Intel's Core 2 Extreme X7900 top-of-the-line laptop chip in the wild

The main problem with an "in the wild" spotting of a processor is that it's just not all that exciting staring at a lump of silicon. That said, it is exciting that Intel's new top-shelf 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme X7900 mobile chip is making the rounds, and the folks that got a hold of this one managed to stick it into a computer and run some benchmarks. From the looks of things, the X7900 beats its predecessors pretty handily, but that's about all we could glean from this fleeting forum post, and hope to see this in shipping machines before too long -- like that Precision M6300 Dell announced the other week.

[Paragraph @ Sep 20th 2007 10:43AM]

2.8ghz C2X... on your lap? do they give away free burn lotion with it?

O.o i seriously doubt that anyone "needs" that much processing power in a laptop, granted, i have a 1.8ghz Dual Core Turion, so i can't say dual core isn't handy, it's nifty to have more power than i need, but having dual core 2.8ghz would just be overkill. What are you doing? Gaming? on a Laptop? Why?

I guess if thats what you do, then fine, or if you happen to do a lot of CAD and 3D Rendering on th go, i guess you could find this usefull, but i think you need to re-evaluate your job and or lifestyle if you have to frag or render things on the bus (or other place that isn't a home or office)

[llarbkd @ Sep 20th 2007 11:24AM]

Okay, my college dorm is tiny for the three of us and desktop PC would take up too much desk space. And not to mention, I couldn't drag it over to my bed to do homework between frags comfortably. That said, burn lotion, or a fire extinguisher would be useful.

[Joe @ Sep 20th 2007 11:22AM]

OR, if you don't want to buy more than one PC, and need to render things while at home, and still have mobility as an option.

plus, if it has vista, you could set it to only use, say 50% CPU power when on battery, to save you from burning legs...

[MatthewJ @ Sep 20th 2007 11:50AM]

Things like live audio processing for Laptop DJs and VJs would need a high-performance laptop.

For instance, I sometimes run Ableton Live (a live audio sequencing/DJing program) and Resolume (a live visual performance program), and to run them together you need a damned good processor (as well as loads of RAM).

[Paragraph @ Sep 20th 2007 12:35PM]

Before i had my dual core laptop, i carried around a Pentium III IBM Thinkpad i got at a garage sale for $20. It had windows 98, and could run word and ie... thats all i needed back then anything more than that i used a desktop, and bitchin' desktop might i add.

I guess if you really are THAT cramped for room and don't want two computers, it's good, but it's not something i would find useful, but i don't do 3d rendering or anything like that.

[Paragraph @ Sep 20th 2007 10:47AM]

Correct me if i'm wrong but does not the M6300 have the X7900 as an option?

[Speed addict... @ Sep 20th 2007 11:45AM]

My 6300 is still showing as being "In Production". I just hope I can get my hands on it before the processor becomes obsolete, given Dell's recent production delays...

[System48 @ Sep 20th 2007 10:38AM]

Your first mistake was buying a Dell.

[Speed addict... @ Sep 20th 2007 12:34PM]

I'm on a corporate contract and I've been working with Dell for over 10 years. Compared to others (HP, Sun, IBM), the failure rate and/or support quality has been better than average. Yes, there are blips and yes, there are delays and snafus, but overall I'm satisfied.

As for the power of the processor, I don't have to travel, so weight is not a problem. I do however take my work home, so with just two KVM setups an one laptop, I have two offices to run my simulations/financials (and play the occasional game).

[Alex @ Sep 20th 2007 12:01PM]

I am prety sure my 2.8GHz iMac has this processor!

[Poom @ Sep 20th 2007 12:31PM]

But that's desktop?

[Blair Thiessen @ Sep 20th 2007 12:03PM]

The highest end iMac has had this chip in it for a while. Intel gave it to Apple early.

[jroc @ Sep 20th 2007 2:39PM]

Meh wait for Penryn when we have 3.0Ghz running laptops that wont scald your genitals.

[Ted @ Sep 20th 2007 3:01PM]

Will this fit into any santa rosa laptop?

[babusel @ Oct 26th 2007 5:44PM]

How about the front side bus speed: 1333Mhz or 1033Mhz? Thanks, babusel

[Siva @ Sep 20th 2007 3:40PM]

Apple has been shipping X7900 2.8 GHz in the iMac for more than a month now. I ordered mine last Friday and got it yesterday. Nice machine!

[eddy_88_nite @ Sep 20th 2007 3:56PM]

wow i am officially waiting and getting this thing. I've always thought that laptop processors werea bit on the weak side. But i would of settled for a 2.6. O well the more the better i guess...

[hjb1000 @ Sep 20th 2007 8:39PM]

Plenty of people need this power- 3D CAD/DCC
Remember the good old XPS1710 you could spec with the T7600G? That got to 3.0GHz pretty easily (with the fans on full albeit).
Penryn would be a logical thing to wait for- 45nm=cooler.

[xSplice @ Sep 20th 2007 10:46PM]

Just lettin you know, you can buy it here:
Core 2 Duo Extreme X7900
and no i'm not the seller so no flamin...

[bdkennedy1 @ Sep 21st 2007 1:35AM]

Considering it uses the same 800mhz bus as the slower versions I don't think it's as extreme as Intel says it is. It's just marketing.