jump on your way up to the 5960X, so will you consider making the jump with your own PCs in the future?
Source: PC World, tomshardware.com | Images: PC World