Intel Core i7-980X Gulftown Processor Review Comment Thread

[Zero82z]

Awesome to see, but I'll be waiting for LEO from AMD considering it would be more wallet friendly.

ST

Perhaps more wallet-friendly, but as far as folding goes the 6-core Thuban chips will probably be about on-par with a quad-core i5 or highly-overclocked Core 2 Quad.

I do realize who this processor is marketed to: Really Stupid People. And/Or people who not only have too much money, but are also ignorant and wasteful.

You can cut the BS, because we all know that if you could afford one, you'd be getting it too.

This chip doesn't seem to offer much benefit for the average user who's on an i7 920 @ 4.0Ghz already. It seems to perform the same clock for clock to the 975 on anything that doesn't take advantage of 6 cores, even though it has more cache.

Well that's hardly surprising, isn't it?

I wonder how it will compare to the hex-core Xeon's at the same clock speed.

Which hex-core Xeons are you talking about? Do you mean the Core-based Dunnington chips?

 

[MarkOne]

This chip doesn't seem to offer much benefit for the average user who's on an i7 920 @ 4.0Ghz already. It seems to perform the same clock for clock to the 975 on anything that doesn't take advantage of 6 cores, even though it has more cache.
.

what interest me about it it's the 4,5 ghz the sexa-core will be able to reach. but I agree with you it's not a lot better than the actual CPU.

 

[Soultribunal]

Just to clairfy Zero, at no point in time did I mention Folding.

I am well aware that intel and its HT chips are better suited to this application.

ST

 

[MarkOne]

Just to clairfy Zero, at no point in time did I mention Folding.

I am well aware that intel and its HT chips are better suited to this application.

ST

We all know you will prefer a 6 doubles slots motherboard than a 6 Core CPU , Intel or AMD




@ Zero, I know you can't put 6 double slot on a board, was just kidding a well know GPU folder

 

[Zero82z]

Just to clairfy Zero, at no point in time did I mention Folding.

I am well aware that intel and its HT chips are better suited to this application.

ST

Ah, I just figured that you would be thinking of it from a folding perspective. The Thuban chips most likely will be very nice chips for building budget machines geared toward running multithreaded apps.

 

[Soultribunal]

Ah, I just figured that you would be thinking of it from a folding perspective. The Thuban chips most likely will be very nice chips for building budget machines geared toward running multithreaded apps.

Thats alright mate, just wanted to clairfy. I'm working on an i7 system to satisfy that need.
I was speaking strictly on a 'getting a 6 core' machine kinda thing.

Most people associate my replies with folding, no harm no foul.

ST

 

[sswilson]

Gazing into my crystal ball, I suspect they might sell more of these EE chips than normal. The key here is that there isn't anything else on the market which can be OC'd to make up for the price difference, plus the fact that it's not an EOL chip which is basically the best binned of the lot with a higher multi.

 

[mikellini]

ST, I can afford this... well I could, if I wanted to. And what I'm saying is, I don't want to. I was hoping that, clock for clock, it would be faster than what I already have, but it's not. It's two extra cores, that's it. It's like adding two extra wheels to a car that is never going to need them; at least, for almost everyone who's going to buy that car, and then telling them that the two extra wheels tripled the price of the car. Absolutely shameful.

 

[MarkOne]

. almost everyone who's going to buy that car, and then telling them that the two extra wheels tripled the price of the car. Absolutely shameful.

that's what you don't understand this 6 cores EE or EX edition will not cost more than any other 4 cores EE or EX edition, so no additional charge for the 6 cores. Now if you want an unlock core, you have to pay in the 4 digits 1 , 2 , 4 or 6 cores

 

[sswilson]

ST, I can afford this... well I could, if I wanted to. And what I'm saying is, I don't want to. I was hoping that, clock for clock, it would be faster than what I already have, but it's not. It's two extra cores, that's it. It's like adding two extra wheels to a car that is never going to need them; at least, for almost everyone who's going to buy that car, and then telling them that the two extra wheels tripled the price of the car. Absolutely shameful.

Intel EE chips have always come at a huge premium, and if past experience is any indication, will always be so.

As far as "needing" those extra cores.... most folks wouldn't use them, but the folks who can make use of them would get a benefit which justifies the premium.

The biggest thing about EE chips isn't the clock speed, it's the unlocked multi. This allow boutique builders (like Alienware used to be) to offer cookie cutter OC'd out-of-the-box high end rigs with a minimum of fuss at a premium price.