Intel to release ‘unlocked’ Core i7 CPUs for enthusiast notebooks

High-performance laptops aimed at gamers have been available on the market for many years. Moreover, it is not a secret that it is possible to overclock mobile processors using BIOS settings. This week Intel announced plans to release mobile central processing units with unlocked multiplier that will be designed specifically for overclocking.

“Intel also announced plans to deliver an unlocked 6th generation Intel Core processor ‘K’ SKU for enthusiast notebooks later this year,” a statement by Intel reads. “This will be the first unlocked enthusiast “K” SKU for mobile. Stay tuned for more information.”

Intel did not reveal any details about the upcoming microprocessors, but it is logical to expect the new “Skylake” chips for notebooks with unlocked multiplier to have four cores with Hyper-Threading technology, 8MB last level cache and around 60W thermal design power. Typically, Intel’s highest-end mobile processors cost around $1096.

Unlocked Intel Core i7-6000-series mobile processors will hardly be sold in retail, but will be available exclusively to makers of notebooks. It is possible that makers of gaming laptops will offer all-new models designed specifically with overclocking in mind. Such “extreme” notebooks will likely feature very advanced cooling systems and will integrate high-end graphics adapters.

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KitGuru Says: It will be very interesting to see what kind of graphics adapters will be used inside laptops with Intel’s unlocked mobile chips. In theory, AMD’s “Fiji” graphics chip with high-bandwidth memory could be an ideal solution for notebooks thanks to its small package. However, at present AMD only sells “Fiji” to makers of graphics cards. As a result, expect gaming notebooks to feature AMD Radeon R9 300M-series or Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M.

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