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Intel's hexa-core Core i7 980X processor appears at retail

by Parm Mann on 10 March 2010, 11:39

Tags: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

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We know that Intel is on the verge of unleashing its first hexa-core consumer processor, codenamed Gulftown and productised as the Core i7 980X Extreme Edition, but whilst we expect it to appear in the US priced at around $999, we've yet to be given a clear indication of European pricing.

Fortunately for those with credit cards at the ready, a couple of retailers appear to be jumping the gun. Over in Germany, popular online outlet Alternate.de has the Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition chip priced at €1,049 for a boxed retail edition - not a fake - whilst UK retailer PCNextDay.co.uk has the part listed at a cost of £879.26.

We reckon both listings are padded with a healthy pre-release margin, and we're expecting - or, perhaps, hoping - that the asking price will fall closer to just £800 mark in the days following release.

Why is the Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition chip going to cost you an arm and a leg? Put simply, because it's a six-core, 32nm chip based on the Westmere architecture. Clocked at 3.33GHz, it's armed with hyper threading, 12MB of L3 cache and all the goodness of LGA1366. That makes it a 12-thread CPU that's probably going to be crowned as the the most powerful desktop processor to date.

Want to know exactly how potent it is? Stay tuned as our in-depth review will be available as soon as Intel officially lifts the lid.

HEXUS Forums :: 23 Comments

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Posted by Percy1983 - Wed 10 Mar 2010 11:43
This thing is going to boost a lot of e-peen!

Why does anybody pay for such things? usually the top end is 10% better but at least twice the cost of the next best.

Either way those who buy it at these prices bring it closer to getting a realistic price, so carry on.
Posted by borandi - Wed 10 Mar 2010 12:14
Percy1983
Why does anybody pay for such things?

Research via multi-threaded simulations
Overclocking world records
Too much money
Lack of trouserware endowment

I expect it to find a sweetspot at £750-£800. Doubt it'll go down from there.
Posted by Shooty* - Wed 10 Mar 2010 12:34
*scratches head*

My quad core runs at 3.33 or faster. How will another 2 cores make even the slighest whiff of a hint of a shade of a trace of difference in real life?
Posted by Superkev6969 - Wed 10 Mar 2010 12:36
Im more interested as to the prices of the displaced CPU's down the list.
Intel seems to have abandoned the practice of all prices moving down one step on the release of a each higher spec CPU.
With AMD slowly catching up I cant help but think Intels greed makes for angry customers and may backfire on them.
I bought my E8600 over 18months ago for £180 GB and at the same shop its currently gone up to £226 GBP.
SK
Posted by GaryRW - Wed 10 Mar 2010 12:51
I thought this was standard practice from Intel - the extreme editions were always $999, and have always been overpriced for those with more money than sense.

Quick check on Scan - current i7 extreme is the 975, priced at £810. Haven't got one, but I understand it's beyond easy to clock the 920's up to the 3.33ghz of the 975 and save yourself roughly £600. No doubt the argument is that the 975 could overclock even higher with ease, but that's an expensive few extra mhz.

Now against the i7 975 extreme edition, this 6 core one actually makes a hell of a lot more sense - you're getting an extra 2 cores rather than a small bump in speed or (possibly) a higher overclock. Please note that I said more sense, but that's as against something that's clearly insane:mrgreen:. The sensible thing for normal people will always be to wait 6-12 months. Personally, I can't say I can blame Intel for taking advantage of the few people who are willing to pay well over the odds, for whatever reason. If they've got the cash to spend on one of these, they're clearly not that vulnerable

Superkey6969- as for price drops on the rest of the line, much as it pains me to say it, personally I can't blame them for taking advantage of the lack of competition from AMD at the higher end.

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