Desktop PC sales have been declining over the past few years prompting many to proclaim the death of the PC. What these people ignore is the fact that Enthusiast PC sales have been growing over the years and that the Desktop PC is evolving to occupy new spaces with AIOs, Small Form Factor PCs, Outdoor Displays and so on. And it is with this insight that Intel is announcing measures to tap the new markets with the launch of some new processors that should be available for sale in June.
Enter Devil’s Canyon
Intel has announced a new 4th generation Core series processor codenamed Devil’s Canyon which is officially called the Intel Core i7-4790k. It boasts a 4.0 GHz base frequency and has 4 cores with 8 threads. It has Intel HD4600 graphics clocked at 1250MHz and 8MbB of Intel Smart Cache. It requires a LGA 1150 socket.
Enthusiasts should be relieved that Intel has added more capacitors for improved power delivery to the core and used a new Thermal Interface Material so that one needn’t delid their processor to extract more performance at lower temperatures.
Pentium turns 20
The other processor announcement concerns the anniversary of Intel’s once flagship Pentium series. To commemorate 20 years Intel has announced a new Anniversary Edition Pentium processor which is unlocked for overclocking. It comes with a 3.2GHz base frequency and is a dual core with 3MB Smart Cache. It also supports the LGA 1150 socket.
Benchmarks
These figures are based on Intel’s own testing and compare with older hardware. The true picture should emerge as reviewers get their hands on these chips and conduct independent benchmarking.
