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November 10, 2008 9:00 PM PST

Intel Core i7 processors hit online retailers

by Brooke Crothers
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The Intel Core i7 processor is being bid up at online retailers--about a week before its official launch.

Though Intel isn't slated to launch the Core i7 processor until November 17, processors are ready for order at online retailers. The Core i7 represents the vanguard of Intel's new Nehalem microarchitecture.

PC Connection is selling the 2.66GHz Intel i7-920 processor with 8MB of cache memory for $334. The sales status is currently "on order." The official pricing from Intel--its pricing will likely be updated early next week--is expected to be lower at about $285 for the 920.

Falcon Northwest's Mach V PC will use the Core i7

Falcon Northwest's Mach V PC will use the Core i7

(Credit: Falcon Northwest)

Stepping up to the i7-940, PC Mall is hawking the 2.93GHz "BOX CORE I7 940" for a pre-order price of $722. PC Connection lists it for $661. Intel's list price is expected to be approximately $560.

The higher prelaunch street prices are not surprising as this reflects pent-up demand for the product.

The high-end 3.2GHz 965 "Extreme" version of the i7 is available at various e-tailers, ranging in price from $1,090 to $1,300. Intel pricing should be just less than $1,000.

Want to get a taste of the i7's performance? CNET Reviews gushed that the Falcon Northwest Mach V tower system with a Core i7-965 is the "fastest all-around desktop we've tested to date; first PC to hit 60 frames per second on our high-resolution Crysis test; pristine build quality."

And the downside to Mach V tower? It's priced at more than $8,000.

Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Follow Brooke on Twitter @mbrookec.
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by montex66 November 10, 2008 9:14 PM PST
According to Wikipedia, "Crysis is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game..."

Games are fun and all, but is this really the best use for a brand new super chip? Video games? Really?

I think there are some misplaced priorities here.
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by globalist_agenda November 10, 2008 11:32 PM PST
We should be using this new super chip computer power to figure out how to take toxic mortgage debt and bundle it up as insured, collateralized securities. Oh wait, that's already been done.
by gggg sssss November 11, 2008 6:25 PM PST
anti missle shield computing? What will Barack say?
by smbober November 13, 2008 9:52 PM PST
I signed up for an account here just to reply to this comment. :) Seriously. You spend your money on one of these super processors to figure out how to save the endangered otter pups (or whatever good cause you see fit) and I will spend them on my gaming rig blowing up virtual people like you. If ever free market capitalism applied, it would be right here.

Gamers demand the most from just about any system, the manufacturer fills this need. Gamers pay top dollar for it. Later, after gamer demand has waned, the Save The Otters Foundation can come in and get them for cheap. If the otters were really that important, the Save The Otters Foundation would be driving demand. But they are not.

How about this? You buy me one and I promise I will put it to good use. ;)

Sorry for the bitterness. But, it drives me nuts when people think they know what is the best use for any particular resource.
by Galaxy5 November 10, 2008 9:20 PM PST
New Mac Pros in January?
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by Edwin- November 11, 2008 2:48 AM PST
New Mac Pros are gonna rock with the i7! I'm getting two!
by WillKill07 November 11, 2008 3:35 AM PST
The Mac Pros wouldn't get the Core i7 anytime soon. Apple would have to charge even more money on a computer that does not justify the cost. Though, if you feel like spending even _more_ money on a ridiculously expensive computer, more power to you.
by murbo November 11, 2008 4:40 AM PST
@willkill07
with that equipment inside, pc's are the same exact price. mac pro's are expensive because they are not desktop computers, they are high end workstations not with crappy core2 quads but with xeons in them... geez, server high end equipment is expensive both in pcs and macs
so please stop with the "macs are overpriced", "macs don't have a second mouse button", etc. already
by Art Dir November 11, 2008 7:43 AM PST
Actually, macs do have a 2 button mouse. You can buy a mouse from any number of vendors, including Microsoft with even more buttons; or better yet, a Wacom tablet. We'll probably see the new chips in Macs at the next MacWorld Expo. You don't have to guess. You can google the matter and see an outlined road map for the next several intel chips in macs as far out as 2012, maybe 2014 if memory serves me. Chip makers don't just go buy the seat of their pants. They have future architecture already mapped out, as does Apple.
by gggg sssss November 11, 2008 6:25 PM PST
get a Dell, dude
by 3rdalbum November 11, 2008 2:44 AM PST
The speed of gaming is mostly determined by the graphics card(s), not by the CPU. Let's see some hardcore video encoding tests!

Hmm... my current computer turns 1 year old in January. Should I build a new machine with an i7 at this time? It's enticing!
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by i_am_still_wade November 11, 2008 8:47 AM PST
My computer is 3 years old. I'm debating the i7, Core 2 quad, and Phenon (Denab core). Rumors say Denab is overclocking friendly and with performance on par with the Core 2. With the i7, the cost I worry about is the motherboard and memory. Those will not be cheap. So I likely will skip i7. If Denab can equal Core 2 performance for a price at or less than Core 2, then I will choose that over Core 2.
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by AppleSuxLeo November 11, 2008 11:38 AM PST
Save your money...for gaming you are better of with a good CD2 , and the price has come way down.
The limiting factor is the video card(s). SLI gave almost exactly double the frame rates.
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTU4MCwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
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by AppleSuxLeo November 11, 2008 11:40 AM PST
C2D oops !
by vminvic November 12, 2008 5:58 PM PST
There is presently no more demanding task for a personal computer CPU than GAME IMAGE RENDERING. Nothing any normal user (business applications, photoshop, net surfing, Multimedia decode/playback) does is as processor intensive. Sounds "silly" that games are the number crunching pinnacle - but true. A lot of data has to handled and be done with in 1/60 th of a second, while the operating system is still doing its usual administration. Thats why special high power gaming video cards are all the rage. Idea is to offload most of the work to a specialized , ultrafast, separate computer on a board. A game is one heck of a good "benchmark" test.
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About Nanotech - The Circuits Blog

Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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