i7-6700K and i5-6600K priced locally: pricier than you might expect

Intel’s new Skylake i7 and i5 processors have received South African pricing at local retailers RebelTech and Wootware.

The new CPUs form part of Intel’s sixth-generation range of desktop processors, with the i7 and i5 versions listed both quad-core models.

Those interested in the Skylake processors should note that there is a new platform for the CPUs, the Z170 chipset, which uses DDR4 RAM, but allows for DDR3L memory on certain motherboards thanks to a dual-memory controller.

The new platform will also come with Intel HD 530 graphics – said to be up to 40% faster than Intel HD graphics.

The CPU pricing is detailed in the table below.

So, are the local prices for the i7-6700K and i5-6600K what we expected? Sort of.

We knew they’d be more expensive than what is available internationally, that’s always been the trend, but recent pricing leaks suggested that the i7-6700k was supposed to be cheaper than its predecessor, the i7-4790K “Devil’s Canyon”.

For reference sake, the i7-4790K is R4, 999 and R4, 911 at Wootare and RebelTech respectively.

That means that the i7-6700K and i5-6600K are both approximately R1000 more than their international pries, a little more than we were hoping for, but not by much.

The new chips do offer a noticeable improvement over a good deal of the Haswell family, but keep in mind that Skylake uses a new socket type, LGA1151, so it will not be compatible with your older motherboards – you’ll also need to fork over a good deal for DDR4 RAM.

It’s possible for motherboard manufacturers to make Skylake-focused motherboards use DDR3 RAM, but Skylake is actually only designed to support DDR4 and DDR3L, DDR3L being less-than-desirable.

Going Skylake will mean a new motherboard, new memory (you’re not going to buy an unlocked ‘K’ Skylake-S CPU, just to use relatively slow DDR3L memory) and the CPU of course.

All-in-all, the new i7-6700K and i5-6600K are going to cost quite a bit more than you might originally think.

Written in collaboration with an article that originally appeared on MyBroadband and is republished with permission.

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