Intel prepping X299 chipset for Skylake-E series?

Posted on Wednesday, November 02 2016 @ 15:25 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
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AnandTech came across a leaked copy of a document Intel sent to its partners. It details the upcoming 200-series chipset lineup and reveals there's a future Intel X299 chipset. It's just speculation at this point, but this will likely be the new chipset for the Intel Skylake-E platform, which is expected in the second half of 2017:
Also is X299, which really throws up a few question marks. The X-series chipsets are typically for Intel's High-End Desktop Platform (HEDT), and we've had X58, X79 and X99 in the last decade, from Nehalem up to Broadwell-E which was released back in May. This means either one of two things - either Intel is bringing the X nomenclature to Kaby Lake, the mainstream platform, or this is the next chipset for HEDT and the future Skylake-E series of processors. The first option in making X299 a Kaby Lake-related platform seems a little odd. However the second one, with Skylake-E, makes sense. After X99, the X119 name doesn't have the same marketability (if Intel was to keep parity with number jumps), but by pushing Skylake-E onto the 200-series naming as X299, it moves both mainstream and HEDT chipset naming strategies onto the same track. Note that we don't have a time-frame for Skylake-E as of yet.
All the other 200-series chipsets are expected soon. The Kaby Lake desktop platform launches in Q1 2017 and will feature LGA1151 motherboards with the H270, Z270, B250, Q250 and Q270 chipsets. Enthusiast models will gain more PCI 3.0 chipset lanes and support for the Intel Optane SSDs.

If you have a 100-series motherboard, you should be able to upgrade to Kaby Lake without having to buy a new motherboard. All that's required is a BIOS update, but check the motherboard support page to ensure it's available.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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