Gulftown 6-core is officially named "Core i7 980X"

It would have been nice if they'd called it i9 something. But then again, nice to hear about it anyway :)
 
Pricing? (I'm sure it won't be cheap. :rolleyes: )

And how long before the is a Gulftown replacement for the i7-920/930? :rolleyes:
 
Can't wait.

This would probably be my main CPU until the refresh after Sandy Bridge, but this depends on how awesome SB will be.
 
The naming doesn't quite fit the current i7 line up as all current i7s are 4core + 4HTs. Not to mention 45nm also,
i5 is 4core no HT and i3 is 2core, see the pattern?

This part should have been named i9 for the sake of fitting the naming scheme imo.
Somehow slapping a X in the end of the model number isnt quite convincing as an indicator of a 6core part.
 
Pricing?
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The article said that the 980 will replace the 975 so its expected the 980 will cost at least as much as the 975 does today. This sounds both good and bad. I mean yields are so good that 3.33GHz is the slowest core that is sold. Or is this just to keep pricing high always? Or will there be lower clocked 6 core chips?
 
ihira said:
The naming doesn't quite fit the current i7 line up as all current i7s are 4core + 4HTs. Not to mention 45nm also,
i5 is 4core no HT and i3 is 2core, see the pattern?

This part should have been named i9 for the sake of fitting the naming scheme imo.
Somehow slapping a X in the end of the model number isnt quite convincing as an indicator of a 6core part.
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Nope. Logically then i3 should be Dual Core WITH Hyperthreading. The pattern is meaningless and the naming scheme is meaningless, so it really doesn't matter that it's called an i7. It just means that Intel has a flagship i9 that will be even better (or perhaps on a different socket).
 
i-920 has been around for over a year now and they will replace it with pretty much the same thing? That's a big disappointment!!! Why would anyone buy i-930? Just makes me wait more to upgrade (and spend money). Who knows, I might end up building an AMD system, if they come up with something.
 
building an AMD system, if they come up with something.
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The word is not really anything new (except a 6 core that will be slower than the Phenom 2 965 and thus i7 920 in most applications) until 2011.
 
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drescherjm said:
The word is not really anything new (except a 6 core that will be slower than the Phenom 2 965 and thus i7 920 in most applications) until 2011.
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At that point, AMD will have a 32nm CPU. Sticking with my Q6600 for now..
 
bezant said:
At that point, AMD will have a 32nm CPU. Has anyone heard of engineering samples of Bulldozer/Orochi, yet?
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And Intel will be well on its way to 22nm. It just looks like a rough few years ahead for AMD in the CPU space at the higher end.
 
Sweet another 1000 dollar processor, ill never buy. At this rate, I will probally keep my 920 till sandy bridge comes out.
 
bezant said:
At that point, AMD will have a 32nm CPU. Sticking with my Q6600 for now..
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Don't expect anything impressive from AMD. They're sticking with their current architecture until Bulldozer which comes out in 2011 at the earliest, so there won't be any performance improvements on their end aside from clock speed bumps and their upcoming 6-core CPUs.
bezant said:
The volume is in the low end CPUs. Where's the 32nm replacement for the i-920?
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There won't be any 32nm Nehalem-based quad-cores.
 
Intel is currently missing a 32nm quad-core part for the LGA1366(x58) platform. 32nm Lynnfield is [Strike=Option]crippled[/s] [Strike=Option]hobbled[/s] "walks with a slight limp" for gamers because it was designed with fewer, but CPU-integrated, PCIE lanes so that board manufacturers could cheap out on a northbridge. The logical market niche would be just shrinking the 920 and calling it the 930... but despite reports that there will be a 930, the roadmaps we've seen for LGA1366 show Intel just making the jump straight to six-core 32nm.
 
well, I'd buy one, but I don't have the money. Besides, they'll probably be in short supply when it comes out.
 
Zero82z said:
Lynnfield is 45nm. There will not be any 32nm quad-cores based on the Nehalem architecture for LGA1156 or LGA1366.
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actually there will be under the Xeon name. there are some people that have had their hands on 32nm quad core 1366 chips for weeks now. some rumors are saying that its just a six core with two disabled since it still has 12mb of L3.

EDIT: in fact here is an official list from yesterday showing them. http://techpowerup.com/110567/Intel_Readies_13_Westmere-based_32_nm_Xeon_Processors.html
 
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cannondale06 said:
actually there will be under the Xeon name. there are some people that have had their hands on 32nm quad core 1366 chips for weeks now. some rumors are saying that its just a six core with two disabled since it still has 12mb of L3.

EDIT: in fact here is an official list from yesterday showing them. http://techpowerup.com/110567/Intel_Readies_13_Westmere-based_32_nm_Xeon_Processors.html
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm interested in seeing pricing on the Xeon Hex-cores. Some of the current X58 boards support the current Xeon processors, don't see why they would support these as well, I'd like to get a X5650 for my Revo if they aren't priced astronomically high.
 
Hope this is true! I would like to upgrade my i920 to a 32nm part with lower TDP. i920 2.66ghz 130W -> X5667 3.06ghz 95W. Last thing before a SB upgrade.
 
