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Intel Core i9 Extreme 18-Core Processor Announced

May 31^st, 201722

Intel Core i9 Extreme 18-Core Processor Announced

by Jakub HanMay 31^st, 2017

During Computex 2017 Intel announced a new family of Core X desktop processors. They unveiled new, more powerful versions of the i5 and i7 models along with the top of the line Core i9 processors, the most powerful of which is the Intel Core i9 Extreme. It offers 18 cores and 36 threads and will cost $1,999.

Intel’s most powerful processor line – Core i9. Image credit: Intel

Concerning chip architecture, almost all new desktop Core X processors are designed on an updated version of Intel’s sixth-generation Skylake platform, called Skylake X. Only the two 4-core models (the i5-7640X and the i7-7740X) are designed on Kaby Lake X. Intel’s new X299 motherboard chipset will accompany new Core X line processors, and compatible motherboards with this chipset should become available in the coming weeks along with the first shipments of the new Intel processors.

The new Core X family offers a variety of models starting with the Core i5-7640X (4 cores, 4 threads) at $242. The next line up – the Core i7 X-Series – ranges from a $339, 4-core, 8-thread model to a $599 8-core, 16-thread processor. Finally, the Intel Core i9 line will include five models ranging from $999 for a 10-core, 16-thread processor to a $1,999, 18-core, 36-thread chip – the first consumer desktop processor to offer this kind of performance.

New family of Intel processors – The Core X. Image credit: Intel

Turbo Boost Max 3.0 is an improved Turbo Boost technology and will be available on some of the high-end models of the new Core X line. It will improve multitasking and also single-thread operations. According to Intel, the improvement will be 10% for multithread speed and 15% for single-thread.

Intel is bringing the new Core X series as an answer to AMD’s recently-released Ryzen line of processors. AMD is about to bring their own high-end 16-core and 32-thread Ryzen line called the “Threadripper” later in 2017. We will have to wait for test results to see how it stands against the Intel Core i9 Extreme.

The new, more powerful processors should make it faster to work with multiple projects at once, rendering high-resolution animations, working with 4K to 8K video and VR. It is also aimed at gamers, allowing them to play and stream their gameplay at the same time as we can see in the short promo video from Intel.