Highly anticipated: The Core i9 9900K is rapidly reaching 'leaky sieve' status as the worst kept secret in the semiconductor business. However, the anticipation is reaching fever pitch as consumers' expectations to perform are matched only by others' expectations to have it fail against AMD's best.

We've come across some more information that's floating around on the Internet, on Intel's upcoming launch of the eight-core, sixteen-thread Core i9 9900K CPU. After one notorious twitter user published what looked like an internal memo on the availability of Intel's CPU, with a set of presumptive dates for the NDA, review and shipment dates, we went out looking for a bit more and came up with an interesting (albeit, predictable) find.

The leaked memo, if authentic, says the CPU (presumably with other 9th generation CPUs) will be announced on the 8th of October, and Press reviews will break cover on the 19th, the same day the CPUs are put on sale. On the other hand, if you're eager to get your hands on these CPUs, you should know someone has put them on sale on eBay.

It turns out that someone has started taking pre-orders on Intel's Core i9 9900K. This is a fairly common practice when enthusiasts have high expectations on some new piece of tech, and has happened to previous CPUs (including Intel's 8086K) and smartphones (like most iPhones), where a seller has secured access to some stock and is able to sell them on the side. It does seem they had access to some of Intel's marketing materials, beforehand, which makes the ad look a little 'safer' but it can still be a hoax.

The Buy It Now listing, seen below, states the seller is taking pre-orders for Intel's latest and greatest, in both tray and boxed format (with the boxed CPUs coming in a fancy new packaging as revealed by Tom's Hardware), and will deliver from the 18th of October, which matches the leaked memo. The price, however, is a punch to the family jewels: a whopping $1,099.99, considerably more than the $582 from the Amazon leak, but expected as these are listings made by speculators trying to turn a quick profit and aimed at fringe enthusiasts, those who are willing to take risks for Intel's highest tier CPU.

Despite some really strict conditions, some of which might drive off potential buyers, the seller is very unambiguous about what they're selling.

Take it all with a huge grain of salt: this is a no returns, no cancellations (on the buyers' side) deal. This being eBay, either the seller is 100% legit or you'll need to collect on that eBay buyer protection.

It's some scary stuff, considering the amounts involved.

All things considered, the industry is holding its breath to see what Intel can squeeze out of its 14nm++ process, and reviewers to face it off with their resident Threadripper kits.