"Affordable" Core i7 Six-Core Processors...When?

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exlink

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I purchased my i7 2600k when it released over 2 years ago at $330 and I have to say it was one of my best investments yet when it came to hardware. I run it daily at 4.6 GHz (stock volts) without an issue and pretty much runs anything I throw at it with ease. I typically upgrade my CPU/Mobo every 2-3 years, but I told myself that I won't retire this chip until Intel comes out with what I consider an "affordable" Core i7 Six-Core Processors (as in sub $400). Intel has produced desktop six-core processors since 2010 and have steadily declined in price from $1000 to the current ~$550 for the LGA 2011 platform.

Will 2014 be the year we start to see these "affordable" Core i7 Six-Core processors, as in under $400? I'm trying to figure out if I should put money aside now or invest it elsewhere.
 
It may not be the time yet. Current processors are very powerful for their price. Not many applications or games take advantage of hexa core, and there is little to no competition from AMD performance wise when considering thermals. So in short, Intel has no reason to push any affordable hexa cores out affordably. Instead they leave them for the niche or server market
 
exlink said:
I purchased my i7 2600k when it released over 2 years ago at $330 and I have to say it was one of my best investments yet when it came to hardware. I run it daily at 4.6 GHz (stock volts) without an issue and pretty much runs anything I throw at it with ease. I typically upgrade my CPU/Mobo every 2-3 years, but I told myself that I won't retire this chip until Intel comes out with what I consider an "affordable" Core i7 Six-Core Processors (as in sub $400). Intel has produced desktop six-core processors since 2010 and have steadily declined in price from $1000 to the current ~$550 for the LGA 2011 platform.
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They technically havne't "declined". THe COre i7 3930K was released at the same time as the COre i7 3960X. So in other words, the pricing on Intel's six-core CPUs have basically remained steady.
exlink said:
Will 2014 be the year we start to see these "affordable" Core i7 Six-Core processors, as in under $400?
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Probably not. Not much incentive for Intel to drop pricing on their six-core CPUs. Invest your money elsewhere if you can't afford the current pricing on the six-core Core i7 CPUs (that's assuming that you actually have a legit need for a six-core CPU in the first place). Hell it probably won't be until 2016 when you'll see a CPU that's really really worth upgrading to over your current 2500K.

EDIT: There is always the Intel Retail Edge program. If you qualified for the Winter Deal from that program, you could have had a chance to buy a 4930K for $200 plus shipping and tax.
 
Haswell-E (Q3 '14) will be when Hexa-core's start becoming available for about $300. The chip most likely will be the i7-5820K with the i7-5930K on up being Octa-core's. Intel plans to discontinue the quads in future Extreme chips, however, for it'll still cost you an arm and a leg because HS-E is going to be DDR4 and the MOBO's are just naturally fuck all expensive.

Intel long since delayed any plans of moving past quads in the mainstream market when AMD's higher cores just couldn't match half their core counts. I wouldn't expect a six-core part (i.e. x770K or x500K) parts until at the very least Skylake or Cannonlake/Skymount. All die shrinks and die space is going to the iGPU and from what I've heard Intel isn't planning on releasing that focus until after Broadwell.
 
///AMG said:
I dont think moving from LGA 1155, 1150 to LGA 1366 is the best move for anyone for more cores. I just moved from 1366 to 2011, even if the 1366 hex cores are cheap I would not move because of all the benefits that come with 1150 and 2011.
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benefits?

like the much higher price? or the incrementally better IPC?
 
jojo69 said:
benefits?

like the much higher price? or the incrementally better IPC?
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For many of the loads that matter, such as video encoding and 3D rendering, a 4770k breaks even with a 970 while using less power. In some cases, a 2600k has no problem rolling with the 970.

1366 is only worth it at this point if you're going with a 2 socket system for high VM density.

I suppose overall it depends on what kind of loads the OP is looking at. This discussion is completely moot for gaming.
 
maybe when x99 comes out? maybe the 8 core will take the 6 cores price point or be a little more leaving the 6 core version a little lower in price i expect we will see $1k 8 cores and maybe a lower end 700 or 600$ 8 core if we are lucky.
 
> 4 cores on the mainstream socket hasn't been hinted by Intel yet. LGA2011 has dropped in price, but it's still not as affordable as the mainsteam sockets.
 
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