Core i7 970X?

[ambam]

The Core i7 970X is the 32nm, 6-core "Gulftown" only with a locked multiplier.

Unlocked multipliers or "extreme edition" of Intel processors and "black edition" of AMD processors, are used for EXTREME overclocking, usually FAR beyond 4.0 GHz. An unlocked multiplier gives you absolutely no other performance advantage.

Are there any details about when the 970X is slated to be released retail, and how much will it cost?

The 980X costs roughly $1,050, which is the typical price for a Intel flagship CPU. I wonder if the 970X will come with a slightly more reasonable price tag. Maybe $600-$700.

Intel absurdly overprices their top-end processors.

I have not been able to find much information about the 970X on the internet.

 

[Lmeow]

The i7 970X will most likely come with a better price tag, I heard it was $1000 or so but I don't believe such claims. It would definitely be more than $300. Say Intel charges by cores, one Core i7 core would cost approximately $75, so multiply that by six and it would roughly cost $450. Add the fact that it's 32nm and Intel would advertise that it has better energy efficiency, and then you've got yourself another $50. Afterwards add Intel's overcharging tax of around $100 and you've got yourself $600.

 

[ambam]

The i7 970X will most likely come with a better price tag, I heard it was $1000 or so but I don't believe such claims. It would definitely be more than $300. Say Intel charges by cores, one Core i7 core would cost approximately $75, so multiply that by six and it would roughly cost $450. Add the fact that it's 32nm and Intel would advertise that it has better energy efficiency, and then you've got yourself another $50. Afterwards add Intel's overcharging tax of around $100 and you've got yourself $600.

$600 is MUCH better than $1,000+

Why does the unlocked multiplier make Intel processors so expensive? Why is that so important?

 

[buwish]

I suspect that it will be around the $900 range. Intel hasn't really lowered the cost of the 975 or 965 since Gulftown's release, hence my concern (I could be wrong though, as I haven't checked CPU prices in awhile). I do wish it would run around $600 though, as I, along with many others would be able to buy one. I guess we shall see...

 

[ambam]

I suspect that it will be around the $900 range. Intel hasn't really lowered the cost of the 975 or 965 since Gulftown's release, hence my concern (I could be wrong though, as I haven't checked CPU prices in awhile). I do wish it would run around $600 though, as I, along with many others would be able to buy one. I guess we shall see...

How much more gaming performance does the Gulftown give over the quad-core i7's?

 

[Lmeow]

Buwish, Intel's currently selling the dual core Core i5 680 at the same price as the Core i7 930 lol, I'm pretty sure they're not going to be that extreme and sell the i7 970X for $100 less than the i7 980X, as long as the multiplier is locked on the 970. I'm supposing the Core i7 970X or 970 will have a clock speed of 3.20 GHz. As for the reason why unlocked multipliers are so sought after is because it makes overclocking a lot easier, and for example, you don't have to tamper with RAM settings and IMC voltage if you're just overclocking solely with the multiplier.

Gulftown provides near no real performance boost over i7s in most games, the i7 975 EE and i7 980X EE perform similarly because they're both clocked the same, and most games don't use more than three cores, although the 980X does have 4 MB more L3 cache.

 

[Herr_Koos]

How much more gaming performance does the Gulftown give over the quad-core i7's?

Almost nothing, since even the newest games cannot take advantage of six cores. In fact, the quads are faster in some cases. Hexacores are really only useful for heavy multitasking and productivity apps.

 

[ambam]

Almost nothing, since even the newest games cannot take advantage of six cores. In fact, the quads are faster in some cases. Hexacores are really only useful for heavy multitasking and productivity apps.

HD video encoding and other CPU-intensive applications are really what benefit from a 6-core 12-thread CPU.

Does the 12MB of L3 cache give any noticeable performance boost in gaming? The quad-core i7's only have 8MB.

 

[aznshinobi]

$600 is MUCH better than $1,000+

Why does the unlocked multiplier make Intel processors so expensive? Why is that so important?

