Intel Lifts i7 to 3.46 GHz, Xeon 5000 to 3.60 GHz

New in the lineup is the 6-core i7-990X, which elevates the desktop high-end portfolio to a clock speed of 3.46 GHz. The processor is priced at $999, the same as the 980X (3.33 GHz). The price of the i7-970 (6 cores, 3.2 GHz) was reduced by 34% from $885 to $583 and the i7-960 (4 cores, 3.2 GHz) dropped by 48% to $294 which indicates that this chip will soon appear in the $800 - $900 class of desktop PCs.

Intel did not touch the mobile processor lineup, but added 12 new processor to the Xeon 5000 and 3000 series. The new flagship model of the 5000 series is the X5690 (6 cores, 12 MB cache, 130 watts TDP 3.46 GHz), which is sold for a tray price of $1663. Also new are the X5675 (6 cores, 3.06 GHz, 95 watts) for $1440, the E5649 (6 cores, 80 watts, 2.53 GHz) for $774 and the E5645 (6 cores, 2.4 GHz, 80 watts) for $551. Intel added the following CPUs to the quad-core range:

E5607 (80 watts, 2.26 GHz, $276)
E5606 (80 watts, 2.13 GHz, $219)
E5603 (80 watts, 1.60 GHz, $188)
X5687 (130 watts, 3.60 GHz, $1663)
X5672 (95 watts, 3.20 GHz, $1440)
X5667 (95 watts, 3.06 GHz, $1440)
X5647 (130 watts, 2.93 GHz, $774)

New in the 3000-series is only the W3690 (6 cores, 130 watts, 3.46 GHz) for $999. The price of the W3670 (6 cores, 130 watts, 3.20 GHz) was reduced by 34% to $583 and the W3565 (4 cores, 3.20 GHz) dropped 48% to $294.