14 DAY TRIAL // As Advanced Micro Devices prepares its graphics cards and is taken by surprise when Microsoft publishes incomplete Bulldozer hotfixes, Intel is readying some central processors, like the Core i7-3820.
Intel is definitely not done with the Sandy Bridge-E series of central processing units (CPUs).
After all, it wouldn't do to have just a pair of six-core models on sale for too long.
Also, though the series is supposed to be intended for those people with high expectations and equally deep pockets, there is no reason not to release a quad-core unit as well.
We assume this chip isn't as likely to land in the MSI GD65-X79A (8D) (which supports up to 128 GB of DDR3 RAM and is, thus, a better platform for the six-core beasts), but you never know.
As it happens, a quad-core Sandy Bridge-E is precisely what the Santa Clara, California-based company will start selling next year.
In fact, the product, going by the name of Core i7-3820 if anyone is wondering, has shown up for order online.
Pre-order online, that is, as shipments aren't going to begin for some weeks still.
More specifically, ProVantage marks it as a special order that will ship in up to 3 or four weeks.
That said, the price is of $311.54, which corresponds to a European tag of 276 Euro.
No doubt the thing will drop in price once Intel makes everything official, so prospective buyers may want to hold off on the “add to cart” clicks for now, endless pockets or no.
The Core i7-3820 has the four cores working at 3.6 GHz, with the Turbo Boost technology able to push the frequency to 3.9 GHz if required.
It also has eight threads, a quad-channel memory controller and 10 MB of L3 cache, plus a TDP (thermal design power) of 130W.