Broadwell Unlocked Intel Core i5 And i7 Release Dates Revealed

Intel will begin selling its first desktop processors based on the Broadwell micro-architecture from next month, according to a report. It’s been a long, long, wait for Broadwell to arrive, but the first wave of central processing units will be limited to just two models, initially.

Both the Intel Core i7-5775C and the Core i5-5675C are expected to hit stores on June 2nd, but they're unlikely to get gamers’ pulses racing. The Core i7-5775C has 4 cores and eight threads clocked at 3.3GHz, with 3.8GHz boost clock, and 6MB cache. The Core i5-5675C meanwhile will have four cores and four threads clocked at 3.1GHz, with 3.6GHz boost clock, and 4MB cache. Both CPUs will incorporate Iris Pro 6200 integrated graphics, and have TDPs of 65W.

In comparison to their last-gen counterparts these have comparatively low base clock speeds, so don’t expect this pair to work wonders when overclocking. If you’re picking up a gaming rig right now then they could be a worthwhile purchase, but users holding out for an upgrade would do well to see how Intel’s Skylake microarchitecture pans out later this year.

We should be seeing the next-generation equivalent of these processors in Q3 2015, the Core i7-6700K and the Core i5-6600K respectively. Leaked specs suggest we could see significant gains here - the i7-6700K is expected to have a 4.0GHz default clock rate and 4.2GHz Turbo, not too shabby and surely worth waiting a few months for.

Are you tempted to pick up a Broadwell CPU or are you waiting to see what’s just around the corner?