Intel debuts new Core i7 desktop CPU

Intel takes the wraps off a brand new desktop CPU family today. Core i7, formerly named Nehalem, will hit stores and desktop vendors' config pages before the end of the month, but reviews with benchmark and pricing information had the greenlight this morning.

Intel's new Core i7 CPU blasts through benchmarks across the Web today.

(Credit: Intel)

We ran our own tests and found the flagship $999 Core i7-965 Extreme chip is the new fastest game in town. The usual round of enthusiast sites also found lots to like about both this chip and the other members of the new Core i7 family. A required new motherboard will add $300 to the price of adopting any of these new CPUs for the moment, making Core i7 a decidedly enthusiast platform for the time being, but we expect gamers, digital media editors, heavy multitaskers, and others who demand fast multicore performance will be very interested in this new platform.

In addition to the wealth of reviews emerging today, our coverage will expand throughout the next two weeks with reviews of Core i7 desktops from Falcon Northwest, Gateway, Velocity Micro and Alienware. If you're not a system builder yourself but you still want in on the fast PC action, stay tuned.

Read the full review of Intel's Core i7-965 Extreme Edition CPU.

Enthusiast coverage:

Anandtech

Bit-Tech

ExtremeTech

HotHardware

PC Perspective

[tipoo_]

the core i7 is pretty much what we were all predicting.

[pithenumber]

I need a new mobo for it. I think my money would be better spent on a new Graphics Card (prolly another Radeon 4870 X2).