I7 920 to be discontinued...

[EQPlayer]

...we all knew the 940 was going out due to the 950... but what's up with ditching the 920?

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/05/28/intel-to-discontinue-core-i7-920-940-cpus/1

 

[Bluescreendeath]

gawddangs?

So that means i7 owners are screwed on any future CPU upgrade options since it's gonna be uber expensive...

I guess this is good news for the i5...?

 

[dragonfang18]

Well... I guess we'll just have to change mobo's and CPU's(as well as heatsink brackets if you bought aftermarket)... Good thing I decided to get the cheapest i7 than wait for the 975 only to know that the socket is obsolete within a year... good luck to every i7 user out there...

 

[JessieJ]

gawddangs?

So that means i7 owners are screwed on any future CPU upgrade options since it's gonna be uber expensive...

I guess this is good news for the i5...?

Yeah - until AMD can get their butts caught up to Intel's core i7 chip. Hop to it AMD.

Good news is I've got more PC than I need with the 920 for at least the next 3 years - probably closer to 5.

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ I hope it's not a gaming PC because if it is then lower that max to 2 1/2 years.

On topic though, if they discontinue the 920 then they've lost pretty much 80%+ of i7's sales. They must have been really trusting in i5, well they better hope that AMD doesn't just bring in some kick-ass processor under $400 the day after the 920 is discontinued.

 

[cjl]

Well, except looking at the i5 lineup, the top end i5 should be as fast as (or faster than) an i7 920 anyways, so they aren't losing that price/performance spot, just replacing it. Besides, they have always been open about their intentions with i7 as an extreme high end part anyways.

 

[hefox]

Seems like X58 will be fine. Gulftown 32nm with six core will work on some X58. I will more than happy to have a six-core processor and probably I will not stress about upgrading for some years.
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12443&Itemid=1

 

[Kari]

eh? you'll better buy that 920 while you still can. lol?
Future upgrades will cost a ton, but probably by that time there's something completely different on the market and you'll need a whole new rig anyways...

 

[JessieJ]

Well, except looking at the i5 lineup, the top end i5 should be as fast as (or faster than) an i7 920 anyways, so they aren't losing that price/performance spot, just replacing it. Besides, they have always been open about their intentions with i7 as an extreme high end part anyways.

Yeah - but I just stretched my build budget to get an i7 with the intention of a future upgrade on the socket. If I'm limited solely to 500.00 cpu's and AM3 is still available as a socket to build on - you'll be darned sure I'll be inclined to become an AMD fanboy - on the basis they are more consumer friendly.

I'm still glad I got the i7 - but Intel shafting it's customer base isn't something I consider a favorable attribute.

 

[Reynod]

They are not making any money on the i7 920 ... so it makes sense to remove any product that competes with present LGA775 offerings (Q965 and higher) and upcoming i5 products ... which are cheaper to produce.

I bet the mobo manufacturers will be spitting chips ... mobo sales for i7 sockets would mainly be with a 920 purchase I imagine.

 

[Helloworld_98]

isn't the top end i5 a 2.93ghz though? and it still costs $562 or something like that so although you'd get more performance it would cost nearly double the 920.

@hefox, sure, you can still get a 32nm 6 core cpu for x58 later but less than 6 months later amd will have rolled out their 28nm line or their 45nm 12 cores.

 

[JessieJ]

They are not making any money on the i7 920 ... so it makes sense to remove any product that competes with present LGA775 offerings (Q965 and higher) and upcoming i5 products ... which are cheaper to produce.

Not sure on that one. Maybe there's just not enough demand for their higher end chips to be worth it in their view - and hence not enough volume at the price they'd like to charge.

Any way you slice it - there's only so many people willing to pay 500 or 1,000 dollars for a processor. Getting rid of the 920 isn't going to change that any.

 

[hefox]

isn't the top end i5 a 2.93ghz though? and it still costs $562 or something like that so although you'd get more performance it would cost nearly double the 920.

@hefox, sure, you can still get a 32nm 6 core cpu for x58 later but less than 6 months later amd will have rolled out their 28nm line or their 45nm 12 cores.

Oh really?! It never even crossed my mind. Oh course something better will get on the market in 6 months. It always does. This is nature of IT world. But also matters how well this 12 cores will work and if it will be able beat the 6 core from Intel.

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ well 12 real cores are better than 12 hyperthreads so it should do better in apps that can use that amount of threads.

also normally it doesn't get that much better in 6 months, normally it takes 9-12 months to get that much more power.

 

[cjl]

Yes, but I'm pretty sure that AMD's 12 core is not a consumer product. It will probably be available as an Opteron only.

 

[jsc]

Intel was upfront about their future plans for the i7. That's why I didn't upgrade to i7. The current Q9's are good enough / fast enough.

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ so far.

and don't amd enter the desktop market around the same time as the server market with the same technology?

except K10.5, it's different because the opteron version of the same tech comes out after the desktop version.

 

[fazers_on_stun]

Hmm, I'll believe this when Intel announces it or a few more reputable sources than unnamed "Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers" mention it.

 

[Reynod]

Amother reason to cut the i7 920 would be to force clearance of excess Penryn stock on 755.

Pehaps the eild on the i7 are poor too?? Perhaps more costly to produce?

I imagine with the recession Intel has an aweful lot of inventory of core2 ... and the yeilds on those were very good ... so plenty of 965 etc higher end quads in boxes on shelves.

They did announce several price cuts on those.

The 45nm core2 quads are not to be sneezed at either.

Very good overclockers and still slightly faster than Phenom II ... plus the mobo price is comparable ... much cheaper to make than the i7 boards.

 

[croc]

...we all knew the 940 was going out due to the 950... but what's up with ditching the 920?

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/05/28/intel-to-discontinue-core-i7-920-940-cpus/1

Speculation is so FUN... (or is that FUD?)

Intel is still selling 975 chipsets. So I think that this rumour is just that - a rumour. If it proves out to be a fact, it would be the shortest lived chipset in Intel's history to the best of my knowledge.

 

[jennyh]

Don't forget to buy i7 for future proofing, this tech is going to be around for years to come!

 

[Bluescreendeath]

So i7 920s get owned by the i5s in terms of gaming? dangs

 

[one-shot]

I agree. Theres no use for anything more than quad unless your running a server anyways, so even a 6 core would be just a dumb purchase this year.

Hell neither Intel or AMD can even build a 3ghz quad at less than 125/130w.

The Q9650 is a 3GHz quad. I believe the TDP is 95W. I believe Intel can and did build a 3Ghz quad before.

 

[jimmysmitty]

isn't the top end i5 a 2.93ghz though? and it still costs $562 or something like that so although you'd get more performance it would cost nearly double the 920.

@hefox, sure, you can still get a 32nm 6 core cpu for x58 later but less than 6 months later amd will have rolled out their 28nm line or their 45nm 12 cores.

28nm in 2010? I doubt it. Intels 32nm is coming in 2009 and their 22nm is set for 2011. Considering even IBM stated they were having trouble with HK/MG they plan on 32nm (not as easy as they thought) I doubt AMD will have anything smaller than 32nm until 2012+.

And as said before, their 12 core is going to be a Opty not a Phenom. Even so I would admit 16 real cores would be pure overkill for a gaming mashince....

 

[AKM880]

I agree. Theres no use for anything more than quad unless your running a server anyways, so even a 6 core would be just a dumb purchase this year.

Hell neither Intel or AMD can even build a 3ghz quad at less than 125/130w.

Yep. Q9650, 45nm, 95W, 3.0GHz Core 2 Quad.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115130