For generations we've put up with sub-10% YOY performance improvements on ultraportables, but with the threat of AMD's competition in the near future, Intel's low-power mobile chips are finally transitioning to quad-cores. Achieved while keeping within the same 15-watt TDP, let me tell you, the boost is huge.
Although we consider the Ryzen 5 1600 to be the sweet spot for building a new high-end gaming rig, many of you interested in going Intel want to know whether it makes more sense to buy the Core i7-7700K or the new 7800X? There's just a ~$70 difference between the two: the older chip is higher clocked, while the newer CPU gets you two extra cores and access to Intel's latest desktop platform.
MSI's GE62 7RD Apache is an entry-level gaming notebook powered by Intel's new Core i7-7700HQ processor and a GeForce GTX 1050. It should provide budget-conscious buyers with a wallet-friendly option that's capable of playing today's games, albeit at reduced quality settings.
Kick starting 2017, Intel's Kaby Lake processors made some minor performance improvements to Skylake through what might as well be described as factory overclocking. Making the release more exciting, board partners including Asrock launched alongside some drool-inducing Z270 motherboards. Two of which we are reviewing today.
Fast forward to today and we have the official introduction of Intel's 7th-generation desktop processor series. Codenamed 'Kaby Lake', the architecture is said to deliver new levels of performance courtesy of the company's latest 14nm+ process. Well, let's find out.
I've been using the Asrock Beebox as my day to day HTPC for a few months and it's been doing a fantastic job, so I didn't expect it to be replaced so soon. Nonetheless, Asrock has sent an updated Beebox-S model sporting Intel's new 7th-generation processor based on the Kaby Lake-U architecture.
