Intel’s Haswell technology has finally reached the highest-end markets that the company operates in. Three chips, known collectively as the Core i7 Extreme Edition, have been launched for overclockers and other enthusiasts. Intel claims that the chips offer a 20% performance boost when used for UltraHD video editing, and 32% for 3D image rendering, versus the Ivy Bridge Extreme Edition.
The new chips include Intel’s first-ever eight-core processor, the Core i7-5960X Extreme Edition. Each of the 5960X’s cores has a base clock speed of 3GHz, and can run at 3.5GHz in Turbo Boost. It is joined by the Core i7-5930K and Core i7-5820K; these are six-core devices with clock speeds of 3.5GHz (3.7GHz in Turbo Boost) and 3.3GHz (3.6GHz in Turbo Boost), respectively. All three support DDR4 memory and have a 140W TDP.
Intel has designed the Extreme Edition units to fit a new motherboard socket design known as the LGA 2011-v3. The chips are priced at $1,000 (5960X), $595 (5930K) and $395 (5820K).
