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Intel launches Haswell-E CPU family led by flagship eight-core chip

By Shawn Knight · 22 replies
Aug 29, 2014
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  1. Intel on Friday officially unveiled its latest enthusiast-level CPU family, Haswell-E. The high-end line includes a trio of unlocked Core i7 processors designed for Intel's new X99 chipset with support for hyperthreading, quad-channel DDR4 memory and up to four graphics...

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  2. VitalyT

    VitalyT Russ-Puss Posts: 4,367   +2,889

    Surely it is exciting, but there is less than 1% of users who would want this over Haswell. My i7-4770K was a tremendous overkill for what I'm using it, and still is. The rest is just for boasting rights or to compensate for something else...

    And a 140 Watt CPU is a power hog by today's standards.
  3. Jad Chaar

    Jad Chaar Elite Techno Geek Posts: 6,482   +978

    Steve Did you guys get some chips to review?

    If you think 140W is a power hog, look at AMD's 220W that can't even come close in terms of performance :D.
  4. Experimentongod

    Experimentongod TS Maniac Posts: 293   +124

    I agree. 99% of people who will get this are less knowledgeable folks who will just buy the most expensive thing available just because they can. Then the other 1% are people who may get close to really taking advantage of all the computing power.
  5. Jim$ter

    Jim$ter TS Booster Posts: 162   +32

    My Sandy Bridge Intel Core i7-2600K was the last truly needed upgrade. I mean having a newer processor is cool but if real world you don't see anything its not worth it. My Sandy just hums along with barely a sweat. Waiting for some game changer to come along...Don't think I will see that for awhile yet.
    Peter Farkas likes this.
  6. Skidmarksdeluxe

    Skidmarksdeluxe TS Evangelist Posts: 8,647   +3,286

    I agree it's overkill for the vast majority but there are some folk who actually do require something like this in their daily lives, we're just not part of that clique.
  7. Greg S

    Greg S TS Evangelist Posts: 1,607   +443

    Same here. I'm still using a 2600k. No point in upgrading my CPU at this point since I won't see the difference. It's being run alongside a Quadro 4000 for Autodesk use. Rendering is entirely GPU at this point for me, so I don't see a point of upgrading the CPU.
  8. Lionvibez

    Lionvibez TS Evangelist Posts: 1,438   +601

    The only reason left now is chipsets and features.
  9. GhostRyder

    GhostRyder TS Evangelist Posts: 2,151   +588

    Trying to pick one up however there is a problem with newegg and the board I want right now causing an outrageous shipping charge...

    Its saying the MSI Gaming 9 X99S AC is 430 plus 120 bucks shipping...There is no way my Corsair 800D cost a fraction of what it costs to ship this motherboard especially considering the Rampage V is only 6 bucks to ship...
  10. Jad Chaar

    Jad Chaar Elite Techno Geek Posts: 6,482   +978

    Yeah it is a shame DDR4 doesn't offer much real-world performance benefit. Maybe as it matures it could gain some performance benefits over DDR3 and be a valid upgrade option.

    Wow that is ridiculous. I guess they are doing that since Amazon (free shipping) is out of stock :p.
  11. misor

    misor TS Evangelist Posts: 1,395   +296

    can American consumers complain against unfair trade practices?
  12. havok585

    havok585 TS Addict Posts: 200   +57

    They can, but to no avail.

    Here in Europe you get slapped with some hefty charges if found "guilty".
  13. amstech

    amstech IT Overlord Posts: 2,147   +1,315

    I don't care how much it is I am getting an 8 core/16 thread CPU for my next build. I've saved up from not wastefully upgrading from my old i7 930 to a 3770k or 4770k. And the 3960X type 6 cores are the only chips worth upgrading to IMO and even then I just want the new X99 chipset.
    After looking at Anandtech's review of the i7-5960X its obviously very under-utilized but in time that will change.
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2014
  14. infiltrator

    infiltrator TS Booster Posts: 171   +31

    I agree, its a complete waste of money and most users won't need such a high end CPU. When you can still get good performance from a 6 cores CPU anyways.
  15. Peter Farkas

    Peter Farkas TS Evangelist Posts: 339   +155

    Same here, I am still using my i7-2600, non-K version, OCd to 4Ghz without voltage tweak. Don't see to much point in upgrading as I mostly play Starcraft 2...
    Jim$ter likes this.
  16. Railman

    Railman TS Booster Posts: 708   +101

    It makes me laugh when folks complain that Intel are not producing fast enough chips and then other folks say they are faster than required! Clearly this new CPU is unnecessary for the majority but there are folks out there who will welcome a CPU that can cope with real time 4k video editing.
  17. Darth Shiv

    Darth Shiv TS Evangelist Posts: 1,953   +575

    With the pace of CPU/GPU requirements, there is nothing wrong with giving yourself more headroom if the bang for buck is worth it. e.g. I wouldn't pay 2x the price if I wasn't getting much extra grunt but if in the future it would be usable compared to a 4770k, then why is that overkill? Particularly if you only upgrade every 2-3 years?
  18. VitalyT

    VitalyT Russ-Puss Posts: 4,367   +2,889

    4770k consumes 88watt for its 3.5GHz, while 5960X eats 140watt for its 3GHz. This doesn't sound much of a progress, given more than 1 year between them, more like the same Haswell, only much hungrier and costlier.
  19. Darth Shiv

    Darth Shiv TS Evangelist Posts: 1,953   +575

    There are double the cores... your comparison isn't really valid. There is also a tonne more memory bandwidth (almost 3x). There is also over double the on die cache. Scalable applications are going to like the HD5960X more. There is also a lot more native PCIe lanes. This is the enthusiast line vs the mainstream line after all.
  20. The coming of 4K video will require a CPU of this power.
  21. Railman

    Railman TS Booster Posts: 708   +101

    The answer is yes and no. Playback of 4k video is not an issue with a number of CPUs. But gaming or attempting real time 4k video editing requires more powerful CPUs.
  22. I have been looking to upgrade since I found out my x58 has a half speed sata 3 controller meaning SSD is so slow and pointless. And in my head I priced up a nice Devil Canyon i5 4ghz. But I waited to see the x99. Didnt realise it was going to be this nonsense.

    I think ooh ddr4 but then meh new tech needs time. And what with skylake around the corner, people saying it could stop dedicated gfx cards its that fabulous ( yeah I doubt it ) then this x99 is just another stop gap for the people with too much money and very little sense. So don't do it Amstech get the skylake 8 core.
  23. Darth Shiv

    Darth Shiv TS Evangelist Posts: 1,953   +575

    BA-HAHAHAHA!!! Iris HD5200 is still below a GT 640. Which is no-where near decent 1080p performance let alone 2k or 4k. It's still got the best part of a decade of improvement for serious performance to compete with discrete.

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