CoreI7-980xExtremeEdition
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Dell Studio XPS 9100 arrives with six cores, little fanfare
AMD had its turn in the high-end Dell desktop spotlight, but it's time for another Intel beast, as the company's quietly upgraded its tower lineup to support Intel's consumer-grade champion chip, the 3.33GHz Core i7-980X. While the new Studio XPS 9100 looks just the same as its predecessor on the outside and sports the same basic options and ports, internally there's a 525W power supply with enough juice for a Radeon HD 5970 2GB graphics card (a $580 option) and slots for up to 24GB of DDR3 memory. You won't be getting any of this pixel-pushing goodness on the $950 base model, of course, which has only a (respectable) quad-core 2.66GHz Core i7-920 and an Nvidia GeForce G310 512MB, but the machine looks like it could hold its own with low-end Alienware cousins if you get into $2,000+ territory. Call us crazy, but we think there's a configurator session with your name on it.
TweakTown slathers four Radeon HD 5870s in liquid nitrogen, crushes some benchmarks (video)
The PC hardware community recently discovered that quad-SLI was a huge waste of cash, so when we heard that TweakTown were stringing together four Radeon HD 5870s in a similar CrossFireX configuration, we figured they were about to throw away their time, too. Boy, were we wrong, because the hardware site never intended to seriously benchmark the rig as a viable gaming PC -- their intent was to make our jaws drop, and right now they're somewhere around our ankles. The contraption brought 3DMark03 to its knees with a soul-shattering score of 200,000 and achieved average framerates approaching a ludicrous four digits in Devil May Cry 4. How? Liquid nitrogen, of course. By attaching LN2-filled copper pots to each of the four already-powerful graphics cards and physically tacking on extra capacitors to direct the voltage, they bumped the Core i7-980X CPU clock to 5.8GHz and each GPU to 1250MHz, in what we think you'll agree is a healthy jump from 3.06 3.33GHz and 850MHz, respectively. Watch them build the mean machine after the break, and remember kids, don't try this at home. Update: The Core i7-980X runs at 3.33GHz, or 3.6GHz in Turbo Mode, not 3.06GHz. Our bad!
Shuttle opens US pre-orders for pricey Core i7-based J3 SFF PC
Shuttle teased us just under a month ago with its Core i7-powered J3 desktop, and now that little bugger is finally up for pre-order in the States. The J3 5800P workstation is easily one of the most powerful small form factor PCs this planet has ever seen, boasting a six-core Core i7 980X Extreme Edition CPU, your choice of NVIDIA Quadro or ATI FirePro professional graphics, up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, room for two SATA hard drives, an optional Blu-ray drive, plenty of ports and a 500-watt power supply. Somehow or another, all of that fits into a chassis that measures just 8.5- x 7.5- x 13.1-inches, and if you've been looking to downsize without taking a hit in the performance department, you can finally do so starting at $1,899. The journey begins right there in the source link -- good luck keeping it below three large, Yes Man.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 4-way SLI exemplifies law of diminishing returns
What's better than three monstrous GeForce GTX 480 graphics cards in a 3-way SLI configuration? How about four... is what we'd like to say, if Hardware.info hadn't just discovered that said setup is a huge waste of cash. With a full four GTX 480 cards buckled into an X58 Classified 4-Way SLI motherboard plus a Core i7-980X processor and a massive 1.5 kilowatt power supply to squeeze the juice, the €4,064 ($5,440) box still lost to a similarly configured 3-way rig in a wide variety of benchmarks. You could argue the system was CPU-limited, but Hardware.info used the fastest consumer chip available -- so it seems there's no place in today's market (keyword: today) for GTX 480 4-way SLI. Except, of course, for droolworthy snapshots like the above.
Origin PC stuffs 4.4GHz Core i7-980X, Fermi-based GTX 470 and 480 into Genesis desktop
Hope you didn't just pull the trigger on a new Origin PC Genesis, else you'll be forced to know that your rig was made obsolete in record time. Okay, maybe not obsolete, but there's precisely no doubt that you'd rather be rocking a new Fermi card than whatever you've got now. Right on cue, NVIDIA has launched its latest pair of powerhouse graphics cards, and as of right now, prospective Origin PC buyers can opt for either the GTX 470 or GTX 480 on the Genesis desktop. Better still, you can buy 'em in single, dual or triple SLI configurations, and in case you're down for paying the premium, a 4.4GHz overclocked Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU can sit alongside of it (or them).
