Hardware
Intel's Core i7-980X EE shows up in a slew of gaming rigs
Spending upwards of $999 on the latest and greatest Intel processor might be overkill in most people's book, especially for the marginal performance gains you get compared to the next model down. But that isn't stopping a deluge of system builders from announcing products based on the recently announced Core i7-980X EE. The six-core, twelve-threaded part has already made its way onto gaming rigs by Alienware, Origin PC, CyberPower and Maingear -- among others.
Prices vary from around $2,600 to $5,000 and beyond depending on your configuration. Alienware, for example, has updated its Area-51 line to include the six-core option with a starting price of $3,000, while Origin PC is offering not just the standard 3.33Ghz clocked version but one that's overclocked all the way up to 4.3Ghz.
For big spenders, 'extreme' configuration options are aplenty. Digital Storm is offering a version of its BlackOPS gaming desktop with the i7-980X for a cool $5,642 which will get you the new Extreme Edition chip overclocked to 3.9GHz, along 6GB of DDR3 memory running at 1600MHz, a pair of ATI Radeon HD 5970 in CrossFireX and a liquid cooling system.
Others like CyberPower PC and Maingear are putting the new processor into more than one of their desktop lines to give buyers a bit more choice. The latter will let you configure their F131 with an i7-980X, 3GB of DDR3 and ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics for $2,600, or The Shift starting at around $3,290 when including the six-core part, while CyberPower is now offering the silicon in its Black Mamba, Black Pearl and Gamer Xtreme 3D machines.
This is only the first wave of rigs powered by this chip as we suspect almost every other PC maker will be following suit soon. Enthusiasts are more likely to build their own rigs rather than going with a pre-built system, but it's always nice to see the latest and most advanced hardware hit the scene.
Prices vary from around $2,600 to $5,000 and beyond depending on your configuration. Alienware, for example, has updated its Area-51 line to include the six-core option with a starting price of $3,000, while Origin PC is offering not just the standard 3.33Ghz clocked version but one that's overclocked all the way up to 4.3Ghz.
For big spenders, 'extreme' configuration options are aplenty. Digital Storm is offering a version of its BlackOPS gaming desktop with the i7-980X for a cool $5,642 which will get you the new Extreme Edition chip overclocked to 3.9GHz, along 6GB of DDR3 memory running at 1600MHz, a pair of ATI Radeon HD 5970 in CrossFireX and a liquid cooling system.
Others like CyberPower PC and Maingear are putting the new processor into more than one of their desktop lines to give buyers a bit more choice. The latter will let you configure their F131 with an i7-980X, 3GB of DDR3 and ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics for $2,600, or The Shift starting at around $3,290 when including the six-core part, while CyberPower is now offering the silicon in its Black Mamba, Black Pearl and Gamer Xtreme 3D machines.
This is only the first wave of rigs powered by this chip as we suspect almost every other PC maker will be following suit soon. Enthusiasts are more likely to build their own rigs rather than going with a pre-built system, but it's always nice to see the latest and most advanced hardware hit the scene.
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User Comments (34)
Post a comment| EXCellR8 on March 17, 2010 1:35 PM | most systems i've seen that feature the new processor sell for well over $1500 and up towards $3000. i don't see too many of them being sold but it must be nice to be able to afford a setup like that... not that it's practical anyways. |
| TomSEA on March 17, 2010 1:52 PM | "...while Origin PC is offering not just the standard 3.33Ghz clocked version but one that's overclocked all the way up to 4.3Ghz." That's a pretty high overclock. I wonder what their warranty is in case their own overclock blows the processor. |
| compdata on March 17, 2010 1:57 PM | Those are pretty crazy prices given the level of performance improvement you get. That said, if i had $5k to spend, why not right? |
| rskapadia2294 on March 17, 2010 2:11 PM | hey dats gr8! good to see that ppl are spending so much on technology! btw i am also a die hard fan of intel but the price is jus dat i couldn't afford it! i would have to take a loan! lol! but keep going intel! |
| jjbeard926 on March 17, 2010 2:48 PM | God bless the gamers for they push the boundaries of technology into new frontiers and bring what was once a luxury item down in price for us mere mortals. Nothing short of war has pushed technology further than the field of entertainment. |
| mrwhatever on March 17, 2010 4:07 PM | new home teather, 46" display,new computer with quad core and ati eye finitty and im sure i wont spend even 3000, obviously im not gonna get that Core i7 but i wont need it to do the daily gaming i do im gone . |
| red1776 on March 17, 2010 5:09 PM | TomSEA said: Tom,sounds like you have an option to purchase an 90 day/1yr/2yr/3yr or 4 year warranty, but if you mess with their factory OC, you void it."...while Origin PC is offering not just the standard 3.33Ghz clocked version but one that's overclocked all the way up to 4.3Ghz." That's a pretty high overclock. I wonder what their warranty is in case their own overclock blows the processor. http://www.alienware.com/purchase/warranty.aspx |
| captaincranky on March 17, 2010 6:01 PM | Spending upwards of $999 on the latest and greatest Intel processor might be overkill in most people's book, especially for the marginal performance gains you get compared to the next model down. But that isn't stopping a deluge of system builders from announcing products based on the recently announced Core i7-980X EE. The six-core, twelve-threaded part has already made its way onto gaming rigs by Alienware, Origin PC, CyberPower and Maingear -- among others. Doesn't this go back to the old "show them the Corvette, then sell them the Chevelle" strategy"? (Of which I've been a victim). I saw the reviews of the high end core i-7 s, then I bought myself a Core i3-530.
