As expected earlier US chip giant Intel has successfully launched its new high-end desktop platform known to consist of a new Haswell-E-based Core i7-5000 processor, the Intel X99 Express chipset and DDR4 memory. The new platform builds on the success of the Intel Haswell CPU architecture and targets hardcore gamers, media professionals, engineers and hardware enthusiasts. This is also the first time Intel sells an 8-core desktop processor.
The new hardware is exciting and there’s no doubt in that but we already know almost everything. There are three Haswell-E processors on the market – the Core i7-5960X is the flagship that has 8 cores, Hyper-Threading technology for up to 16 processed threads at once, 20 MB of L3 cache and a quad-channeled DDR4 memory controller. The chip runs at 3.00 GHz and overclocks to 3.50 GHz when Turbo Boost kicks in; it sells for USD 999 if you want one. Then we have the Core i7-5930K – this chip has six cores that support Hyper-Threading technology for up to 12 threads processed at once, 15 MB of L3 cache and a clock speed of 3.50 GHz that goes up to 3.70 GHz with Turbo Boost. This processor costs USD 583. Finally we have the Core i7-5820K – a processor that has six cores with Hyper-Threading technology for 12 threads processed at once, 15 MB of L3 cache and clock speeds of 3.30/3.60 GHz – all this will cost you USD 389. It is also important to say that these prices are for the tray versions only and if you want boxed versions you will have to pay a bit more.
Unfortunately things are not so rosy for people who want to buy the Core i7-5820K. As reported earlier this processor features just 28 PCI-E lanes, unlike the more expensive versions that have 40 lanes. This means that the Core i7-5820K will bottleneck some configurations that use multiple GPUs.
The new chips are on the market now where they can be combined with numerous Intel X99-based motherboards and DDR4 memory kits from various manufacturers.
Source: Intel