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

Impressive, and at 999 dollars? wow.

Nice One! Hope one CPU like that will have all the advantages of i3/5/7 series to one!

I want this so badly but the price range just makes it inappropriate ill wait 6 months thanks you very much

The price on this is enormous. I was waiting to see how AMD does with their "apu" 32nm six core. The 1k price point tells me that I won't like their news one bit.

I would give everything I have, just to be rich so I could afford stuff like this

While awesome, by the time I could afford a 1 grand CPU they'll be on a twelve-core . What would that even be called? A dodeca-core? lol

Sadly I can't seem to find any boards that support dual-sockets for this chip. Not that I could afford the ~$2300 for /just/ two chips and the board should such a board exist, but it would be pretty sweet to have a 12-core machine for gaming.

Then I could finally play Crysis! Old joke is old, sorry.

Man, this thing really screams. In the review of it I read it beat the old quad core i7's by a huge margin in highly multi threaded tests like rendering/encoding. Also, they managed to get this thing up to 4.4 Ghz on water in about 10 minutes, which is pretty impressive. I will be interested to see how much this will beat the upcoming 6 core Phenom II by as well, as that may actually be a feasible upgrade for me.

Such overkill! I've have en E6300 running at stock for a while now accompanied by a 9600GT and it has done me fine. Granted i can't run games to their full graphical capacity, but it's easily good enough for me. And only 1/15th of the cost! =O

You will need to up the price for a dual socket. The 980X server equivalent will be the 56xx series Xeon CPU, which will be very much more expensive than the 980X. Of course this would require a suitable board like this EVGA WS once it arrives on the scene. Start saving your pennies.

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...

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.