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| boyese on March 17, 2010 6:14 PM | i'll stick wiv my AMDs |
| flukeh on March 17, 2010 6:52 PM | boyese said: AMD everything? AMD GPU and Intel CPU has always been my way to go, but i can be lenient depending on what is out at the time that i purchase, and what reviews i read.
i'll stick wiv my AMDs |
| TomSEA on March 17, 2010 7:34 PM | "...sounds like you have an option to purchase an 90 day/1yr/2yr/3yr or 4 year warranty, but if you mess with their factory OC, you void it." There once was a time when you didn't have to buy warranties. 
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| captaincranky on March 17, 2010 7:57 PM | There once was a time when you didn't have to buy warranties. Yeah well, they weren't 4 years either. >>12 or 24 << Months parts and labor max. It's the trying to collect on any warranty that's the aggravation.
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| jasonk1229 on March 17, 2010 8:12 PM | awesome look |
| Deso on March 17, 2010 8:20 PM | It was disapointing to see that one of the sites offered the cpu with a 5770 .... with the lowest price which was 3k or something - . - |
| pipopaz on March 17, 2010 10:14 PM | That's just some insane waste of money, I mean why the need to buy it now if it will come down later on as most of things do? Well if I had lots of money to waste I wouldn't hesitate to do so... |
| rufio on March 17, 2010 11:36 PM | holy smokes, that's one heck of a gaming rig. i remember buying my first gaming rig (P2 500mhz) for almost $2000 a decade ago (probably not the wisest choice either haha) |
| supyo on March 17, 2010 11:38 PM | i really like my Phenom. Does everything i want it too. |
| skitzo_zac on March 18, 2010 12:11 AM | That image is really frustrating. The case Maingear use for the SHIFT system is awesome and I want one! It's really a shame they don't sell the case by itself. And In case anyone is going to point it out I already know it is a redesigned SilverStone Raven RV01. They share identical interiors but the Ravens exterior is ugly whereas the SHIFTs exterior is awesome. |
| Yoda8232 on March 18, 2010 12:24 AM | These systems are only for people who don't know lots about PC's that have huge amounts of cash lying around. Just wait till the mainstream 6 core comes out from Intel, like the Q6600 and i5 750, history will repeat again. |
| dividebyzero on March 18, 2010 1:30 AM | These systems are only for people who don't know lots about PC's that have huge amounts of cash lying around. Yup, that about sums it upJust wait till the mainstream 6 core comes out from Intel, like the Q6600 and i5 750, history will repeat again. By the time the Core i7 970 arrives, anyone buying these systems would have had 6-9 months enjoyment from it.Using the Q6600 as an example is probably a little self-defeating since it debuted at $850, not an insignificant amount then, or now. |
| Kovach on March 18, 2010 5:20 AM | supyo said: +1i really like my Phenom. Does everything i want it too. By the way, I'm waiting for some performance review of Intel's Core i7-980X. |
| JMMD on March 18, 2010 7:27 AM | Even if I was going to spend that much on a new PC I would still build it myself. That is half the fun for me, I wouldn't really enjoy buying a pre-built PC. The problem (for me) with spending so much on cutting edge hardware is that the prices drop so fast and something better is right around the corner. I'd prefer to spend half what these systems cost and get most of the performance. |
| windmill007 on March 18, 2010 7:36 AM | I have my Intel dual core E8500 OC to 3.8 and my 260GTX Nvidia graphics card ( got like two years ago). Seriously... can crank any game out there and it plays fine. What is the point of these higher end processors. Your not gaining anything besides milliseconds if that unless your doing video processing. |
| Archean on March 18, 2010 7:42 AM | I wonder how long it will take this thing to open an digitized geological survey drawing, because in the olden days it would take some times an hour just to open the damn file on a Pentium machine running ACAD ....... hmm food for thought 
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| yorro on March 18, 2010 8:45 AM | Buying these pre-built monster rigs will just show how clueless a person is. If they have the money then buy one, just prepare for some geeky bashing. |
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