Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K Desktop CPU Breaks Cover Overclocked To 4.9GHz By Facebook User

Intel is expected to launch Kaby Lake to the desktop in January. That's not far away at this point, though if you're curious about how well the processors will overclock, it's starting to feel like an agonizing wait. That's because early results show that Kaby Lake is going to be a fun architecture to play with. Anyone needing further proof of that need only look at a Facebook post containing screenshots of a Core i7-7700K processor hitting 4.9GHz.

The overclocking effort was posted by Luning Duan, a former employee at Lenovo, according to his Facebook profile. He posted a couple of shots showing the actual processor, along with CPU-Z and AIDA64 screen captures showing the processor's overclocked settings and subsequent core temperatures when using the latter utility's system stability test. Prime95 can also be spotted stress testing the CPU in the background.

Based on previous leaks, it appears as though Intel is planning to release an unlocked Kaby Lake processor in each performance tier, those being the Core i3-7350K, Core i5-7600K, and Core i7-7700K. The top shelf part has four cores, eight threads, 8MB of cache, and a 91W TDP. At stock settings, it has a 4.2GHz base frequency and 4.5GHz boost clockspeed.


Duan's first overclocking attempt goosed the Core i7-7700K to 4.797.65MHz (let's call it a hair shy of 4.8GHz) using a x48 multiplier and 1.296V, up from x42 and 0.72V. That's an impressive bump, though when stress tested in AIDA64, one of the cores kept flirting with a 100C temperature, while the others bounced from 80C to 87C.


His next (and best) overclocking attempt shows the chip running at 4,901.18MHz (4.9GHz) with a x49 multiplier and 1.264V. Even just that minor reduction in voltage seems to have paid off in thermal management—while one of the cores flirted with 90C this time around, other three mostly stayed in the low to mid 70C range.

We suspect this is all on air cooling, though Duan doesn't say. Either way,  it appears as though Intel's unlocked Kaby Lake processors will have some headroom to play with, so long as you use a good cooling solution.