Intel launches first six-core desktop processor, the $999 Core i7 980X Extreme Edition

[zyodei]

Doesn't this remind anyone of the "razor wars" - triple blad, quad blade, HEXA BLADE!

Even gamers can't get any use out of this. If you aren't using your computer to make money in a processor intensive manner, don't bother...

 

[yorro]

This is overkill, I mean an i5 is enough of a powerhouse but this is just a monster. Technology is way too fast Sir. Of course, it comes with a hefty price tag. This is obviously not aimed at home computers, but still enthusiasts would jump for joy on this.

 

[ToastOz]

Even Intel agree that there heat sink performance is terrible with this "new" design heat sink that looks like every other performance heat sink currently on the market.
Although I have noticed that with all the new side CPU heat sinks the fans blow away from the board and therefore the motherboards tend to heat up more quickly without decent case fans.

 

[Richy2k9]

hello ...

count me in too, i'll now need to fight with my wallet or choose the right bank to rob LOL!

but for that price i can get WHOLE good computer! or two consoles, hummm...

@ least with the LGA-1366 socket, i get get a cheaper one (still expensive though) & wait a price drop.

i need more ca$h & in USD or EUR would be just fine ...

let's win the MUR Lotto then ...

cheers!

 

[ansarimikail]

I thought AMD would release one first. I heard they're working on a 8 core.

 

[Alphadeus]

Oh man, I can't even imagine how fast Solitaire is going to run with this CPU!

I love reading about new technology. I've been obsessed with computers since I was 12 and it's just amazing to see how far we've come. I could definitely use a processor like this as I do a lot of composing music (using high-end virtual instruments). Going to have to wait for the price to come down, say, 80% or so =P. Good stuff though.

 

[EduardsN]

Very cool processor, I would like to see how this compares to the AMD's 6core which will be 3/4 times cheaper?

 

[dividebyzero]

Very cool processor, I would like to see how this compares to the AMD's 6core which will be 3/4 times cheaper?

Probably not an apples-to-apples type comparison.
Thuban is manufactured on the 45nm process, so adding two extra cores will likely mean limited core clocks and very limited overclocks to keep the heat/TDP in check (95/125w).
Might give the lower binned i7's a run for their money in some apps but the 975/980X and its Xeon counterparts are still going to be top dogs for some while yet. Hopefully the 4-core Bulldozer will re-vitalize AMD's portfolio when it eventuates.

 

[Guest]

IDK, I am still running a pentium D from 05, a nvidia 9800gt from 08, and 4g of ddr2 ram. even though what I am running is very out dated, i can still play just about any game at near max settings. Is there really a need for this much processing power for most users? I mean, you can buy a quadcore processor and a HD vid card for under 400 bucks, and that will let you play any game out there pretty easily, and you can handle a moderate amount of editing or high def video stuff pretty good too. My point is, is it really worth $1,000? I can understand having the price high because it is top dog right now, but there isnt a need for a top dog processor. It will be years before the software world catches up to this things capabilities.

 

[T77]

and i thought a quad-core was too much! i think i would have to dump my core 2 duo,it has already started to give me a pain in the neck!
this forward leap again reinforces the fact that that the development in mainstream consumer software is lagging behind the development in hardware.it doesn't seem like it would be a hit among consumers.it would find a market in prosumers.

 

[spin26]

AMD is getting more and more behind... this is bad news for us there is less competition on the very high end.... intel might monopolize again..

 

[Docnoq]

fref said:
Saw some gaming benchmarks for this new processor, and six cores don't help at all for gaming. The games were running at pretty much the same frame rate as with the i7 975 (if I recall correctly), which is a quad core processor. So make sure your applications will benefit before buying a 6 core CPU.

Obviously no games are coded to take advantage of the six cores yet. The thing was literally JUST released. Hell, a lot of games still don't take full advantage of quad cores and they have been out for a few years. It's so frustrating that the hardware developers innovate too fast for the software developers to keep up with. Gotta convince James Cameron to develop a game so hardcore that it is waiting for hardware to catch up like he did with Avatar

 

[TorturedChaos]

paulwuzhere said:
New slogan - i7 980, You'll be in debt!

That's great!

