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

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Intel quietly introduced a few new processors and reduced the price of some other CPUs, including the top range of its desktop mainstream products.

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.

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.   

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Douglas Perry
Douglas Perry
Contributor

Douglas Perry was a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering semiconductors, storage technology, quantum computing, and processor power delivery. He has authored several books and is currently an editor for The Oregonian/OregonLive.

36 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Bartendalot
    Good time to upgrade from previous generation but nothing new if you already own an i7
    Reply
  • chaoski
    Great, and Sandy Bridge is coming back....when?

    Is it just me or are they trying to capitalize on absence of SB? Doesn't $250 SB > $1000 I7?
    Reply
  • jdamon113
    since the issue with sandy bridge. They should drop the prices of these by a good margin. Other that that why buy one.
    Reply
  • quovatis
    SB > most of these chips and is cheaper. Whoopteedo
    Reply
  • Spanky Deluxe
    Hmmm... the i7-970 suddenly looks far more attractive. I may consider replacing my i7-920 with one come pay day depending on how these price drops translate to UK prices.
    Reply
  • FFS, what a bunch of whiners on this site. Maybe the goal is to offer upgrades to people who've already got LGA1156/LGA1366 boards? I'd wager that half you fucks would be whinging about "OMG INTEL IS MAKING ME BUY A NEW MOBO" if they were solely pushing SB.
    Reply
  • saaiello
    This is simply Intel trying to sell off all there old stock and that's it. This is no different then if you went into a supermarket and they have certain brand of yogurt or something really cheap. They want to sell off as much as they can before they take a loss. I mean seriously do you think that the 990x is any different then the 980x I doubt it. Change some speeds around and push a lower price to sell off stuff that will be going out of date soon.

    Now I am not saying any of these chips are bad or are crap its simply sell the back stock off to make room for new product it is simple economics.
    Reply
  • tripplenipple1224
    $999?! that's like....OVER 9000!
    basically I'm saying its expensive. so yeah
    Reply
  • gsxr1181
    Put that in your pipe AMD, and smoke it!

    And that's from a AMD guy. Or maybe a future AMD guy, depending on bulldozer..
    Reply
  • noblerabbit
    I want a CPU that can read my thoughts and translate them to commands on my screen. Until then, I will be happy with my TriCore AMD for quite some more time.
    Reply