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Intel set to slash price of Core i7 950 chip?

by Tarinder Sandhu on 21 June 2010, 10:31

Tags: Intel Core i7 950 (Win7 RTM), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

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950 the new 930

There's nothing like starting a Monday morning with a cup of good java and a healthy rumour or two.

The folks over at rumour-infested site HKEPC reckon that Intel's taking the sledgehammer to select chip pricing at the back end of August.

950
Image source: HKEPC

Intel's Core i7 920 has been the darling of the well-heeled enthusiast crowd since November 2008, overclocking with aplomb, but we know that its days are numbered.

According to the HKEPC-compiled table, Intel will move the Core i5 950 chip's pricing down to Core i7 930-matching $294 (£225). At the same time, the chip giant will trim the prices of mainstream CPUs.

The trouble for Intel is that the lowest-price Core i7, whatever the basic speed, will overclock to 4GHz with the minimum of fuss. Knowing this, the CPUs' factory-shipping speed becomes almost irrelevant in the mind of the enthusiast.

What we really need to see is Intel introducing cheaper six-core processors based on the Core i7 980X, because a $294 hexa-core monster would be just ideal.

We doubt that AMD will be moved to change its premium CPUs' pricing if the figures in the table turn out to be true.


HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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So is the i7 950 genuinely *better* silicon than the 920? Or is it simply that they upped the multiplier, to the enthusiast meaning that you don't need such a good motherboard to be able to overclock it to its full potential but not actually increasing its overclockability on a good motherboard?
hmm, I was thinking of getting a new build in Sep, my current Q6600 is creaking a bit. She no longer seams stable at 3.5~ghz.
miniyazz
So is the i7 950 genuinely *better* silicon than the 920?
Yes - it will have been binned so that more chips reach higher speeds on less voltage.

The 45nm 1366 chips are between a bit of a rock and a hard place - if you want lots of cores then AMD hexa-core products catch your eye, if you want lots of speed then the 32nm i5 680 gets you 3.6ghz for $294. And both have more favourable power characteristics.
By the time that that makes it's way throguh to UK retailers, it'll be over Ā£300 I'm certain.

I'd love to upgrade from my i7 920, but I'm not so sure that I'd get any discernable benefit as I'm already clocked at 4.2Ghz.

Anyone got any experience of how well these overclock?