Alienware's Core i7-980X-infused Area-51 desktop gets reviewed, puts other rigs to shame
Surely you recall that snazzy new Alienware Area-51 desktop that popped up last week with Intel's flashy Core i7-980X Extreme Edition within, right? The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware have since put the stratospherically priced ($4,569 as tested) rig through its paces, and suffice it to say, there's hardly a machine on the planet that's faster than this rig today. Put simply, the test machine -- which was equipped with a pair of ATI Radeon HD 5970 cards -- bested every other gaming desktop they'd seen, with the only shortfall coming up in the HDD tests. Naturally, SSD-equipped rivals were a good bit faster there, but nothing's stopping you from swapping out those traditional platters and installing a bit of NAND yourself. Ah, why bother with the details -- if you're looking for "quite literally the fastest desktop PC on the earth," this can definitely be it with the right configuration. Hit that source link for the mind-boggling benchmarks and a hands-on video.
Digital Storm's Davinci workstation gets down with Core i7-980X, Quadro graphics
Creative professional. Hear that much? If that's how this all-too-structured world views you, you just might be due a new rig -- particularly if you're thinking of stepping into 4K territory. Digital Storm is offering up a rather unique solution in its Davinci, which opts for a 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (yeah, that new Intel chip) instead of a more traditional Xeon. You'll still get an NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 (768MB) GPU, 12GB of DDR3 memory, Windows 7 Processional and one of the nicer liquid cooling systems that we've seen, which may or may not be enough to sneak a little Crysis in between edits. Too bad the base price base rings up at $4,995, but look, that next indie film you're producing is totally hitting it big.
iBuyPower crams Core i7-980X Extreme Edition into Paladin desktop line
If you somehow held off on buying a Core i7 rig as soon as they popped out last year, you're in luck -- and your poor Pentium II system is flat out of it. Just about everyone has updated their gaming desktop lines this week with an option to splurge on Intel's 3.33GHz (or more) Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, and iBuyPower is no different. Said PC builder is now offering the chip within four of its Paladin desktops, and given that the stock clock speed is far too sluggish for your own greedy self, the Paladin XLC V3 ships in an overclocked configuration that promises a 30 percent boost in performance over the stock silicon. The rigs also ship with 6GB or 12GB of DDR3 memory, the latest and greatest ATI / NVIDIA graphics cards, an optional Blu-ray burner and a fresh copy of Windows 7. The lowest-end rig gets going at $2,159, while the aforesaid XLC V3 will set you back $4,409; the whole gang is available to customize as we speak. %Gallery-88589%
EVGA Classified SR-2 fits two Xeon CPUs for 24 threads, exemplifies overkill
Remember EVGA's seven-GPU motherboard monstrosity, the W555? That experimental beast of a board just got declassified -- and given immediate launch orders. Under the new "Classified SR-2" callsign, the board's layout has hardly changed since CES (though the heatsinks certainly got a makeover) but the big news here is that each of its two CPU sockets will support those fancy new six-core Xeon processors. As you're well aware, two times six is twelve -- and since each of the Xeon 5600's cores can handle 2 threads, you're looking at the basis for a 24-threaded powerhouse for mondo multitasking performance. Factor in enough slots for 4-way SLI, CrossFireX and 48GB of RAM, and it's not hard to figure out why the red-and-black HPTX (15- x 13.6-inches!) creation commands a $600 price point. The only questions are how much a full system will deplete your wallet, and how many fuses your house will blow after pressing the power button. Correction: Just a note that Intel's Core i7-980X isn't supported here, but the new Xeon 5600 CPUs are. %Gallery-88469%
Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition hits a slew of new gaming desktops
Intel's six-core, twelve-threaded Core i7-980X Extreme Edition has turned the hardcore gaming community on its head, and just about everyone is scrounging around in a (mostly futile) attempt to locate $999. For those in dire need of an entire system replacement, it seems that today's the day to start looking. Shortly after we heard that this 32nm Gulftown chip would be landing with Alienware and Origin PC rigs, a veritable plethora of other outfits have shown up to make similar announcements. Digital Storm has popped an overclocked (4.4GHz) version into its Black|OPS machine (which conveniently starts at $5,642, while CyberPower is now offering the silicon in its Black Mamba, Black Pearl and Gamer Xtreme 3D machines. Maingear's also sliding said CPU into its world-beating Shift "supercomputer," and anyone shopping a high-end Velocity Micro system will also see the option. We suspect most every other PC maker in existence will be following suit soon, so if your prefab PC builder hasn't yet jumped on the bandwagon, just hold tight. Real tight.
