Intel Core i9 Extreme Edition CPU: First 18-Core Chip for Consumer Market
Intel announced their entry to the race of ever-increasing core count, as the company unveiled its new family of processors for desktop builders called the Core X-series. Also known as the Core i9 Extreme Edition, this new line of Central Processing Units (CPU) from Intel is led by the 18-core i9-7980XE.
In a move that many media outlets are saying came about as a response to Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) 16-core Threadripper chip, this new reveal by Intel promises to bring more performance than the top offering from their competitor.
The price, however, becomes a huge factor, as the Core i9 7980XE starts at $1,999, which is simply out of range for the average desktop build, according to Engadget. While Intel could be releasing this CPU more as a statement than as a practical option for system builders, a small enthusiast market interested in power-hungry activities like 4K resolution streaming will want to give this chip a look.
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Aside from being the first 18-core chip that the company has made for the consumer market, this line of CPUs will also be the first to feature over a teraflop of computing power. The Core i9 line is nothing new as the company has already released the 10-core i9-7900X last year. However, the old X edition will now come with a significant discount.
The i9-7900X itself will retail for just $999 and will anchor the bottom line of the new XE family, which will also come with 10, 12, 14 and 16 core variants.
Aside from the Core i9 X-series processors, more variants for the Core i7 X-series will also be coming, and these ones will be aimed at a more reasonable price range. The Core i7 chips, for example, will have prices ranging from $449 to $599, according to PC World.
A new quad-core Core i5 chip is also in the pipeline and will retail for $242. All the revealed chips are set to be available "in the coming weeks," according to Intel.
