Intel Releases Sandy Bridge-E Processors & X79 Express Chipset

Last spring, Intel launched its first ever six-core processor, capable of producing “sick scores” (get it?). Based on the Gulftown architecture, those offerings were unparalleled in the performance offered, and as such they became a no-brainer to those needing to build a power PC for whatever reason. As powerful as the chips were though, other models released since have in some cases been more tempting.

The reasons for that boil down to improved architectures and the addition of the AVX instruction set. That’s where Sandy Bridge-E comes in. It essentially offers both of what makes Gulftown and Sandy Bridge so great in their own respective right, giving enthusiasts or those lusting for the best perfromance possible an option that’s not going to force them to give up something that may want.

This isn’t a launch for the masses, however, as currently the least-expensive offering is going to be retailing for about $600. Intel has talked about a quad-core offering that’s priced on par with the current i7-2600K, but so far the release date for it is unknown, and it’s not even a model listed in the company’s latest pricing guide.

Our article for Sandy Bridge-E is still baking in the oven, so I’ll wait until its posting before diving into what makes SNB-E different from previous chips. For now, here are a couple teaser shots to help whet your appetite:

Left to Right: Intel Core i7-2600K, i7-3960X & i7-990X