Both reviews praised threaded performance and overclocking but found the price hard to justify against Sandy Bridge. The extra cores helped rendering and encoding, while gaming offered little advantage over cheaper chips. bit-tech considered the almost-as-fast 980X a better option for buyers who needed six cores.
Six cores and twelve threads with Hyper-Threading; unlocked multiplier confirmed by bit-tech’s exact review.
Clocks
3.46 GHz base and up to 3.73 GHz Turbo Boost. Intel gives Q1 2011; contemporary TechSpot launch coverage and Newegg’s exact listing support February availability. A maker-confirmed first-sale day was not found.
Cache
12 MB shared L3 cache.
Graphics and AI
Built-in graphics
No
Graphics
Intel's exact-model comparison chart lists no processor graphics.
Platform
Socket
LGA1366
Base power
130 W
Unlocked
Yes
Cooler in the box
Yes
Memory support
Three-channel DDR3-1066 in Intel’s exact-model chart.
PCIe
The exact Newegg listing specifies 6.4 GT/s QPI. No processor PCIe lane count is assumed for this chipset-based platform.
Process
32 nm; Gulftown.
Cooler
Intel's 32 nm Core i7-900 datasheet includes an unattached fan heatsink with boxed processors. Tray and second-hand packages may differ.
