Intel Reveals Core i9 And X-Series CPUs; Includes $2000 18-Core Version

Intel has revealed a new line of CPUs during its keynote address at Computex in Taiwan. Among the new processors is the Core i9 family, the latest series to join Intel's CPU lineup. It encompasses five high-end desktop (HEDT) solutions, which include 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18-core versions, all with twice as many threads as cores.

The following table lays out the few details we have on the different CPUs that make up the Core i9 lineup:

CPU Name	Cores / Threads	Price
Core i9-7980XE	18 / 36	$1999
Core i9-7960X	16 / 32	$1699
Core i9-7940X	14 / 28	$1399
Core i9-7920X	12 / 24	$1199
Core i9-7900X	10 / 20	$999

The i9-7900X is currently the only one of the five announced with detailed specifications. It will have a base clock of 3.3GHz, boost clocks of 4.3GHz and 4.5GHz, an L3 cache of 13.75MB, and support for quad-channel DDR4-2666 memory.

All Core i9 CPUs are part of Intel's new X-Series, as one can derive from their naming convention. The X-Series moniker signifies its HEDT purpose, which also extends to a few new souped-up versions of Core i7 and Core i5 processors.

The following table outlines the additional i7 and i5 processors:

CPU Name	Threads / Cores	Base / Boost Clock Speed (GHz)	Memory Support	L3 Cache	TDP	Price
Core i7-7820X	8 / 16	3.6 / 4.3 (4.5)	Four channel DDR4-2666	11 MB	140W	$599
Core i7-7800X	6 / 12	3.5 / 4.0	Four channel DDR4-2666	8.25 MB	140W	$389
Core i7-7740X	4 / 8	4.3 / 4.5	Two channel DDR4-2666	8 MB	112W	$339
Core i5-7640X	4 / 4	4.0 / 4.2	Two channel DDR4-2666	6 MB	112W	$242

Intel's X-Series CPUs are all under the Skylake-X family, except for the quad-core i7-7740X and i5-7640X which are with the Kaby Lake-X family. However, all require LGA 2066 socket motherboards with the newly announced X299 chipset. These CPUs are also built with the intention for overclocking; Intel is offering a protection plan for overclockers in case of CPU failure.

The following images are from Intel's Computex presentation and contain further technical details of the upcoming processors.

Gallery

HEDT CPUs are aimed at professionals and "prosumers" who benefit from additional cores and faster clock speeds to tackle multiple tasks such as video production and image rendering while having the ability to do high-end PC gaming. Intel also asserts that its CPUs are suited for gaming, streaming, recording, and encoding simultaneously, with the top-end CPUs able to perform these tasks sufficiently at 4K resolution.

AMD also revealed its HEDT offerings with the Ryzen Threadripper series of CPUs due later this summer, which includes a 16-core 32-thread processor at the top-end consumer level. Intel stated that the Core i9 and X-Series CPUs will be available "in the coming weeks."