Intel: overclocker-friendly 14nm desktop Broadwell CPUs to arrive by mid-year

Shawn Knight

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A leaked Intel roadmap tipped us off in January that desktop versions of Intel’s Broadwell CPU would arrive by the middle of this year. We now know that information to be true.

During the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Chipzilla confirmed 14-nanometer Broadwell processors would indeed be launching in mid-2015. They’ll feature Iris Pro graphics and an attractive TDP of just 65 watts. Best yet, they’ll arrive unlocked – an attribute that’ll no doubt attract the overclocking crowd.

It’ll be interesting to see just how far enthusiasts will be able to push Intel’s new silicon both on air and with liquid cooling. And given the low thermal envelope, Broadwell chips will likely be an excellent choice for systems lacking in real estate (think micro ATX and mini ITX form factors).

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While on the topic of mini PCs, Intel once again said it is planning to release a Next Unit of Computing (NUC) system that’ll be powered by a Core i7 version of Broadwell. It'll be a 28 watt unit with Iris graphics; expect it to arrive sometime next month.

If you recall, Intel updated its NUC lineup with Broadwell chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Chipzilla showed off two different models – one with an Intel Core i3-5010U processor / Intel HD 5500 graphics and another with a speedier Core i5-5250U alongside Intel HD 6000 graphics.

Do you have any plans to pick up a Broadwell desktop CPU later this year?

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I'm going to build myself a Haswell-based PC with an H97 or a Z97 board by the end of this month. I might get Broadwell later down the road, but only if I really need it, which seems unlikely.
 
Gamers don't care about embedded graphics, non-gamers don't care about discrete graphics. And I think the tendency will remain for years to come.

All of Intel's embedded chips were hyped up the nuts out, none lived up to the expectation. I believe the 6000 series will follow the trend.
 
I'll consider once I see how much overclocking headroom there is. Haswell right now runs very hot, so to overclock heavily, I need fans running at high speed, which makes my OCD for silent computing unhappy.

If these run significantly cooler, I'll consider. Also interested in what the clock speeds will be. I foresee little to no bumps in clock speed based on all I read about the initial difficulties they had moving to 14nm.
 
Very nice but I'll stick with my 4770K for a while longer and will probably only upgrade when Broadwell refresh gets released, if I feel the need... Or else I can convince myself I need to upgrade when in actual fact I don't but that goddammed bug tends to bite indiscriminately and without remorse.
 
I for one could see a couple different uses for that updated NUC... Might look into getting a couple.

I'm also looking to do a complete rebuild by the end of the year, so to answer the question posed in the article, probably unless I can get a killer deal on a 4970K. I forget when Skylake is coming out and I'm too lazy to double check lol.
 
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"non-gamers don't care about discrete graphics"...Oh I don't know, I have put my old 2600k cpu to good use, using the inbuilt graphics in a htpc. Works well and I can also use it as a dedicated game server for online games I play with friends and a few members of the public.
 
Gamers don't care about embedded graphics, non-gamers don't care about discrete graphics. And I think the tendency will remain for years to come.

All of Intel's embedded chips were hyped up the nuts out, none lived up to the expectation. I believe the 6000 series will follow the trend.

None the less, I don't think anyone can argue that each generation is superior to the last. Inte's first iGPUs were horrible. HD 6000 Graphics abilities are adequate for light gaming. So I have to disagree with your statement about 'years to come'. All I see is improvements as time passes by. They may be small but they are there.
 
14nm!! Holy mother! I remember just yesteryear I purchased a 90nm cpu :D
One of those Pentium 3 once...or it could have been 4...too many yesteryears have gone by lol
 
Yeah ~90nm was Pentium4. Anyway, I was kinda forced into buying haswell refresh. My old main computer, or rather motherboard "blew its fuses". If that hadnt happened, I would go with skylake next year.
 
I literally just ordered a 1150 board with a i5 4960x devils canyon and a gtx 960 for my gaming/media needs but I knew broadwell was around the corner. if I can snag a broadwell cheap thatll beat mine for around 300 that will fit my socket I will definitely save for one. lower power consumption and temps are always nice
 
My 1155 3570k keeps me happy with my discreet graphics. I will never use integrated graphics so I'm a happy chappy for a few years to come. The performance gains between direct comparison of computing power between models is laudable so I will stick to my current hardware. just and upgrade on GPU to new radeon cards will be necessary. HD6850 is definitely showing age, but high/ultra settings on all next gen titles is pretty good.
 
14nm!! Holy mother! I remember just yesteryear I purchased a 90nm cpu :D
One of those Pentium 3 once...or it could have been 4...too many yesteryears have gone by lol
Pentium 4 (!) was 90nm, up until the very last "Cedar Mill" issues, which were 65nm.

I think the P-2 & 3 runs may have been over 90nm. Actually way, way, over 90nm. The P-4 process is listed as ".09 picometers". P-3 (generally), seems to have been .18 picometers.

This would make the new Broadwell chips. ".014 picometers" which narrows the pathways by a factor of more than 11X, from P-3
 
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It's nice to get more efficient and hopefully faster with each generation, but I'm getting burned out on upgrading. It's always a letdown after you realize that nothing has really changed except slightly higher benchmark scores. The Intel chipsets are essentially the same year after year - P67, Z68, Z77, Z87, Z97, and now Z170 (it's claim to fame amounts to 4 more possible USB 3.0 ports, and enhanced ability to assign PCIe lanes). At least in the past we got more SATA 6GB/s ports (Z170 still has 6, just like Z87). After You've bought an i7-4790K, the new Broadwell, or Skylake for that matter, would have to be a monster overclocker to provoke an upgrade. That's not going to happen; Intel is the champ at trickling out minor segmented upgrades to maximize profit margins. It also helps sell off last gen hardware at high prices, since it performs essentially the same. What comes after Skylake? Perhaps I'll skip all this foolishness and wait for that...
 
Pentium 4 (!) was 90nm, up until the very last "Cedar Mill" issues, which were 65nm.

I think the P-2 & 3 runs may have been over 90nm. Actually way, way, over 90nm. The P-4 process is listed as ".09 picometers". P-3 (generally), seems to have been .18 picometers.

This would make the new Broadwell chips. ".014 picometers" which narrows the pathways by a factor of more than 11X, from P-3

and that right there is just mind blowing!! :D
 
Pentium 4 (!) was 90nm, up until the very last "Cedar Mill" issues, which were 65nm.

I think the P-2 & 3 runs may have been over 90nm. Actually way, way, over 90nm. The P-4 process is listed as ".09 picometers". P-3 (generally), seems to have been .18 picometers.

This would make the new Broadwell chips. ".014 picometers" which narrows the pathways by a factor of more than 11X, from P-3

and that right there is just mind blowing!! :D

I think you mean micrometers! A picometer is 10^-12m. Nanometer is 10^-9. Micrometer 10^-6. 0.09microm*1000=90nm.
 
AFAIK, the current convention regarding naming of process path widths is in nanometers. So, how about if we call the P-3 process 180nm, the P-4 process 90nm, and now Broadwell is at 14nm, a shrink by a factor of more than 11 times I under 2 decades..

That dispenses with and corrects my, "mixed mathematical metaphors", and "exponential errata", so to speak..

I keep trying to visualize the strings of zeroes attached to those exponents, and it's not working...:confused:
 
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