How/Why Did Intel Name the i7 Extreme?

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Puppies04

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2011
5,909
17
76
Because most people would be extremely hard pressed to tell the difference between it and a normal I7 in 99% of what they do.
 

nenforcer

Golden Member
Aug 26, 2008
1,775
14
81
Marketing 101.

I think it's poor marketing. The average consumer has no idea the differences between a i3 (dual core) versus i5 (quad core no hyperthreading) and i7 (quad core w/ hyperthreading), other than bigger is better.

I think I read something about when Intel does make the jump to 8 core consumer CPU's those will be the i9's.
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,692
2,289
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I do wonder if they will stick to prime numbers like one poster suggested. i11 seems weird, though. These things have shelf lives, it might be time for a whole new naming scheme.
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
I think it's poor marketing. The average consumer has no idea the differences between a i3 (dual core) versus i5 (quad core no hyperthreading) and i7 (quad core w/ hyperthreading), other than bigger is better.

I think I read something about when Intel does make the jump to 8 core consumer CPU's those will be the i9's.

Your "average" consumer isn't buying an "Extreme" chip, which is what this thread's title asks about :p

Octo-core consumer chips are coming out H2 with Haswell-E, and will support DDR4.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,052
2,766
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Ivy Bridge-E is considered the same generation as Haswell, just as Sandy Bridge-E is considered the same generation as Ivy Bridge.

The first digit of the product number (2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx) represents the generation that the CPU belongs to.
There more than one way to define generations. The processor microarchitecture itself is usually what defines which generation a line of processors belong to.

Sandy Bridge E and Sandy Bridge share the same microarchitecture and fabrication node(32nm). Ivy Bridge-E does not.
 

TuxDave

Lifer
Oct 8, 2002
10,571
3
71
I think it's poor marketing. The average consumer has no idea the differences between a i3 (dual core) versus i5 (quad core no hyperthreading) and i7 (quad core w/ hyperthreading), other than bigger is better.

I think I read something about when Intel does make the jump to 8 core consumer CPU's those will be the i9's.

It may not be EDUCATIONAL, but the average Joe will walk away with the perception that i7 is better than i5 which is better than i3. That also happens to be in the same order of pricing. So doesn't that make mean marketing has been successful?
 

Edgemeal

Senior member
Dec 8, 2007
211
57
101
Its been proven that customers are more likely to buy a higher priced product when you give them more choices to buy even better/more expensive (halo?) products.

For example a major burger chain in the US started out selling only 2 sizes of hamburgers, small and regular. The small burger outsold the more profitable regular sized burger at a ratio of 10 to 1. Instead of changing the burger sizes to offset profits in their favor (and the customers noticing they were getting ripped off) they introduced a new bigger more expensive burger, so now the menu had small, regular and large. As a result the more profitable regular size burger started outselling the small 10 to 1.
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
i9 would decrease the "value" from the other i7s a little bit more...
or maybe 7 is better? I don't know, and extreme is more extreme, I think.

I thought i9 would've been the best choice but yeah good point it would probably lessen the impact of the i7 brand.
 

TuxDave

Lifer
Oct 8, 2002
10,571
3
71
Its been proven that customers are more likely to buy a higher priced product when you give them more choices to buy even better/more expensive (halo?) products.

For example a major burger chain in the US started out selling only 2 sizes of hamburgers, small and regular. The small burger outsold the more profitable regular sized burger at a ratio of 10 to 1. Instead of changing the burger sizes to offset profits in their favor (and the customers noticing they were getting ripped off) they introduced a new bigger more expensive burger, so now the menu had small, regular and large. As a result the more profitable regular size burger started outselling the small 10 to 1.

Heh, interesting how the anecdote changes depending on who's telling the story. The version I heard was:

A burger joint sold 3 sizes of burgers: small, medium and large. The owner noticed that the small and medium burgers sold fairly well and the large burger not so much. So he figured he could simplify his menu by removing the unsuccessful large sized burger and leave the remaining sizes that were popular. The next month sales showed that medium sized burger stopped selling and nearly everyone was buying only the small sized.

TLDR: No one wants to be the fatty. So they buy the 2nd biggest.
 

Rakehellion

Lifer
Jan 15, 2013
12,181
35
91
I think it's poor marketing. The average consumer has no idea the differences between a i3 (dual core) versus i5 (quad core no hyperthreading) and i7 (quad core w/ hyperthreading), other than bigger is better.

That's why you don't use terms like "Hyperthreading" and instead say things like "multimedia" and "gaming" that they can understand.
 

jhu

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
11,918
9
81
That's why you don't use terms like "Hyperthreading" and instead say things like "multimedia" and "gaming" that they can understand.

Core i3: dual core with extra multimedia
Core i5: quad core with gaming
Core i7: quad core with extra multimedia and gaming

I don't think that's really any clearer than before.
 

NTMBK

Lifer
Nov 14, 2011
10,426
5,743
136
It may not be EDUCATIONAL, but the average Joe will walk away with the perception that i7 is better than i5 which is better than i3. That also happens to be in the same order of pricing. So doesn't that make mean marketing has been successful?

Average Joe goes "oh, my laptop from 4 years ago has an i5, how is that desktop with an i5 an upgrade?"
 

imported_Thorburn

Junior Member
Jan 19, 2006
22
0
0
here's one to throw you off track... but the microcode on the original ES's for Gulftown were i9's :p

Realtemp.jpg


Of course... intel decided to relabel them and call it the i7 980X.

Are you sure that is accurate and not just what Realtemp called it?

From my experience working with Gulftown the Ax chips had the CPU string "Genuine Intel(R) CPU 000 @ 3.07GHz (ES)", as with all early Intel ES chips (obviously speed noted depending on the sample), and then Bx and Cx chips moved to the i7 nomenclature. Never seen one labelled as i9....
 

amenx

Diamond Member
Dec 17, 2004
4,433
2,757
136
I wonder if Intel is influenced by BMWs nomenclature with the 3, 5 and 7 series. Their 7 series have V6s and V8s, while their flagship car is a V12 and is considerable more expensive than the others. But its still a 7 series car (750i). As with Intels flagship chips, still 7 series, but with an 'extreme' added to them.