Intel® Core™ i7
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Intel Launches Fastest Processor on the Planet
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Provides Performance on Demand, Adds 'Turbo Boost' and 'Hyper-Threading' Technologies

 
 
 

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Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Processor
  • The news -- Intel Corporation introduced its most advanced desktop processor ever, the Intel® Core™ i7 processor. The Core i7 processor is the first member of a new family of Nehalem processor designs and is the most sophisticated ever built, with new technologies that boost performance on demand and maximize data throughput. The Core i7 processor speeds video editing, immersive games and other popular Internet and computer activities by up to 40 percent without increasing power consumption.
  • A smarter way to work and play -- With faster, intelligent multi-core technology that applies processing power dynamically when needed most, the new Intel® Core™ i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in PC performance. They’re the best desktop processors on the planet.
    Multitask applications faster and unleash incredible digital media creation. Experience maximum performance for everything you do, thanks to the combination of Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, which maximizes performance to match your workload.
  • Shatter your limits -- It’s time for digital content creation that’s limited only by your imagination. Experience total creative freedom with the power to encode video up to 40% faster. And enjoy incredible performance on other multimedia tasks like image rendering, photo retouching, and editing.
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New Intel® Core™ i7
The Intel® Core™ i7 microprocessor is built using a new microarchitecture, codenamed "Nehalem," that allows chips to handle more data, quicker and more energy efficiently. Go inside Intel's labs and meet some of the thousands of Intel engineers who helped design and test the new processor. "Building this microprocessor brings a lot of people together, like architects, micro architects and the design teams," says Rani Borkar, vice president of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group. "As you get into the development phases, working with the process technology, it's a mind-boggling effort that requires a lot of teamwork across the board."
 
 
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  • "Intel's new Core i7 processors don't just live up to their hype-they exceed it." - Computer Shopper, November 2008
  • "Intel executed on its roadmap to near perfection and the Core i7 is everything they promised it would be." - PC Perspective, November 2008
  • "The Intel Core i7 series of processors are the real deal" - Legit Reviews, November 2008
  • "One of the most consequential shifts in the industry" - Tech Report, November 2008
  • "With each new processor launch, we expect to see performance increases, but with i7, some of the increases are mind-blowing." - Techgage, November 2008
  • "If we had to describe the Core i7 in one word, it would be monster. The CPU is to benchmarks as Godzilla is to downtown Tokyo." - Maximum PC, November 2008
  • "Nehalem is a milestone in performance and CPU ingenuity. - Lost Circuits, November 2008
  • "Intel's done a marvelous job with the Core i7, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the company is largely competing with itself." - Gamespot, November 2008
  • "If you currently using a dual core system the Core i7 seems to be a perfect processor to transition to that can save you some encoding cycles." - HardOCP, November 2008
  • "Intel's latest CPU is here and it is smoking fast" - Hardcoreware, November 2008
 
 

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Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Provides Performance on Demand, Adds 'Turbo Boost' and 'Hyper-Threading' Technologies

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 17, 2008 - Intel Corporation introduced its most advanced desktop processor ever, the Intel® Core™ i7 processor. The Core i7 processor is the first member of a new family of Nehalem processor designs and is the most sophisticated ever built, with new technologies that boost performance on demand and maximize data throughput. The Core i7 processor speeds video editing, immersive games and other popular Internet and computer activities by up to 40 percent without increasing power consumption.

Broadly heralded by the computing industry as a technical marvel, the Intel® Core™ i7 processor holds a new world record of 117 for the SPECint_base_rate2006* benchmark test that measures the performance of a processor. This is the first time ever for any single processor to exceed a score of 100 points.

"Intel has delivered the fastest desktop processor on Earth to the most demanding users on Earth, the ones who are using their PCs for video, gaming and music," said Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group. "When you couple what is Intel's biggest leap in chip design with other incredible innovations like Intel's solid state drives, the Core i7 processor has redefined the computer of tomorrow."

Tech Web sites have been extremely positive in their product reviews. Anandtech states that "Core i7 continues to fuel Intel's beacon of performance." "The Core i7 is everything they promised it would be," says PC Perspective. "Nehalem is a masterpiece," says the Lost Circuits Web site. The Tech Report calls it "one of the most consequential shifts in the industry."

Intel's unique Turbo Boost Technology accelerates performance to match a computer user's needs and workloads. Through a sophisticated on-die power control unit and using new "power gate" transistors based on Intel's advanced 45 nanometer, high-k metal gate manufacturing process, Turbo Boost automatically adjusts the clock speed of one or more of the four individual processing cores for single- and multi-threaded applications to boost performance, without increasing power consumption. The Core i7 also has the latest Intel power-saving technologies, allowing desktops to go into sleep states formerly reserved for Intel-based notebooks.

The Core i7 processor more than doubles the memory bandwidth of previous Intel "Extreme" platforms, speeding the transfer of computer bits and bites in and out of the processor with Intel® Quickpath Technology. Designed with Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology, the processor also allows multiple computing threads to run simultaneously, effectively enabling it to do two things at once. As a result, the Core i7 quad-core processor delivers 8-threaded performance.

The Intel Core i7 processor also offers unrivaled performance for immersive 3-D games - over 40 percent faster than previous Intel high-performance processors on both the 3DMark Vantage CPU* physics and AI tests, popular industry computer benchmarks that measure gaming performance. The Extreme Edition uses 8 threads to run games with advanced artificial intelligence and physics to make games act and feel real.

The Intel® Core™ i7 processors and Intel® X58 Express Chipset-based Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO Extreme Series are for sale immediately from several computer manufacturers online and in retail stores, as well as a boxed retail product via channel online sales.

The Core i7 processor is the first member of the Intel Nehalem microarchitecture family; server and mobile product versions will be in production later. Each Core i7 processor features an 8 MB level 3 cache and three channels of DDR3 1066 memory to deliver the best memory performance of any desktop platform. Intel's top performance processor, the Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Edition, also removes overspeed protection, allowing Intel's knowledgeable customers or hobbyists to further increase the chip's speed.

Product Information and Pricing:

Processor Clock Speed (GHz) Price QPI Speed (GT/sec) Cache Memory Speed Support TDP Processor Generation
Intel® Core™ i7-965 Extreme Edition 3.20 $999 6.4 8 MB DDR3-1066 130W New Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture (Nehalem) 45nm
Intel® Core™ i7- 940 2.93 $562 4.8
Intel® Core™ i7- 920 2.66 $284 4.8