Core i9…!!!
Does the brand new core i9 Series make sense from the consumers’ point of view…?
The answer could be a yes and no. It should be noted that this is a desktop only experience and portable devices like laptops won’t be supported by core i9 series just yet.
Why yes…? One factor that supports it could be higher core count of up to 18 cores which only Intel Xeon Processor line up used to enjoy. But, of course, this is not for the average Joe. It actually targets the rare 1% market of enthusiasts. Intel Core i9-7900X X-series Processor has a whopping 10 cores and 20 threads (thanks to the Intel Hyper-Threading Technology.) It supports up to 4 DDR4-2666 memory slots and an amazing 44 lanes of PCI Express freedom. One major advantage is that Intel has boosted its L2 memory to a gigantic 1MB per core (from 256KB per core in previous iterations). It is equipped with a paltry 13.75 MB L3 cache, given that it is, in fact, a 10 core processor. To compensate that it’s faster L2 cousin has more room, therefore it actually proved to be a better deal, according to some of the recent benchmarks.
Moreover, the Turbo Boost 3.0’s latest version in the Intel X299 chipset supports up to 2 clocks which can be overclocked better than the other cores. Previous architectures only supported up to one such core.
Why no….? We should have to buy a separate motherboard just for the sake of using the brand new i9 series. The new motherboard you say…? Yeah, if you want to go with the latest shiny Core i9; you have to buy a motherboard that supports LGA 2066 socket. ASUS and GIGABYTE have already released motherboards that support them and an entry level motherboard starts from around $300 USD. But, they don’t have the backward compatibility for none of the X299 chipset supported processors. With Retailer availability of those motherboards is expected from June 26th, 2017. Intel’s brand new LGA 2066 only supports Intel Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors. The first array of Core i9 processors will be released from 2nd quarter of 2017. Those are also based on the 14 nm Skylake lithography. Another major disadvantage is that i9 series doesn’t contain any integrated graphic unit. But, given that people who are spending money on this almost $1000 – $2000 USD piece of silicon would definitely go with a separate VGA, therefore; it won’t be much of a problem. As of now, it is not even VR ready…!!!
Intel core i9-7900X – 10 cores, is priced at $999 and i9-7980XE – 18 cores is priced at $1999.
It is obvious that introducing this i9 series is a desperate attempt from Intel’s perspective to win over some enthusiast who are eagerly waiting for the new AMD’s Tyzen Threadripper who is supposed to be having a 16-core version with 32 threads using SMT and 64 lanes of PCIe…!!!
Of course, from a consumer’s perspective, competition is actually healthy and it’ll definitely boost the delivering of technological advancements from both Intel and AMD sooner than later.