Performance of 2.8Ghz Gulftown

[Kreed]

According to the roadmaps, the Intel i7 970 will be the only 32nm hex core chip that Intel will release for the remainder of the year. I was Kinda hoping Intel would release a low end 32nm i7 Quad or Hex core running at 2.8Ghz.

Has anybody tried underclocking the i7 980X to 2.8Ghz to get some idea of what the performance will be like if Intel was to release a 2.8Ghz Gulftown?

The i7 930 is Intel's current entry-level offering in their "performance" lineup. It succeeds the i7 920, which was first released in September 2008. Intel is not due to release it's architectural successor, the socket 2011 Sandy Bridge, until Q3 2011. That means it will be almost 3 years with essentially the same architecture in the low-end "performance" segment. You would think that Intel will release a low-end gulftown before then; even if it is to ensure that their performance lineup performs better than their mainstream offering, socket 1155 Sandy Bridge, in Q1 2011.

 

[Acanthus]

According to the roadmaps, the Intel i7 970 will be the only 32nm hex core chip that Intel will release for the remainder of the year. I was Kinda hoping Intel would release a low end 32nm i7 Quad or Hex core running at 2.8Ghz.

Has anybody tried underclocking the i7 980X to 2.8Ghz to get some idea of what the performance will be like if Intel was to release a 2.8Ghz Gulftown?

The i7 930 is Intel's current entry-level offering in their "performance" lineup. It succeeds the i7 920, which was first released in September 2008. Intel is not due to release it's architectural successor, the socket 2011 Sandy Bridge, until Q3 2011. That means it will be almost 3 years with essentially the same architecture in the low-end "performance" segment. You would think that Intel will release a low-end gulftown before then; even if it is to ensure that their performance lineup performs better than their mainstream offering, socket 1155 Sandy Bridge, in Q1 2011.

It would mimic any of the 32nm quad xeons if you want just a ballpark figure. The only places you can really use hex right now are encoding, folding and apps like boinc, and artificial benchmarks. (unless of course you're an extremely heavy multitasker)

 

[IntelUser2000]

I'm gonna cast doubt on i7 970 being 6 core. The naming certain doesn't sound more special than merely a higher end version of i7 960.

I know how it might sound like but look at the names of the other releases.

Core i5 680
Core i7 880
Core i7 840QM
Core i7 740QM
Core i7 660UM
Core i7 680UM

They are all merely frequency updates to whatever is out now. What suggests i7 970 will be different? It kinda sounds stupid to differentiate 6 cores using 1 alphabet, but that's the new thing going on nowadays.

Welcome to rumor mills.

 

[aigomorla]

i7 970X

was what i was told.

And intel has funny naming schemes, so dont underestimate them.
I remember originally the 980X was suposed to be called the i9 1090.
(or a number simular to that... cant remember it exactly... but it looked very close to AMD's X6 numbers.)
And that ended up being the A0 Gulftown.

Also, if u got a gulftown why would you run it stock?
If your running a gulftown stock, then why are u looking at consumer i7 gulftowns and not xeons right now?

The price difference on the lower ends arent that much greater.

 

[Kreed]

Re: i7 970X

Doesn't the "X" imply that it will have unlocked multipliers?

As for low-end Xeons vs consumer i7 gulftowns, I don't think Intel has released any hex core Xeons with only 1 QPI links. A far as I can remember, all the hex core Xeons released to date have 2 QPI links, which probably explains why they cost so much. They're designed for servers and will probably require a server motherboard.

A low-end i7 gulftown (or even a genuine 32nm quad with 8MB Cache, ie. not a hex core with 2 cores disabled) costing around $300 would be sweet! Unfortunately, I don't think AMD has done enough with their Thubans to put a dent in Intel's sales. So, Intel will probably just keep holding back the 32nm gulftowns until AMD releases something that will threaten them.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Re: i7 970X

Unfortunately, I don't think AMD has done enough with their Thubans to put a dent in Intel's sales. So, Intel will probably just keep holding back the 32nm gulftowns until AMD releases something that will threaten them.

I disagree. Pay $1K for six-core vs. $200? Yeah RIGHT. I'd take the cheaper option ten times out of ten. I seriously doubt I'm alone. In the small segment of people for whom hexacore is significant, my guess is that the price point is a big decider. (I did see some of them at Micro Center the other day, and I was casting a longing glance...) I'm sure Gulftown is superior, but $800 worth of superior? There's a basic economic term called marginal utility. I don't think Gulftown's marginal utility is $800 greater than AMD's Thuban 1050.

 

[Accord99]

I disagree. Pay $1K for six-core vs. $200? Yeah RIGHT. I'd take the cheaper option ten times out of ten. I seriously doubt I'm alone. In the small segment of people for whom hexacore is significant, my guess is that the price point is a big decider. (I did see some of them at Micro Center the other day, and I was casting a longing glance...)

Well, like most things in life the price for performance in CPUs don't follow a linear curve. And the main reason AMD's hexacore products are priced at $200-$300 is because they only compete in performance with Intel products at that price range.

I'm sure Gulftown is superior, but $800 worth of superior? There's a basic economic term called marginal utility. I don't think Gulftown's marginal utility is $800 greater than AMD's Thuban 1050.

On the other hand, for people where the performance justifies the price, one cannot purchase an AMD processor with comparable performance at 1-6 threads at any price. And for tasks utilizing 12 or more threads, the top-end 12 core Magny Cours comparable in throughput also go for $1000+.

 

[Accord99]

Double post

 

[Kreed]

I disagree. Pay $1K for six-core vs. $200? Yeah RIGHT. I'd take the cheaper option ten times out of ten. I seriously doubt I'm alone. In the small segment of people for whom hexacore is significant, my guess is that the price point is a big decider. (I did see some of them at Micro Center the other day, and I was casting a longing glance...) I'm sure Gulftown is superior, but $800 worth of superior? There's a basic economic term called marginal utility. I don't think Gulftown's marginal utility is $800 greater than AMD's Thuban 1050.

I think a fairer comparison would be AMD's Thuban 1050 against the Intel i7 930. From memory of the reviews I've read, the i7 930 was competitive against the Thuban 1050, even when all 6 cores on the Thuban was used. So, even around the $200-$300 mark, I don't AMD has anything that trumps Intel's Offerings, unfortunately. I guess the overall platform cost of the AMD offering would be cheaper and better value for money.