Skylake: Intel's Core i7-6700K And i5-6600K

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Intel gave us an early look at the Core i7-6700K, i5-6600K and Z170 chipset two weeks ahead of IDF and the unveiling of Skylake's architectural details.

Results: Workstation Applications

The following benchmarks are based on AutoCAD 2015, Cadalyst 2015 and three modules of SPECviewperf 2015. They were specifically chosen to represent CPU performance, even though we have a GeForce GTX 980 installed instead of a workstation-class card.

AutoCAD 2015 2D And 3D Performance

AutoCAD is a popular application from Autodesk. First, we’re testing its "2D" performance with Cadalyst 2015. Quotes are used there because AutoCAD deals with 2D the same way many other applications do: through DirectX's D3D interface. This way of implementing 2D is worth testing since there really hasn't been any hardware acceleration for 2D through the kernel-mode driver since Windows Vista. Graphics cards with unified shader architectures don’t have dedicated 2D units anymore, either.

The finishing order in this benchmark is determined solely by the CPU, since the graphics card's performance goes unchanged. The two new Intel processors set a new bar in both metrics with similar 2D and 3D results.

Maya 2013

Viewport 2.0 isn’t part of our Maya 2013 results on purpose, since it’s based on DirectX. This means that this benchmark is based exclusively on OpenGL. The render modes used for this benchmark are shaded, ambient occlusion, multi-sample anti-aliasing and transparency, and the model consists of 727,500 vertices.

Showcase 2013

Showcase 2013 is another DirectX-based benchmark. Autodesk might be the only major developer to make the jump to DirectX, but many smaller companies are taking the plunge as well.

The model used for this benchmark includes eight million vertices, as well as render modes like shading, projected shadows and self-shadowing. In the end, clock rate and IPC determine the winners and losers.

SolidWorks 2013 SP1

SolidWorks 2013 by Dassault Systèmes is a classic. The different models for our workloads range in size from 2.1 to 21 million vertices. Individual tests use the software's many rendering modes, including a shaded mode, shaded with edges, ambient occlusion, shaders and environment maps. Compared to SPECapc for SolidWorks 2013, the CPU test is gone, the number of models is lower and a benchmark with parallax effects was added.

Igor Wallossek
265 Comments Comment from the forums
  • rantoc
    Yawn... its easy to see that intel have to little competition, they have stagnated in the cpu performance department!
    Reply
  • daniel266
    Can we have comparisons of rendering software using win 8.1 and win 10 ??
    Reply
  • cats_Paw
    Still 4 cores.... Im sticking to my Q6600.
    Reply
  • Vlad Rose
    What the heck Intel? So, you provide great integrated graphics into Broadwell, then nerf it for Skylake? I guess you had to find a way to help sell your 'paper launch' of Broadwell. I really hope Xen makes you guys wake up; although it more than likely won't.
    Reply
  • Bartendalot
    At least Skylake HEDT should be powerful. Unless DX12 pulls a rabbit out of a hat, this doesn't look promising for anyone who has Sandy or higher.
    Reply
  • stairmand
    Still 4 cores.... Im sticking to my Q6600.

    Then you really are missing out, 4 cores or not a current i5 (let alone an i7) will simply destroy the old Q6600 C2Q. It was great in the day but it's very old hat now and the lack of features on the board worse still.
    Reply
  • salgado18
    Still 4 cores.... Im sticking to my Q6600.
    You do know that your Q6600 is astronomically slower than Skylake in every single department, right? By your logic, the Phenom II X6 is better than the i7 6700K.

    I think you should consider upgrading. You won't regret, promise.
    Reply
  • salgado18
    What the heck Intel? So, you provide great integrated graphics into Broadwell, then nerf it for Skylake? I guess you had to find a way to help sell your 'paper launch' of Broadwell. I really hope Xen makes you guys wake up; although it more than likely won't.
    Do you mean Shen, from LoL? Or Zen? XD

    I believe the cost of the integrated memory chips would make these processors too expensive and niche to be viable products.
    Reply
  • Lmah
    Good upgrade for 1st Gen i5/i7 users. Though I think they targeted it at the 2nd Gen i5/i7 users, doesn't seem like a huge improvement for them though.
    Reply
  • vertexx
    Why no discrete graphics tests?
    Reply