Intel expands Kaby Lake family as Iris Plus replaces Iris Pro

The 14-nanometre Kaby Lake family of chips has expanded to 42, with Intel announcing 40 new chips based on its seventh-generation Core architecture on Tuesday, ranging from the unlocked 91W-using 4.2GHz base frequency i7-7700K to the 1GHz 7W m3-7Y30 chip.

The chip giant has broken up its processor line into four categories: The Y-series for detachables and compute stick; the U-series for laptops, convertibles, and minis; the H-series for Xeon laptops and mobile workstations; and the S-series for traditional desktops.

Among the latest chip release is a new unlocked S-series i3 chip dubbed the i3-7350K that offers 4 threads on a dual-core processing unit running at 4.2GHz, and taking in 60 watts of power. The i3-7350K will be available a month after its i7-7700K and i5-7600K brethren.

On the integrated graphics front, all SKUs offering eDRAM will use the new Iris Plus branding instead of Iris Pro. According to Intel's numbers, Iris Plus on its U-series offers around 65 percent better 3D graphic performance compared to the HD620 graphics offered on its U-series non-Iris chips.

Intel is also unveiling two Xeon processors for mobile workstations, the E3-1535M v6 and the E3-1505M v6. The slighty quicker quad-core hyperthreaded E3-1535M v6 offers a 3.1GHz base frequency, 4.2GHz single-core turbo, and 3.9GHz quad-core turbo; whereas the E3-1505M v6 is just behind, at 3.0GHz base, 4.0GHz single-core turbo, and 3.6GHz quad-core turbo frequency. The chip giant said pricing will sit at $623 for the E3-1535M v6 and $434 for the E3-1505M v6, and both models come with HD P630 graphics.

Last year's E3-1535M v5 sat at 2.9GHz base and 3.8GHz turbo frequencies, with the E3-1505M v5 clocking in with 2.8GHz base and 3.7GHz turbo frequencies.

For its H-series core chips, Intel is touting a 20 percent "productivity improvement", but that comparison is against a 2013 22-nanometre i7-4700HQ running at a base frequency of 2.4GHz and using 8GB of DDR3 memory compared to the 14nm i7-7700HQ running at 2.8GHz and packing 16GB of DDR4 memory.

In preparation for the arrival of its Optane 3D XPoint SSD later this year, Intel will be labelling motherboards with an M.2 slot using its 200 series chip as "Optane Memory Ready".

The chip giant has baked a number of security features into the silicon, including biometrics, password management, and two-factor authentication.

"For consumers, adding biometrics plus hardware-based security makes it both easier and safer to buy online," the company said in a statement. "Intel is working with partners to enable secure fingerprint touch to pay, and Secure Guest Checkout which provides hardware-level data protection to better verify that you are you.

"Intel is also working with Password Manager providers to provide simpler and more secure web login to online sites and services through password manager applications that take advantage of Intel security hardware."

Pricing for Kaby Lake chips per 1000 units is:

• E3-1535M v6: $623
• i7-7920HQ: $568
• E3-1505M v6: $434
• i7-7660U, i7-7560U, i7-7567U, i7-7287U: $415
• i7-7Y75, i7-7600U, i7-7500U: $393
• i7-7820HQ, i7-7820HK, i7-7700HQ: $378
• i7-7700K: $339
• i5-7360U, i5-7260U, i5-7267U, i3-7167U: $304
• i7-7700, i7-7700T: $303
• i5-7Y57, i5-7Y54, m3-7Y30, i5-7300U, i5-7200U, i3-7100U: $281
• i5-7440HQ, i5-7300HQ: $250
• i3-7100H: $225
• i5-7600K: $242
• i5-7600, i5-7600T: $213
• i5-7500, i5-7500T: $192
• i5-7400, i5-7400T: $182
• i3-7350K: $168
• i3-7320: $149
• i3-7300, i3-7300T: $138
• i3-7100, i3-7100T: $117