Intel’s Skylake-S Including Core i7 6700K and Core i5 6600K Will Allegedly be Facing Supply Problems At launch

Sweclockers is reporting that Intel’s upcoming Skylake processors (releasing on August 5) will be in short supply initially. Before we delve further, I would recommend reading any supply problem reports (of big companies) with perhaps a bit more than a grain of salt. That said, while a company as experienced as Intel having supply issues is unlikely, it is not outside the realm of possibility; primarily due to known and verified reports of bad yields.

Intel Skylake-S processors will be in short supply after launch – Swedish report

One of the major advantages of being a monopoly is that with no competition, you can choose to take your merry time without loosing market share. Intel is the leading provider of x86 processors for the mainstream market segment and offers bleeding edge process technology further ahead then anyone in the industry. With AMD yet to get its act together and no other competitor anywhere on the horizon, blue has been taking its merry time. The first hints of competition don’t emerge till AMD’s Zen architecture is released – which basically means that this generation is in the clear. 

However, Intel has always managed to meet demand. Infact, they are actually working under capacity with many fabrication facilities partially or completely free (the one in Costa Rica being sold recently) and mainly acting as deterrence tools. So it goes without saying, that I found this report a bit odd. The only evidence of any supply problems would be due to bad yield, which there have been reports of admittedly. Then there is the fact that even after accounting for bad yields, blue can simply brute force – it certainly has the capital to do so.

The report in question comes from Sweclockers.com, citing Anton Nilsson, manager of Webhallen (a Swedish Retailer). Now it could be that the problem is very much localizer, or it could be that Mr. Anton is simply mistaken. It could also be that he is right and there will be less Skylake to go around once the flood gates open. According to the reports there will be a limited quantity available at launch that will be used up within a few days. Since the launch is just a week away, I consider it pretty redundant to ponder on the validity or implications of these claims. In either case, we will know soon enough.

Intel Skylake Processors Lineup:

Model	Process	Cores	Core Clock	Boost Clock	Cache	Memory Support	TDP	Socket	Unlocked Design
Core i7-6700K	14nm	4/8	4.0 GHz	4.2 GHz	8 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	95W	LGA 1151	Yes
Core i5-6600K	14nm	4/4	3.5 GHz	3.9 GHz	6 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	95W	LGA 1151	Yes
Core i7-6700	14nm	4/8	3.4 GHz	4.0 GHz	8 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	65W	LGA 1151	No
Core i5-6600	14nm	4/4	3.3 GHz	3.9 GHz	6 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	65W	LGA 1151	No
Core i5-6500	14nm	4/4	3.2 GHz	3.6 GHz	6 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	65W	LGA 1151	No
Core i5-6400	14nm	4/4	2.7 GHz	3.3 GHz	6 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	65W	LGA 1151	No
Core i7-6700T	14nm	4/8	2.8 GHz	3.6 GHz	8 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	35W	LGA 1151	No
Core i5-6600T	14nm	4/4	2.7 GHz	3.5 GHz	6 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	35W	LGA 1151	No
Core i5-6500T	14nm	4/4	2.5 GHz	3.1 GHz	6 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	35W	LGA 1151	No
Core i5-6400T	14nm	4/4	2.2 GHz	2.8 GHz	6 MB	DDR4 2133 MHz	35W	LGA 1151	No