Intel is not only updating things on the HEDT side in 2016 but also bringing forth their latest Kaby Lake desktop processor platform for the mainstream market. Intel's 7th generation core processors, codenamed Kaby Lake, will be based on the existing 14nm process node with further refinements to the design. Replacing the Skylake generation of processors, Kaby Lake isn't expected to bring incremental increase to processor performance but will remain compatible with existing platforms while featuring support for next generation 200-series platform.

Intel's 7th Generation Kaby Lake Platform - 200-Series Chipset, LGA 1151 Compatibility Featuring Intel Optane Support

While we have previously detailed the full Kaby Lake processor lineup which includes the H, S, U, Y series chips, this article will solely cover the desktop chips which will be launching later in 2016, as reported by Benchlife. It has been revealed that Kaby Lake processors will retain support on current generation motherboards with the LGA 1151 socket. The more surprising bit is that Intel is yet again offering users a new chipset in the form of the 200-series chipset that will launch along side the Kaby Lake processors. Just like the transition from Z87 to Z97, the new 200-series chipset will mostly remain the same but will include increased I/O performance that is very important for the platform to be ready for Intel's next generation Optane storage products that use Intel's 3D XPoint memory architecture. So the basic features of the 200-series chipset aside from supporting Kaby Lake-S processors will include up to 24 PCI-e 3.0 lanes (up from 20 on 100-Series Chipset), 6 SATA 3.0 and 10 USB 3.0 ports.

Image Credits/Source: Benchlife

Intel Kaby Lake Platform SKUs: