Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Coming Near You in Q4

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sweetleader

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I don't really see where the upgrade is compared to the 3960x. At least make it an Octa-core. The 3960x was already a waste of money over the 3930k anyways.
 
For $1000 I would expect this CPU to be a native Octocore + HT. Does anyone know why this isn't Octocore? Is it because a special BIOS would be needed? Thermals (although I would assume with the latest cooling options this wouldn't be an issue)?

Even though I would never buy one, or could even afford one, it would be a sweet CPU with CF or SLI though.
 
tiny upgrade compared to the 3960x. the article was good in pointing out that this product is literally released just for "under the christmas tree". christmas can't wait for ivy bridge-E CPUs... so I guess for the few out there that's getting the chip CPU on the market this year, a 3970x will have to do
 

guzami77

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I currently run an i7-990x, and have a free replacement plan expiring January 2013.

Looks like I'll be picking this one up.. but I dont see any reason anyone else would.
 

xtreme5

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OMG! another beast unfortunately they are extremely expensive, why don't Intel manufacturing 8 cores cpu like the failure bulldozer. hehe anyway intel knew that they are still better with thier quad-core cpu's as compared to bulldozer. please drop the prices of previous if this one is gonna to be a super expensive only 100mhz faster than 3960x. is it really worth over 3960x i don't think so??
 

dragonsqrrl

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[citation][nom]Chainzsaw[/nom]For $1000 I would expect this CPU to be a native Octocore + HT. Does anyone know why this isn't Octocore? Is it because a special BIOS would be needed? Thermals (although I would assume with the latest cooling options this wouldn't be an issue)?Even though I would never buy one, or could even afford one, it would be a sweet CPU with CF or SLI though.[/citation]
I mentioned this in the 3960x review, but I don't think there's any TDP headroom left for an octa core at 32nm while maintaining the higher clocks expected of i7's. When you look at the eight core Xeons they're all clocked significantly lower, the highest being clocked at 3.1GHz with a 150W TDP.

This makes sense, given the different target markets for the two lineups. The Xeons put more emphasis on wide execution, and the workloads tend to benefit much more from absolute thread count as opposed to absolute clocks. While thread count is still important for the LGA 2011 i7's, it's ultimately targeted at consumer/semipro applications which still tend to favor higher clocks (this is quickly changing though). It's basically a balance between Xeon and LGA1155 i7's. I would certainly like to see an octa-core i7, but like I said in that initial 3960x review, it probably won't be possible until Ivy Bridge-E.
 

dragonsqrrl

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[citation][nom]eddieroolz[/nom]The real news here isn't the 100MHz higher standard clock, but the fact that this may mean a new stepping for Sandy Bridge-E.[/citation]
It's 200MHz, but I think the biggest thing to take away from this is that we probably won't be seeing Ivy Bridge-E anytime soon.
 
[citation][nom]dragonsqrrl[/nom]It's 200MHz, but I think the biggest thing to take away from this is that we probably won't be seeing Ivy Bridge-E anytime soon.[/citation]

My bad, 200MHz it is. And yes, you're right, we probably won't see Ivy Bridge-E soon, if ever.
 

dragonsqrrl

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[citation][nom]eddieroolz[/nom]we probably won't see Ivy Bridge-E soon, if ever.[/citation]
And that's definitely another thing to consider. Does this suggest there won't be an Ivy Bridge-E, at all? That would certainly hurt the longevity of the LGA2011 platform.
 
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wtf i am still using intel core 2 duoe8300 2.9ghz and 4gb ram ,amd 5750 .its like iam using prehistoric computer
 

goodguy713

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[citation][nom]varun270588[/nom]wtf i am still using intel core 2 duoe8300 2.9ghz and 4gb ram ,amd 5750 .its like iam using prehistoric computer[/citation]

did you find any dinosaur bones in your case?
 

11796pcs

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[citation][nom]varun270588[/nom]wtf i am still using intel core 2 duoe8300 2.9ghz and 4gb ram ,amd 5750 .its like iam using prehistoric computer[/citation]
Your PC is still probably better than 97% of the world. Be thankful for what you have and make sure you give away your parts when you upgrade to someone who will enjoy t[hem.
[citation][nom]john_4[/nom]Waste of $[/citation]
Exactly.
 

rantoc

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[citation][nom]dragonsqrrl[/nom]And that's definitely another thing to consider. Does this suggest there won't be an Ivy Bridge-E, at all? That would certainly hurt the longevity of the LGA2011 platform.[/citation]

Considering that Ivy was more of a efficiency upgrade with just a tad more performance i doubt that the Ivy-E will be total buster for the -e series.
 

devBunny

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[citation][nom]varun270588[/nom]wtf i am still using intel core 2 duoe8300 2.9ghz and 4gb ram ,amd 5750 .its like iam using prehistoric computer[/citation]

Two cores? Looxury. I were slaving away on Pentium 4 'til earlier this year.

Mind you, I got this 3970's baby brother, for a 16x improvement in performance, so I can't complain now. ;-)
 

SuckRaven

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Exactly. Haswell, Intel's 22nm architecture should be coming sometime March-June-ish in 2013. I have a feeling it will be "delayed" though, to push SB-E out the door to sell existing supply, before Haswell is released in time for holidays 2013 or more likely early 2014.
 
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