Intel only wants QX6800 cooled with water?

[Woofmeister]

According to Tom's Hardware, Intel intends the QX6800 to be exclusively water cooled. Money quote:

On Monday, Intel announced the creation of a new quad core processor. The obvious change from the QX6700 to the QX6800 is a frequency boost from 2.66 GHz up to 2.93 GHz. Although this only matches the speed of the existing Intel Core2 Extreme dual core processor, it has the added bonus of two more cores.

What you might not have read about is that the processors are being sold to a limited number of outlets. The word on the street is that only 2,500 QX6800s exist in the world, with 1,200 of them slated for North America. Trays of processors are selling for $1199 per unit and have a few criteria. The 135 W thermal design power (TDP) processor is only being sold to outlets that can properly cool it, and by that Intel means a water cooling system must accompany each QX6800.

That's some "word on the street." Does this mean that nobody will ever sell a retail boxed QX6800 processor and only boutique system builders will ever get them in their (very) hot little hands? And if they do ever sell a QX6800 in a retail box to the public, how much of the purchase price is for the admittedly useless stock air cooler?

No answers here, I just report the news.

 

[aigomorla]

i honestly wouldnt be suprised.

If you see how many over heating QX threads loaf on AT you'll understand.

As i have said on previous threads, the QX6700 moderately clocked can pull more then 180W of TDP.

Thats a lot compared to a regular E6700 which pulls ~ 121W @ 1.42V




But then again, thats the beauty of water. Having a monster thing like that sit 30-35C idle, and load less then 60C.


oh just to let you know... that coolit waterkit, is utter crap. Dont be fooled by something because it says TEC cooling. A thermalalright ultra120 would probably get near it in performance. IFX-14 maybe match it.

If your going to water, custom kit, or custom parts is the only way to go.

 

[Pugnate]

So does this mean the core 2 architecture has been pushed to its limits?

 

[DrMrLordX]

What it means is that QX chips are two Core 2s glued together, producing twice the heat that a single Core 2 of the same clock speed would generate. Core 2 hasn't really reached its limits . . . it just needs a process shrink which it will get in short order.