The obvious benefits of a performance boost aside, what does Skylake really mean to you? Should you suddenly avoid buying technology still using Broadwell processors? Let’s take a look at some of the various improvements of Skylake over Broadwell and whether or not they’re worth upgrading for.
Skylake Has Much Better Graphics Performance
According to the press release directly from Intel, Skylake delivers a cool 2.5 times improvement on CPU performance, but it really shines in the graphics department. The graphics performance of Skylake is 30 times better than that of Broadwell, which means this is the chip to have if you’re big on gaming or video-editing. You can expect better frame rates and less lag. That means it’s also ready for the world of 4K. Even though that’s all the tech world seems to be talking about lately, many consumers are still content with 720p and 1080p content. But as the slow transition to even higher definition content (4K) pans out, Intel is ready with Skylake. In fact, Skylake promises to be able to power three 4K monitors at 60Hz all at once.
Skylake is More Power Efficient
While it boasts better CPU and graphics performance, Skylake is also saving you some battery life. Intel says it’s been able to triple battery life in devices running Skylake compared to five-year-old devices. That sounds astounding, but when several other factors come into the picture, that’s not really what it translates to in real world use. In the aforementioned MacBook update, for example, Apple was able to squeeze in an extra hour of battery life. That’s likely in part due to Skylake’s improved power efficiency, but don’t expect huge strides over devices from only a year or two ago.
Overall Gains are Modest at Best
The key to a lot of the performance gains Intel talks about is the fact that the company has been comparing Skylake to machines of five years ago. Clearly, technology has come a very far way since then. But Skylake isn’t a gigantic leap forward from the Broadwell chips of yesteryear. That said, it’s perfectly okay to buy a machine with Broadwell. The device will still run perfectly well even if you don’t get those minor bumps to graphics performance and power efficiency. However, if you’re upgrading from a machine that is several years old, perhaps making the full jump to the latest and greatest tech is worth considering. ALSO READ: GT Explains: What are CPU Caches and are They Really Necessary The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