Really looking into an EE Gulftown or a 6core new "920"
 
med1kl said:
Really looking into an EE Gulftown or a 6core new "920"
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Looking at the history of their Core 2 Quad releases,
waiting a few months for the 'Q6600/920 equivilant' is your best bet if you don't want to spend $1000 on a 6core.
 
ihira said:
Looking at the history of their Core 2 Quad releases,
waiting a few months for the 'Q6600/920 equivilant' is your best bet if you don't want to spend $1000 on a 6core.
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true. unless I get phase cooling to go along with it :D
 
GULFTOWN=GARBAGETOWN, maybe they will release a non 1000$ model that wont be garbagetown? My 4GHz 860 puts out almost same 3dmark cpu score as an OCed garbagetown. Got no time for garbagetown, want Ivy bridge now!
 
cannondale06 said:
actually there will be under the Xeon name. there are some people that have had their hands on 32nm quad core 1366 chips for weeks now. some rumors are saying that its just a six core with two disabled since it still has 12mb of L3.

EDIT: in fact here is an official list from yesterday showing them. http://techpowerup.com/110567/Intel_Readies_13_Westmere-based_32_nm_Xeon_Processors.html
Click to expand...

Thank You! Thank You! Want them NOW!!! hahaha... Who was that annoying fool that kept on saying the answer is still no? Sheesh...

I wouldn't pay $1000 for a hex core, but $500 for a "low" to midgrade Xeon? Why not.... I hope they improve/tweak the memory controllers, so all 6 channels can be populated with a high OC. That would be the shiznit!
 
They had to make it an extreme edition, otherwise the EE line would have no architectural benefit over the regular line of processors. I hope the 32nm process will allow it to overclock like a 920 despite the extra heat thats bound to come from two more cores plus hyper-threading. I guess Intel wants to make sure you can't get top of the line performance without going EE, unlike the situation with the 920 and the 975.
 
I really do hope Intel will release a lower clocked Gulftown, not everybody wants a CPU at a $1000 price tag, WTF. I just don't understand why Intel prices their CPU with an unlocked multiplier at such a high price.
 
John Vuong said:
I really do hope Intel will release a lower clocked Gulftown, not everybody wants a CPU at a $1000 price tag, WTF. I just don't understand why Intel prices their CPU with an unlocked multiplier at such a high price.
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Take a look at the link Cannondale posted up above. There is a model Xeon x5650 that runs at 2.66 GHz. The EE version of the gulftown will run at 3.2GHz. Given that the W3680 will the the single socket xeon variant of the EE (albeit clocked slightly higher) which will be priced just as high, we might see that the 2.66 x5650 will be priced in the $500-$800 range. Who knows?

2.66GHz (assuming that these chips run at the same QPI) will mean that it carries a 20x multi just like the i920, with the engineering sample chips hitting 4.0Ghz easily on air, I'm really looking forward to these Xeons.

That being said, isn't everyone happy they got an X58 now? hahaha....
 
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Maybe later this summer or fall who knows when but intel might release a none extreme Gulftown. In the mean time for those who have the money and can't wait or just want to have the best always will be money makers for intel. After they sell some EE Gulftown they should start to make none extreme versions of it. This is just my thinking.
Just like they did with Penryn. Remember the first 45nm quad call Yorkfield was the QX9650? That was all you can buy back then, which was first quarter of 2008. Few months later intel roll out the q9450 and the q9550. Even later then push out for the q9650 as for quads. They might do the same pattern for Westmere.
 
∞Velocitymaster∞;1035066257 said:
Maybe later this summer or fall who knows when but intel might release a none extreme Gulftown. In the mean time for those who have the money and can't wait or just want to have the best always will be money makers for intel. After they sell some EE Gulftown they should start to make none extreme versions of it. This is just my thinking.
Just like they did with Penryn. Remember the first 45nm quad call Yorkfield was the QX9650? That was all you can buy back then, which was first quarter of 2008. Few months later intel roll out the q9450 and the q9550. Even later then push out for the q9650 as for quads. They might do the same pattern for Westmere.
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Exactly... Intel has been playing the same cards for the past decade. Even if we don't want to wait, you'll end up paying a hundred or two for the server/workstation Xeon variant as they're being released in March as well.

The X5xxx series chips, though meant for dual socket mobos, are compatible with single socket motherboards. I do suspect however, that the EE chip will have more agressive turbo settings. Still, I just clock to whatever the max is anyways, and forgo the turbo so it's a moot point.
 
thenewrick said:
GULFTOWN=GARBAGETOWN, maybe they will release a non 1000$ model that wont be garbagetown? My 4GHz 860 puts out almost same 3dmark cpu score as an OCed garbagetown. Got no time for garbagetown, want Ivy bridge now!
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Because 3DMark scores are obviously the most important performance metric for everything :rolleyes:.
 
Zero82z said:
Because 3DMark scores are obviously the most important performance metric for everything :rolleyes:.
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Right? It makes me wonder how many folks out there are using their rigs as video game consoles. hehehe...
 
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