For the average consumer building or buying a new performance-focused PC, a desktop chip based on 14nm Kaby Lake remains the chip of choice—a total lack of competition at this level makes sure of that.

But for the enthusiast—where the latest and greatest should perform better than what came before—Kaby Lake desktop chips are a disappointment, a stopgap solution that does little more than give OEMs something new to stick on a label in a 2017 product stack.

No wonder Apple wasn't in a rush to put out their new Touch Bar MacBook Pro with "Kaby Lake Inside."

And yes, I'm still waiting for that must have upgrade before pulling the trigger on a $3,500 laptop. Maybe I can settle for even the Lenovo or Dell, but still, Windows.....