AMD, Intel Plotting Six-Core CPU Releases
Are you ready for more cores?
With both AMD and Intel already floating quad-core CPUs on the market, it's only natural for them to dial things up a bit bigger by adding 50 percent more cores.
According to a report from Digitimes, who sources its friends at Taiwanese motherboard companies, Intel will be rolling out its six-core desktop "Gulftown" processors at the end of March. The six-core Nehalem-based chip will supposedly be named the Core i7-980X and will be priced in the four-digit range.
In response, AMD will launch the six-core "Thuban" 45nm chips as Phenom II X6 1075T, 1055T and 1035T models sometime in May.
As always, take these reports with a grain of salt – but it's safe to say that we'll be seeing six-core CPUs sometime before the summer.

AMD 6-core for $300.
Intel 6-core for $1200.
Ever thought that maybe some people use multiple heavy apps at once using 2+ cores per app etc
This is going to be the same argument as when dual-cores came out, then quad-cores etc -its getting old people.
Theres nothing wrong with the extra power
You're missing the point, I think. The argument actually is very much valid, and alive. Applications which are written well to take advantage of multiple cores run quite fast on a dual-core, and so on. But most apps are not written with this in mind, so you can throw them at 6 cores, or 8 cores but it won't utilize the power which it has at its disposal. That's the point. Yes, of course more cores are better, but are they better because you think they are, or because they really are. Hardware and software should compliment one another, it's not optimal when one hardware outruns software so far ahead that it's actually pointless to pay for the fast hardware.
Q1 2010 AMD Deneb X4 975 3.6Ghz, L2 2Mb, L3 6Mb TDP 125 - 140 = AMD does not want to compete itself e.g X4 965 140 TDP - X4 965 125 TDP. Originally X6 1075 was a 140 TDP part and now is 125 TDP. The 125 TDP parts have much grater exposure and market share than 140 TDP parts. Expect AMD CPU'S Phenom 2 X2, X3 and X4 to reach 4 Ghz by the end of 2010 - Q1 2011.
The X2 CPU's technically can already be produced at 4.0 Ghz TDP 140.
e.g X2 555 3.2 GHZ 80 TDP, 565 3.4 GHZ 95 TDP, 575 3.6 GHZ 110 TDP,
585 3.8 GHZ 125 TDP and 595 4.0 GHZ 140 TDP. The technical abilities of AMD Phenom 2 X3 and X4 allow it to be produced at 3.6Ghz 140 TDP.
AMD will hold the fort with Denebs X2, X3, X4 and X6 untill Q1 2011 Bulldozer and Bobcat AM3r2 = AM3+
AMD X2, X3 and X4 are the same Deneb core with disabled cores for X3 and X4 ;-D.
AMD 6-core for $300.
Intel 6-core for $1200.
I think my skull just cracked
O RLY?
I have an AMD 790GX AM3 socket. I hope the "Thuban" has the same.
I'll just forget about Intel. They change sockets everytime they have new processor.