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.   

  • 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