Alienware sneaks Core i7-980X Extreme Edition into Area-51 ALX desktop
We heard at Intel's GDC press event that Alienware would be one of the first PC manufacturers to ship systems with the newest six-core consumer processor, but neither company's representatives would confess to "when." Now, we've our answer... sort of. Hot Hardware has received a shiny new Alienware Area-51 ALX, complete with twin ATI Radeon HD 5970 GPUs, a self-contained LED system that stays lit even when the rig is unplugged (could be a great or awful thing, actually) and Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition to boot. We're told that a full review is on the way, but in the meanwhile, you can hit the source link for a few more looks at this here monster -- you know you'll be ordering one in a few days, anyway.
Origin PC offers overclocked 4.3GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition on Genesis desktop
You know what's better than a stock 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU? Not much, but we're guessing that a 4.3GHz overclocked version of the same chip just might be. If you're thinking the same, and you've got $1,044 to spare in order to find out, upstart gaming rig maker Origin PC has the means to get it to you. The outfit's Genesis desktop can now be ordered with Intel's freshest slab of silicon for $895, or you can snag an extra gigahertz for another $149. We know you'll make the right call.
Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition 'Gulftown' review roundup
Six cores. Twelve threads. A new flagship processor in Intel's stable. Here at GDC in San Francisco, the world's most widely recognized chip maker is dishing out its latest desktop CPU, and to say it's a niche device would be greatly understating things. We spoke to a number of Intel bigwigs at tonight's media event, and everyone confessed that the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition was a low quantity, high performance device aimed specifically at gamers and content editors that simply refuse to live anywhere other than on the cutting edge. Intel's planning on selling these in retail, standalone form for $999 (MSRP), while they'll soon be available in a variety of gaming rigs from the likes of Dell, Alienware and whoever else wishes to keep with the times. As for Apple? The company stated that Steve and Company "sort of call their own shots," and that we'd have to dig at Apple if we really wanted to know what their refreshed Mac Pro would hold. We chuckled, nodded in understanding, and then learned that this here slab of silicon is a bit ahead of the software out there, with Intel noting that only games optimized for 12-thread use and benchmarking utilities that did likewise would really demonstrate the performance boost. 'Course, anyone who spends a great deal of time multitasking will appreciate the extra headroom, and power users can always find ways to make use of more horsepower. Oh, and for what it's worth, the company stated that this will be its lead desktop chip for some time to come, and if you're looking for a mobile version in the near future, you can keep dreaming. As for the critics? Just about everyone with a benchmarking license managed to get one of these in-house, and everyone seems to feel (mostly) the same way. There's no denying that this is Intel's speediest consumer chip ever, but you won't find 50 percent boosts just anywhere. Yet. When the software catches up, though, there's no doubt that this chip will make even the other Core i7s look downright sluggish. 50 percent more cores and 50 percent more threads than the prior kings of the line leads to fantastic gains when serious number crunching is involved (audio and video editors, we're staring at you), with some tests showing upticks in the 30 to 50 percent range. As a bonus, the power consumption here is also extremely reasonable, with the shift to 32nm enabling it to even use less power in some circumstances when compared to the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition. Dig into the glut of reviews below if you've got a cool grand with "chip upgrade" written on it -- you'll be glad you did. Read - Hot Hardware Read - AnandTech Read - Techgage Read - Computer Shopper Read - Bit-Tech Read - PC Perspective Read - Neoseeker Read - Hardcoreware Read - TweakTown Read - PC World Read - TechReport Read - Benchmark Reviews Read - Hardware Canucks Read - Overclockers Club Read - Hexus Read - Legit Reviews
Intel's six-core Core i7-980X Extreme Edition 'Gulftown' chip goes on sale in Germany
Intel's existing line of Core chips just not potent enough for your tastes? Sicko. For those who just can't sleep without longing for the next best thing, it seems that said "thing" is just a few days away from a proper reveal. Germany's own Alternate has already listed Intel's six-core Core i7-980X Extreme Edition chip for sale, enabling moneyed consumers to snap up a piece of Gulftown for the princely sum of €1,049 ($1,430). Yeah, that's a stiff premium for a six-core chip that's ready to do more than sit snugly within some under-appreciated server box, but do you have any idea how much more bodacious you'll be than your dual- and quad-core owning contemporaries? Way. [Thanks, Peter]
