With the Core i7-990X Extreme Edition six-core processor, Intel has reached the end of the road with its Gulftown platform. Before Ivy Bridge rumbles into the picture next year, the chip giant will likely be releasing a six-core desktop CPU based on its present platform, the Sandy Bridge E (”E” for “extreme,” of course).
At very first blush, fanboys might be a bit bummed with the E’s core clock speed of three.3GHz compared to the 990X’s three.46GHz, but with Turbo mode it can blast to 3.9GHz. Then once more, with its unlocked multiplier, the chip must be overclocked over 4GHz effortlessly. It also comes with 15MB of L3 cache, compared to the 990X’s 12MB.
As you can guess, the CPU itself will doubtlessly carry its usual sky-high cost of $1,000 or beyond. You’ll also need to have a brand new motherboard as this can call for the yet-unreleased LGA 2011 socket. Although all signs have pointed to the E becoming a six-core processor, an eBay listing for an eight-core version for $1,360 speedily surfaced and vanished.
Speaking of eight cores, AMD’s Bulldozer platform will soon arrive with octo-core desktop CPUs, which ought to present some much-needed competition with Intel’s Extreme processors. They’ll most likely undercut Intel’s pricing considerably, but regardless of whether they’ll come close in performance is however to be determined.
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