Reviews - Intel Core i7 - everything that Core 2 should have been - performance numbe

[Webby]

Tarinder, thanks for that shows that Hexus is listening to its readers

It is as you say I guess the huge bandwidth is just not utilised with only a single application running so you see very little improvement. I guess if we saw differences of 3GB/s memory bandwidth on a Core 2 Quad we would notice the differences a lot more as it would be an effective 50% increase!

Again thanks for taking the trouble to re-test.

[Brewster0101]

Is there pricing yet for the release of these CPUs

[Tarinder]

Brewster,

We have 1,000-unit tray pricing and it's as follows:

Core i7 920 - $284 (~£200)
Core i7 940 - $562 (~£400)
Core i7 965 EE - $999 (~£750)

I've put my best-guess UK pricing in brackets, given the current exchange rate and mark-up.

These should be close to the mark when they're officially released later on this month.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Brewster,

We have 1,000-unit tray pricing and it's as follows:

Core i7 920 - $284 (~£200)
Core i7 940 - $562 (~£400)
Core i7 965 EE - $999 (~£750)

I've put my best-guess UK pricing in brackets, given the current exchange rate and mark-up.

These should be close to the mark when they're officially released later on this month.

what about the x58 mobo's will their be any to pick up for £150? some say the boards costs more then the 920 cpu. WHY?

[shaithis]

what about the x58 mobo's will their be any to pick up for £150? some say the boards costs more then the 920 cpu. WHY?

Because they are new tech, yields will probably be low, the product will be niche and will sell in low quantities and it is the highest-end chipset intel make.

Just look at the price of mainstream x38/x48 boards.....

[kalniel]

what about the x58 mobo's will their be any to pick up for £150? some say the boards costs more then the 920 cpu. WHY?

Because intel are discounting the cost of the CPUs by charging more for the chipset? Because all the companies have decided that only enthusiasts will be buying the 920 perhaps

[DR]

Because intel are discounting the cost of the CPUs by charging more for the chipset? Because all the companies have decided that only enthusiasts will be buying the 920 perhaps

With high end launching first no doubt the higher specification mainboards and such will mean that they cost more - as the i7 goes mainstream you will be able to find cheaper alternatives.

[kalniel]

With high end launching first no doubt the higher specification mainboards and such will mean that they cost more - as the i7 goes mainstream you will be able to find cheaper alternatives.

Is a $284 part really high-end these days? When you can also get a $999 part.

[Stringent]

So when is the release date?

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Ok so i understand why the price is high, my question is, will it remain high come january?

[Biscuit]

Well it will probably drop a bit if you look at previous models as examples but it seems a lot depends on how the exchange rate changes.

I hope Tarinder is right with the £200 estimate as that would probs be about what im willing to spend...

All of this educated speculation at the moment it seems. Wait and see what happens

[kalniel]

Ok so i understand why the price is high, my question is, will it remain high come january?

Knowing Intel, yes.

I was about to suggest it'll depend on how AMDs server chip performs, but actually I don't think that'll affect the pricing from Intel at all.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Knowing Intel, yes.

I was about to suggest it'll depend on how AMDs server chip performs, but actually I don't think that'll affect the pricing from Intel at all.

im looking at x38 and x48 mobo's and whoa they are still pretty expensive since the day it first came out. the price hasnt fallen much

[Tarinder]

So when is the release date?

End of this month, we're told.

[shbris]

i've never bought anything from AMD in my life, but every time intel brings out something massively better than AMD i die inside, because you know it's gonna be expensive and stay expensive, but you'll have no choice but to buy it!

when ssd's become viable, then i'll upgrade my whole system to i7 and ssd's, until then it's dual core and HDD for me

[dave87]

Is i7 really what Core2 should have been?

I mean, compared to the P4s Core2 is/was a massive jump forward, and i7 should do the same to Core2.

However, Core2 bought Quad Cores to the mainstream, overclock fairly well, and a fairly reasonable pricetag to boot. The q6600 seems to be fairly high on the bang for buck rankings...