But seriously they keep releasing these really high end processors with lots of cores, but they only hit a very small percentage of the market . Even if my wallet could handle that, wouldn't be much use as I don't think anything I run would take advantage of 6 cores. c'mon software engineers catch up!

 

[Guest]

Y'all being cheap!! Spend some of that IRS refund!?

 

[Guest]

my mobo is Gigabyte extreme and they have posted the Gulftown BIOS upgrade last month....but i really don't think its time to give up my Bloomfield ! i rather get an SSD to boost the performance.

 

[cocodel]

I would love to have one of this! To build nice PC around this CPU! But the price make ma wait more time

 

[Riun355]

I am in awe of the sheer excess in hardware capability relative to our software needs.

 

[chuchu232]

My god! im used to the little stuff so this is really amazing to me! i absolutely need this! but wait, $999 and my only desktop is a crappy 6 year old gateway with a broken disk drive and 1.25 gb of RAM... sigh...

 

[UT66]

yet, we still play games designed for 1) cpus that are waaaaay slower than a retro single core AMD64 from 2004 ( the migthy flop of CELL and the cut down cheap power pc inside the xbust 360) 2) systems with less than 512mb of ram (my 2004 pc also had 4gb of it)

If you are a pc gamer, think about it next time you $

 

[Guest]

Intel is the best.. but i still like AMD more.


got to think about that logic? Perhaps a few more cores in the brain might explain it.

 

[Guest]

It will be kewl to see if Intel can finally tout the same processing and energy efficiency as the Sun Sparc CMT 8-core. I wonder how many FPU's are there on the i7 per core? The CMT has 1 per each core... This chip is being touted as a desktop processors, but it feels like Intel is just using that as a beach-head for smaller servers and virtualizer platforms. I guess this would be perfect for loading up VirtualBox and then spinning up VMs to your liking. Game development is at least 5 years behind in utilizing this sort of technology. At this point, all you are going to be able to do (if it is true with what it touts) is that you're probably gonna run Far Cry, SupCom 2, and MS Office at the same time (on dual screens of course).

 

[Guest]

Well, CMT is not a desktop processor (though I wouldn't mind having one myself). Remember, AMD last Sept talked about Thuban (their hexacore desktop CPU). I believe launch date for that is in April -- we'll see whether it has all that AMD promised (dynamic overclocking and power save). Even better they made it backwards compatible with its AM2/AM2+/AM3 Mobos...

I hear the price will be less than $1k. I hope AMD succeeds in this (for our sakes) -- cuz Intel's power grip on the market is scary.

 

[tripplejjj]

Here is the deal. The computer is as fast as its slowest component. So to really get the true benefit of this powerful processor, you need to have the right mother board, obviously. Then you will need a fast GPU and memory to go with it. Sadly to say, but you would want a SSD in the mix as well. What most people failed to realize is that the mechanical hard drives can’t handle this raw speed. Once you have all the fast components, then the slowest component that you can’t change is the users. Anyhow, you want the computer to wait for the users, and NOT the users waiting for the computer.

I want this processor but I don’t know how to harness its power on a daily basis. I suppose I could brag about it all day and make it a conversation starter when I meet some sexy geeky girls. So far, when mentioning to women about my Pentium 4 with HT, all I got was a sad look and “I have to go to the lady’s room”. Maybe my luck will change with the Intel Core i7 980X.

 

[Guest]

I agree with the previous poster about the raw power and how much of that goes under-utilized. As the other guy said -- virtualization and multi-tasking is about all you can do right now with a hexacore-- cuz thats gobbling up memory (as opposed to a SSD). The Theban is supposedly based off of AMD's Opteron platform (geared for enterprise servers -- they already have a 1.8 Ghz hexacore there). Sun Micro helped AMD design the Opteron to help it in terms of power consumption, threading, and interrupt handling (more fault tolerant). So, it will be interesting to see how Intel's stacks up to that. I've seen hexacore for both Intel and AMD at the enterprise server level and let me put it to you this way -- pretty much my company uses it for virtualization and thats it.

 

[thatguyandrew92]

seefizzle said:
I'll wait for AMD to make a six core processor that's half the price.

With only half the performance!