Intel Slips Out New 3.2GHz Core i7-970 Gulftown

By Marcus Yam
published

Now you have a new choice for Gulftown.

We can't really imagine the type of PC computing enthusiast who could set aside $900 for a six-core Intel Core i7 Gulftown CPU and not be up to spending $100 more the Extreme Edition. But that's the sort of people who would opt for the Core i7-970, the hexacore 3.2GHz chip now on sale for $899.

The chip appeared on Newegg's listings (opens in new tab) and is available to ship immediately. Paying the extra $100 gets you only an extra 133MHz, but you also get the game Shattered Horizons for free (until the end of the month).

Then again, you could put that $100 towards a faster GPU, and you'd probably be better off.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
68 Comments Comment from the forums
  • joytech22
    I wish AMD didn't keep their supporters 1-3 years behind their freaking server line!!!... it's like they develop a new architecture, use it for servers.. then bin the rest to us to get rid of stock..
    Reply
  • welshmousepk
    a free game? what sort of gamer would buy this CPU?

    oh thats right, a stupid one...
    Reply
  • salimbest83
    there will be buyer for these even if they sell it for more.
    Reply
  • Lmeow
    Ugh... Damn Intel pricing. Seriously, I wonder how the sales will be. You could probably buy two Core i7 930 systems with the cost of one i7 970 system and the only people willing to pay that much for a processor are mostly enthusiasts, who would go for an i7 980X anyway.

    Way to go.

    -_-
    Reply
  • lradunovic77
    As soon as AMD take performance crown it will change, hopefully with Buldozzer.
    Reply
  • festerovic
    I always see this price tag when window shopping on newegg, and chuckle. As stated ^, who the hell would buy this when the 930 OCs past it for 1/3 teh price? My guess: government employees intent on wasting my taxes!
    Reply
  • magicandy
    What were Intel's prices like in the Athlon days when AMD had the performance crown for once? I have my doubts that an Intel-killing AMD proc would bring Intel's prices down. I think AMD would just charge the same insane prices as Intel in that case. The top spot in the CPU performance arena is coveted. It's the top performing CPU that gets all the lofty contracts from businesses who don't care about price tag. That $1000 price isn't meant for the average joe.
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    festerovicI always see this price tag when window shopping on newegg, and chuckle. As stated ^, who the hell would buy this when the 930 OCs past it for 1/3 teh price? My guess: government employees intent on wasting my taxes!People who then OC that chip as well?
    Reply
  • killerclick
    lradunovic77As soon as AMD take performance crown it will change, hopefully with Buldozzer.
    There's no way Bulldozer will be able to match anything Intel has to offer at least in terms of performance.
    Reply
  • magicandy
    Oh and if AMD had the top spot no one would be oogling over the Intel flagship anyway. They'd just be complaining that they can't afford AMD's top offering just the same. True Intel's prices might go down but people will always want the better CPU, and the best CPU will always be in the $1000+ range because businesses can afford it.
    Reply