Published in PC Hardware

After Haswell Refresh business users get Skylake-S

by on08 April 2015


No Broadwell for desktop business customers

Currently the fastest Core i7 for business customers that supports Intel vPro is the Core i7 4790. 

The runner ups, including the Core i5 4690 and Core i5 4590, as well as few Pentiums and Core i3 products, will have to hold the fort until Q3 2015 and the arrival of Skylake-S based Core business processors.

Intel doesn’t plan to introduce Broadwell for business platform at all, but Skylake-S designs are coming. Core i7 and Core i5 versions of Skylake-S will launch in Q3 2015, between July and September, but we expect them in late July. Intel also plans Skylake-S low voltage versions in Core i7 and Core i5 branding, also scheduled for launch in Q3 2015. Core i3 and Pentium products for business customers are scheduled for Q4 2015, while Celerons based on Skylake-S are coming at a later date.

The boards for business customers will come with the Q170 chipset and no, they will not support overclocking. There will be two more versions of the Skylake-S chipset for business, called Q150 and B150.

Business Q170 chipset is packed with features

The Q170 chipset is Compatible with Skylake-S LGA 1151, and can drive three independent displays with the help of Skylake-S processor graphics. It has Corporate Intel ME Firmware support with Intel Small Business Advantage (SBA), Intel Platform Trust Technology (w/o Intel TXT), Intel Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard, Intel Smart Sound Technology, Intel Rapid Storage Technology 14 as well as Integrated Gigabit Ethernet MAC.

If you need a bit more details the board comes with PCIe 3.0 either in 1x16, 2x8 or 1x8 + 2x4 configuration. The total number of USB ports stops at 14, with 10 of them supporting USB 3.0. The platform supports a total of 6 SATA 3.0 ports with 6 Gbits/s, three SATA Express ports with x2 speeds, along with three PCIe storage ports for x4 M.2 or x2 SATA Express.

There are some business important features including Intel SIPP Eligible, Intel vPro Technology Eligible, Intel Active Management Technology, Intel Smart Response Technology, Intel Rapid Storage Technology for SATA RAID 0/1/5/103, and Intel Rapid Storage Technology for PCIe Storage Driver Support. Since the Skylake-S LGA 1151 processors support both DDR4 (1.2V ) and DDR3L (1.35V) memory we expect to see business boards supporting both variations. 

Last modified on 08 April 2015
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