Intel Core i7 990x Engineering Sample Question

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The Cobra

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Hi there folks, living out in the bay area certainly has it's advantages when it comes to purchasing items of computer interest.

I came across an Engineering Sample of an Intel 990x processor. I can purchase it for $600 in th next few days. It has been overclocked a bit, but nothing to extreme. I am certainly interested in taking up the offer...

Here is the dilemma, I already have a pretty good machine that I certainly don't forsee upgrading in the next year and half to 2 years...I know jumping from 4 cores to 6 cores offers no real advantage. I already do some photoshop and after effects stuff on it. Mainly though I use it for gaming (always) and watching movies sometimes when my other half is using the tv...

I can purchase it and make back at least half of the processor cost from the sale of my current processor. However, I have never used an Engineering Sample as it were...I have seen them for sale at some of the local computer shops and seen them on ebay as well. I am just not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling about this vs a retail version of the processor.

SO please give me some advice on what to do. Since I do not want to put any more money into a new mother board, processor and ram when the new version of the core i7's come out at the end of the year. But the six core will buy me more time instead of upgrading over ove the next year while times are tight instead of a whoile new rig...as I feel my machine is plenty fast as it is...

Thx for the advice.
 
TBH if times are really tight for you I would just sit on what you have I doubt 2 more cores are really ging to do the much for you. also for $600 you could buy I core i7 2600k and a really good z68 mobo (and just reuse all your other hardware) which would do way more for you in terms of both gaming performance and future proofing.

alternitively if you want to go a more economical route and live near a micro center you can get a
2500k and a gigabyte z68 ud3 mobo combo for 298+ tax and probably recoup almost all of the cost from selling your old mobo/cpu. and to sweeten the deal gigabyte just announced that board is getting a bios update to make it pcix 3.0 and ivy bridge compatible.
 
I would not spend $600 for an ES 990X. Maybe a real 990X but not an engineering sample. If you really want one but do not need one now wait a while, bid on eBay.
 
Selling an ES is forbidden by Intel. It's their property.
 
I have. A 2920xm ES running in my m18x right now that I got for $300. Had a 920xm ES as well. Regardless of legality (Intel would just destroy or recycle them anyways), they're a hell of a deal. They often run a bit hotter than final chips, but run just as fast.

However, your better off spending money on a newer platform in your case - you'll see more performance.
 
Regardless of legality (Intel would just destroy or recycle them anyways), they're a hell of a deal.
Click to expand...

I would not consider $600 for a 990X ES a hell of a deal. I believe if you are lucky you can get a new one for that price on ebay.
 
Don't upgrade now. You won't really notice the difference of two extra cores in gaming or Photoshop (most filters use 2 threads at most). Sandy Bridge won't be a noticeable upgrade over your lightly overclocked Core i7-965EE.

I really don't understand this "need to upgrade" mentality. If times are tough, then stick with what you have for a couple years. You'd be surprised how your savings will grow when you're not dropping a thousand per-annum on needless performance bumps. Unless you use your system for real professional work, there's no need to be so aggressive.

Wait for Bulldozer and Ivy Bridge to be released and then reevaluate your situation...but even then, only upgrade if there is a TRUE PERFORMANCE NEED and you have the cash to spare :D
 
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Bbq said:
Selling an ES is forbidden by Intel. It's their property.
Click to expand...

X2.... Who ever is selling the ENG Sample is about to get into trouble.
Don't buy it as it is very illegal to sell them.

And Yes, I work for Intel....
 
ALBPM said:
X2.... Who ever is selling the ENG Sample is about to get into trouble.
Don't buy it as it is very illegal to sell them.

And Yes, I work for Intel....
Click to expand...
There is a dude on ebay: nafusica tw that has been selling ES chips for a long time now and he hasn't gotten in trouble. He also has an Ivy Bridge CPU that hes trying to sell for over 2k last time i checked.

Most likely these guys selling ES chips from Taiwan are basically getting them from the source?
 
http://www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-030747.htm First of all with an ES processors there is no warranty and there maybe be issues with it. These processors are designed to be test beds not sold on the retail market. As such they we can and do ask for them back from the resellers that we loaned them to in the first place. For the $600 you can get a Intel® Core™ i7-2600K and a board to go with it that will outperform the Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition in everything but high end multi-threaded applications.
 
as I feel my machine is plenty fast as it is...
Click to expand...

Sounds like you answered your own question ;)

Like everyone else said, don't do it. You don't know if you'll have issues with it and like someone mentioned, there's no warranty. If you run into problems, you just lost that investment. Go for a retail version if you REALLY want it, otherwise suck it up and stick to your original upgrade plan.
 
engineering samples are pretty safe, but there have been cases where people have gotten some ES that were of lower quality than production models. be careful. also, only buy an ES if you never plan to sell it
 
It's neat to have a ES CPU, but outside from that, not really worth it, especially paying those prices. We have legit ones here since we're an ISV, but the novelty wore off for me after a few months; just another CPU that just doesn't happen to be available to everyone yet.
 
heck ill sale you a retail chip for $700 with box and stock fan that does 4.5ghz at 1.32v
 
UPDATE: I found a Core i7 980x on craigslist (Retail Box) for $550. So I avoided the Engineering Sample fiasco...
 
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