Intel introduces Core i7-990X with clock speed of 3.46GHz

Intel has expanded its range of processors with a Core i7-990X. The hexacore is the chip manufacturer’s new flagship. For servers, the company also introduced twelve new Xeon processors.

The new top model for the consumer market has been given the name Core i7-990X and, like its predecessor, the Core i7-980X, is equipped with six physical processor cores that support hyperthreading, so that the CPU can work on twelve threads simultaneously. The six cores can collectively have 12MB L3 cache and individually 256KB L2 cache is available. The Gulftown processors are baked at 32nm and have the Westmere architecture on board. The default clock speed is 3.46GHz, but Intel supplies the processors as Extreme Edition and the multiplier is therefore not fixed.

The introductory price, with a print run of a thousand units, is $999: the same as the price of the 980X, which will undoubtedly fall. Space is already being made for that: the Core i7-970 will receive a significant price reduction in February from 885 to 583 dollars. The Core i7-960 gets an even more dramatic price cut, dropping from $562 to $294. This makes the price equal to that of the Core i7-950.

In addition to the desktop processors, Intel introduced twelve Xeon processors for servers in February. The top model will be the X5690, a hexacore clocked at 3.46GHz. The introductory price is $ 1663, equal to the price of the X5680, the previous top model, which has not yet been reduced. The new hexacore X5675, which runs at 3.06GHz, costs just as much as the X5670 and therefore sells for $1440. The E5649 and E5645 are also hexacores with clock speeds of 2.53GHz and 2.4GHz respectively, but these are more economical chips, with a TDP of 80W.

The X56xx series is further completed with another seven quad-cores. Finally, one more newcomer has been announced in the W36xx series: the W3690. This hexacore taps at 3.46GHz and knocks the W3680 off the throne. The prices are the same at 999 dollars. The model below, the W3670, will get a price cut to $583, as will the W3565, which drops from $562 to $294.

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