Win An i7-8086K From Intel? AMD’s Willing To Trade You For A Ryzen Threadripper 1950X

Intel’s 50th birthday takes place next month (July 18), and leading up to it, the company has been celebrating by taking a look at its past. Recently, to commemorate the launch of the first x86-based processor, Intel released the Core i7-8086K, a 5GHz-clocked (Turbo) six-core chip that’s significantly faster than the original 8086 (which can’t run Crysis, as one useful example).

50 is a big year, and given all of its contributions over the years, Intel deserves at least a pat on the back for keeping things interesting. In recent years, of course, the company has struggled to impress, and is especially facing an uphill battle as it works to get its first 10nm products out the door. In this way, the 50th year of Intel is one with mixed reactions.

Meanwhile, over at the AMD camp, the folks couldn’t be more smug. Last month, the company rolled out its latest EPYC advertising campaign, promoting such ideas as “No one ever got fired for buying Xeon – Until now”, and a personal favorite, “Xeon Was Great – So Was Coal”. Well, if you thought AMD would ease off on the Intel slamming just because 50 is a grand year, you’d be sorely mistaken.

To promote the i7-8086K, Intel held a contest to give away some of the chips to fans. Balking at a mere six-core chip, AMD has decided to throw a wrench into Intel’s gears by offering the first 40 winners of this giveaway an interesting barter: swap that six-core for a sixteen-core Ryzen Threadripper 1950X. That’s a trade of a ~$400 product for a $1000 one, so all-in-all, AMD is quite generous here.

I admit that I’m digging the new AMD attitude towards its CPUs. The folks there know that their product is great, even if it’s not ideal for everyone, in every instance. On its promotion page, the company holds absolutely nothing back: “We appreciate the advancements they’ve (Intel) helped drive with the x86 architecture over the last four decades. But, we’re ready to take it from here.”

Snaaaaaaaaap.

Is anyone feeling bad for Intel yet? The company is hardly down and out, but it’s hard to deny that it needs a shot in the arm as bad as AMD did before Ryzen arrived. How quickly the tables turn.