Intel is not expected to officially launch the Core i7 processor until November 17, but that hasn't stopped some online retailers from putting up early listings for the CPUs about a week ahead. PC Connection, for instance, is listing the 2.66GHz Core i7 920 processor with 8MB of cache memory for $334 and the 2.93GHz Core i7 940 for $662 - an approximate markup of 18 percent over their suggested retail price.
Meanwhile, PC Mall is hiking prices even more with the Core i7 920 listed for a pre-order price of $384, the Core i7 940 for $722, and the 3.2GHz 965 "Extreme" version of the i7 for $1,250. The higher street prices are not surprising as this reflects pent-up demand for the product. PC Connection is also listing no fewer than seven motherboards based on the Intel X58 Express chipset, priced between $261.38 and $463.98, with the MSI X58 Platinum being the cheapest of the bunch.