Intel Core i7-7660U

The Intel Core i7-7660U is a fast dual-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. The CPU has two processor cores clocked at 2.5-4 GHz (two cores up to 3.8 GHz). The processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper Threading. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU with 64 MB eDRAm, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Compared to the Core i7-7600U, the 7660 does have a higher single-core Turbo of 4 GHz (+100 MHz), but a lower dual-core Turbo (-100 MHz) and a lower base frequency (-300 MHz). However, the CPU part can also use the 64 MB eDRAM as L5 cache.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

At 2.5-4 GHz, the Core i7-7660U has a slightly lower frequency (except for the single-core Turbo) compared to the Core i7-7600U, but the CPU part can also use the 64 MB eDRAM, so the performance should be similar.

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 640 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1050 MHz and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 920MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Pro 540, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby lake now also supports H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors announced in January should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel still specifies the TDP with 15 Watts, which is typical for ULV chips. Depending on the usage scenario, the TDP can vary between 7.5 (cTDP Down) and 25 Watts.

Series	Intel Kaby Lake
Codename	Kaby Lake
Series: Kaby Lake Kaby Lake Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2 - 4.5 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7700 3.6 - 4.2 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6 3.1 - 4.2 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7920HQ 3.1 - 4.1 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7700T 2.9 - 3.8 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8 - 4.2 GHz 4 / 4  8 MB L3 Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6 3 - 4 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7820HQ 2.9 - 3.9 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7820HK 2.9 - 3.9 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8 - 3.8 GHz 4 / 8  6 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7500 3.4 - 3.8 GHz 4 / 4  6 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7440HQ 2.8 - 3.8 GHz 4 / 4  6 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7567U 3.5 - 4 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7660U « 2.5 - 4 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7600U 2.8 - 3.9 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7300HQ 2.5 - 3.5 GHz 4 / 4  6 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7500T 2.7 - 3.3 GHz 4 / 4  6 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7287U 3.3 - 3.7 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7560U 2.4 - 3.8 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7267U 3.1 - 3.5 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7360U 2.3 - 3.6 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7500U 2.7 - 3.5 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7300U 2.6 - 3.5 GHz 2 / 4  3 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7260U 2.2 - 3.4 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7200U 2.5 - 3.1 GHz 2 / 4  3 MB L3 Intel Core i3-7100H 3 GHz 2 / 4  3 MB L3 Intel Core i3-7167U 2.8 GHz 2 / 4  3 MB L3 Intel Core i7-7Y75 1.3 - 3.6 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7Y57 1.2 - 3.3 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i5-7Y54 1.2 - 3.2 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Core i3-7100U 2.4 GHz 2 / 4  3 MB L3 Intel Core m3-7Y32 1 - 3 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Pentium Gold 4415U 2.3 GHz 2 / 4  2 MB L3 Intel Core m3-7Y30 1 - 2.6 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Celeron 3965U 2.2 GHz 2 / 2  2 MB L3 Intel Core i3-7020U 2.3 GHz 2 / 4  3 MB L3 Intel Celeron 3867U 1.8 GHz 2 / 2  2 MB L3 Intel Celeron 3865U 1.8 GHz 2 / 2  2 MB L3 Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y 1.7 GHz 2 / 4  2 MB L3 Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y 1.6 GHz 2 / 4  2 MB L3 Intel Pentium Gold 4410Y 1.5 GHz 2 / 4  2 MB L3 Intel Celeron 3965Y 1.5 GHz 2 / 2  2 MB L3
Clock Rate	2500 - 4000 MHz
Level 1 Cache	128 KB
Level 2 Cache	512 KB
Level 3 Cache	4 MB
Number of Cores / Threads	2 / 4
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)	15 Watt
Manufacturing Technology	14 nm
Max. Temperature	100 °C
Socket	BGA1356
Features	Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI
GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 (300 - 1050 MHz)
64 Bit	64 Bit support
Architecture	x86
Starting Price	$415 U.S.
Announcement Date	01/03/2017

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