It helps overclockers. Since the advantage of unlocked multiplier is, you don't have to overclock your memory while OCing your cpu. With a locked multiplier you wouldn't be able to push your cpu as far because the memory would be unstable.

 

[Herr_Koos]

HD video encoding and other CPU-intensive applications are really what benefit from a 6-core 12-thread CPU.

Does the 12MB of L3 cache give any noticeable performance boost in gaming? The quad-core i7's only have 8MB.

12MB shared across 6 cores vs 8 MB shared across 4 cores. Do the math yourself.

 

[aznshinobi]

WEELLLL I wouldn't say it gives it a BOOST in gaming. Because if you put it in the context of across 6 cores and 4 cores... Then it's hard to say. Barely any games utilize all 6 cores so...

 

[blackhawk1928]

^HAHA, good one.

 

[iqvl]

I wonder if the 970X will come with a slightly more reasonable price tag. Maybe $600-$700.

$600-700 is reasonable for a CPU? WOW, full of rich dudes here.

 

[ares1214]

564 is a pretty wierd price for a cpu, must be coming with the KY :lol: but o great, this is sooooo exciting everbody, intel is STILL overpriced, woo hoo btw, intel charges $1.06 a MHz, A MHz in the difference between the i7 920 and the i7 975. and we complain about price per gigabyte with ssds :lol:

 

[blackhawk1928]

$600-700 is reasonable for a CPU? WOW, full of rich dudes here.

Okay so what would be a "reasonable" price tag for a 6-Core i7 CPU?

 

[iqvl]

You would say "Okay so what would be a "reasonable" price tag for a 4-Core CPU? " if I said this 3 years ago.

To me, I will never pay more than $300 no matter how many cores a CPU has.

 

[ares1214]

the sad thing is, for the performance you get, that is fairly reasonable, maybe 500 might be, but still. when you consider the 1090T is 290$, and the 980x gives a performance boost in some things, and a a massive gain in performance in others, 400-800 is really the only place to put the 970x. 400 is too cheap for intel, 800 is too close to the 980x, so the 500-700$ price range in where it has to be. too expensive, yeah, pretty much, but comparitively its where it has to be.

 

[blackhawk1928]

You would say "Okay so what would be a "reasonable" price tag for a 4-Core CPU? " if I said this 3 years ago.

To me, I will never pay more than $300 no matter how many cores a CPU has.

Well thats understandable as $300 are usually very good. However for the power the 970x/980x deliver I really think price is reasonable. Take a look, the cpu's are 32nm...which is absolutely amazing...its breakthrough, other cpu's are 45nm and over. 32nm is pretty dense. In addition, it's stock clock is a massive 3.33Ghz, other cheaper cpu's like the 920,930,940...don't even make it 3.0Ghz and the 940 costs in the $400+ already. Next, its multiplier is unlocked, overclocking potential is absolutely amazing. and lastley remember its not 1,2,3,4 cores...its a massive six cores...EACH one of which has 2 virtual cores...and each delivering 3.33Ghz. Each core is so damn powerful that you can use a videogames and run one videogame on one core. For the power it delivers I think price is pretty reasonable....plus its new, give it a year and it will drop significantly.

 

[ares1214]

well, thats true and all, but dont make it sound that good :lol: 32nm is great and all, but considering amd got a 6 core chip on 45 nm cooler than a 32 nm intel 6 core, not terribly special. the small difference in clock speed is nothing, u just oc it, like with the 975 and 920, they both had around the same max oc. yes it has a unlocked multiplier, thats nice and all, makes oc'ing easier, but doesnt directly affect performance. and HT isnt as big as it is cracked up to be, yes it has 12 threads, but they are all sharing the resources of the 6 cores. btw, i think with bulldozer that changes, making its "HT" better, just putting that out there. the price is high for a cpu, but not high for the market we are in, and not for an intel cpu.

 

[Guest]

No matter what the price is, you can bet it will be outrageous. I hear Intel will soon be including KY Jelly with all their 6 core cpu's.

Yup, if you want 6 cores without the KY look to AMD for less installation pain!!!

 

[ares1214]

the KY takes away the installation pain :lol: