Irasshaimase! Stores in Tokyo districts such as Akihabara have launched sales of Intel's Core i7 processor, due to be officially rolled out at U.S. resellers on Monday.
Computerworld reported that "several hundred people crowded stores" that opened around 10 p.m. Saturday. The top-of-the-line 965 chip sold out, according to one retailer.
Sofmap store in Akihabara is selling boxed Core i7 processors
(Credit: Sofmap)The Core i7 represents the vanguard of Intel's new Nehalem microarchitecture. The i7 is a desktop processor targeted initially at gaming boxes.
(See CNET review of Falcon Northwest Mach V tower system based on Core i7-965 processor.)
Sofmap, a large Japanese computer reseller, is showing Core i7 processors, motherboards, and systems on its Web site.
Sofmap lists the boxed Core i7-920 (2.66GHz) at 32,800 yen or close to $340. The i7-940 (2.93GHz) is listed at 63,800 yen or about $660. The high-end i7-965 (3.20GHZ) goes for 112,800 yen or $1,160.
A series of i7-920 processors bundled with Windows Vista Home Premium "DSP version" are shown ranging in price from 45,800 yen ($470) to 54,800 yen ($565).
Specification details (listed by Sofmap) include: LGA1366 socket, Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) rated at 4.8GT/sec (gigatransfers per second), 8MB L3 cache, and a 130 watt TDP (Thermal Design Power).
The DSP, or Delivery Service Provider, version of Windows Vista is being promoted heavily in Japan and is typically bundled with other components.
Sofmap advertisement for Core i7
(Credit: Sofmap)Motherboards and systems are also on sale. Motherboards are based on the Intel X58 chipset. DDR3 memory is being promoted along with the i7 too.
Tower systems using the Core i7 chip range in price from 179,800 yen ($1,852) to 219,800 yen ($2,264).
Intel's next-generation desktop processors will be branded "Intel Core" with an "i7" identifier for the first wave of products.
The i7 identifier will apply to the first crop of high-end desktop processors, according to George Alfs, an Intel spokesperson. Other identifiers will come later that will "complement" the i7, said Alfs.
There will be a separate black logo for the highest-end offering called the Extreme Edition. Model numbers will differentiate each chip.
"The Core name is and will be our flagship PC processor brand going forward," Sean Maloney, Intel executive vice president and general manager, said in a statement.
Intel is trying to simplify branding. In the past "it's been Core Duo, Core Solo...Basically, we're going to simplify Nehalem down to just Core," Alfs said.
Currently known by the code name Nehalem, the desktop Core i7 processors are slated to ship in the fourth quarter and will be based on a new microarchitecture that will have faster chip-to-chip communication and be better at doing multiple tasks simultaneously--what Intel calls hyper-threading, among other improvements.
The Core i7 processors will also be Intel's first processors to put all four cores on one piece of silicon. (Something that Advanced Micro Devices has already achieved with its Phenom and Opteron processors.)
Core i7 chips are expected to have a special appeal to enthusiast gamers because of the increased performance that typically comes with a new Intel microarchitecture. Content creation will also be a target market, Intel said.
Versions, due later, will be targeted at the server market and, after that, the mobile space, where certain versions will integrate a graphics engine onto the same piece of silicon as the processor.
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