Engadget Story about a Core i9 for sale on eBay /w photos/screenshots
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Heh, price isn't that bad for what is essentially a bootleg of something better than the 975, which itself is $1000.
By the time Intel ES chips get out into the public, they are pretty much final chips already.That, and how stable would it be, an engineering sample is obviously not a final product.
How can a motherboard or RAM manufacturer ensure compatibility with a CPU if they don't actually have one to test with? That's just one example for you.What's the purpose of issuing ES chips to the public? What kind of testing can Intel expect from it that they can't reproduce in-house?
I understand this, assuming your definition of "public" consists solely of the manufacturers. But for individuals to obtain them?How can a motherboard or RAM manufacturer ensure compatibility with a CPU if they don't actually have one to test with? That's just one example for you.
except that the 975 is almost 1ghz faster than this i9.
stock clock 2.4 is weaksauce but I guess these being 32nm will have lots of OC potential.
You also have to sign an NDA agreement and the serial number of each CPU can be tracked back to the person / company that originally received it. Part of that agreement is the "not for re-sale" part. This seller didn't even bother to hide the serial number. It's no different than selling stolen property on EBay. If EBay had a spine the seller would be banned for life. Hopefully Intel tracks the seller and the company he worked at down.
An ES chip is just that, an engineering sample. All CPUs including retail CPUs have bugs and a long list of things that don't work 100% correctly that need fixing. ES chips will have more bugs and issues. That's why Intel releases these to testers; so they can get some feedback on what works and what doesn't and get as many of the major issues fixed as possible before going retail with them.
Here's a nice Intel document that lists all of the bugs in a Core i7-900 series CPU.
http://download.intel.com/design/processor/specupdt/320836.pdf
It's an eye opening document for those that think CPUs are perfect.
2+2 on an ES processor might not equal 4.
Buying an ES processor off of EBay is a real gamble. No warranty and no guarantee that it is going to work correctly.
That's a funny statement considering AMD spent all those years drilling into users that GHz doesn't matter.except that the 975 is almost 1ghz faster than this i9.
stock clock 2.4 is weaksauce but I guess these being 32nm will have lots of OC potential.