Wait for Kaby Lake chips or go with Core i7-6700K

[MacRuss3997]

I've been making my list to build my first Hackintosh and I'm torn about waiting for the Kaby Lake chip. I want native Thunderbolt and USB-C. Is it worth the wait or should I just go with the current fastest chip? How long does it take to test out a chip to see if it's stable to use in a hackintosh? This computer will be used for Pro Tools audio mixing, Adobe Lightroom, and Adobe Premiere.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[JasonM71]

I'm generally someone who prefers waiting to try and time an upgrade if the wait isn't unbearable. Only you can know if it's worth the wait to you. I think it depends on how badly you want a new machine now, and if you need one now. If you do, it's never worth waiting. Maybe others can answer how long does it take to test a chip for Hackintosh stability.

 

[Stork]

Usually takes a couple of months for the software drivers to catch up so there are no major glitches. Plus, it will help if Apple has a Kaby Lake iMac/Mac Pro/MacBook (Pro).

 

[MacRuss3997]

I'm generally someone who prefers waiting to try and time an upgrade if the wait isn't unbearable. Only you can know if it's worth the wait to you. I think it depends on how badly you want a new machine now, and if you need one now. If you do, it's never worth waiting. Maybe others can answer how long does it take to test a chip for Hackintosh stability.

Thanks. I can probably wait for the new chip. Thanks for your help!

 

[MacRuss3997]

Usually takes a couple of months for the software drivers to catch up so there are no major glitches. Plus, it will help if Apple has a Kaby Lake iMac/Mac Pro/MacBook (Pro).

And who knows when we'll see a new Mac Pro or the Kaby Lake in the MBP?? Thanks for you help!

 

[JasonM71]

And who knows when we'll see a new Mac Pro or the Kaby Lake in the MBP?? Thanks for you help!

I keep Googling and reading about this but so far nothing is certain. We don't know when the anticipated 2016 MacBook Pro refresh will be released, and whether they will have Kaby Lake chips or Skylake. Best I can tell Apple is still trying to suss out what they want to do.

 

[MacRuss3997]

I keep Googling and reading about this but so far nothing is certain. We don't know when the anticipated 2016 MacBook Pro refresh will be released, and whether they will have Kaby Lake chips or Skylake. Best I can tell Apple is still trying to suss out what they want to do.

Everything that I've read is a new macbook pro soon and no news on the Mac Pro. Thanks.

 

[JasonM71]

"Soon" is what I read, too, but . . . who knows how "soon" that will be? Not I.

 

[trs96]

Kaby Lake is going to be not much more than an "optimization" of the current Skylake chips. They will use the same 14 nm process. The I7-7700K will have a base clock of 3.6GHz or .4GHz slower than the current I7-6700K. Both have turbo up to 4.2 GHz. The 7700K will be slightly more efficient and perform slightly better. So there's really no reason to wait for Kaby lake to come out in 2017. Build now with Skylake if you need a new system. If you can wait a good amount of time, Cannon lake would be the way to go.

 

[JasonM71]

Kaby Lake is going to be not much more than an "optimization" of the current Skylake chips. They will use the same 14 nm process. The I7-7700K will have a base clock of 3.6GHz or .4GHz slower than the current I7-6700K. Both have turbo up to 4.2 GHz. The 7700K will be slightly more efficient and perform slightly better. So there's really no reason to wait for Kaby lake to come out in 2017. Build now with Skylake if you need a new system. If you can wait a good amount of time, Cannon lake would be the way to go.

This article published 2 days ago says the i7 7700K will have a 4.2 Ghz base clock with 4.5 Ghz boost, while the non-K version, the i7 7700 will have a 3.6 Ghz base clock. I'm not sure how reliable "techpowerup.com" is though:

https://www.techpowerup.com/225217/intel-core-kaby-lake-desktop-processors-first-wave-detailed

Even still, *if* true, 0.2 isn't really a discernible increase over Skylake's "K." I'm (probably) waiting for Kaby Lake, but only because I'm traveling South America at the moment and not in a position to order parts and do my build. By the time I'm off the road, it'll be mid-late October and Kaby Lake will probably be only weeks away. If I needed a machine now, I'd be very happy with Skylake. And whichever way I go (if the Kaby Lake's are expensive I'll just get Skylake anyway), I'll probably go with the non-K version since I am doing a mini-ITX and worried about heat & airflow.