Intel Core i9 7980 XE Available Starting September 25th

Yesterday Intel released the last specs for their Core X-series Processor Family Specs 14- to 18-Core. Earlier indication for the Core i9-7980XE would be a release in October. It now seems that the 18-cores part will be available starting September 25th, the rest August 28th.

Skylake-X processors had been announced on Computex and require a LGA2066-socket X299 based motherboard. The 10 cores and higher processors offer 44 PCIe 3.0-lanes on the CPU side of things and allow for quad-channel DDR4-2666. Connecting to the chipset is DMI 3.0. at 4x PCIe 3.0 lanes. 

The flagship Skylake-X Core i9 7980XE will get 18 cores and thus 36 threads. Each core has 1,375 MB L3-cache and 1 MB L2-cache. The base-clock will be 2,6 GHz with up-to a 4.2 GHz 2 cores turbo and will cost 1999 USD. It will be interesting to see how energy consumption and heat levels will hold with the upcoming Intel procs as they claim a very modest 165W TDP. Intel will be competing with AMDs Ryzen Threadripper 1920X and 1950X. As you can see, intel will offer 44 PCIe Gen 3 lanes opposed to 64 on Threadripper.

 
--- Intel ---

The new X-series processor family is the ultimate platform for content creators and gamers. Multitasking becomes extreme mega-tasking with simultaneous, compute-intensive, multithreaded workloads aligned in purpose, powered by up to 18 cores and 36 threads. And, with up to 68 PCIe 3.0 lanes on the platform, people have the ability to expand their systems with fast SSDs, up to four discrete GFX cards and ultrafast Thunderbolt 3 solutions.

That's 44 PCIe 3.0 lanes on the CPU and 24 on the Chipset. However in-between the two is a x4 lane DMI interconnect.

Content creators can expect up to 20 percent better performance for VR content creation2 and up to 30 percent faster 4K video editing3 over the previous generation. This means less time waiting and more time designing new worlds and experiences. Gamers and enthusiasts will experience up to 30 percent faster extreme mega-tasking for gaming4 over the previous generation.

The 12-core Intel Core X-series processor will be available starting on Aug. 28, and 14- to 18-core Intel Core X-series processors will be available starting Sept. 25. The 4- to 10-core Intel Core X-series processors are already on shelves and available at multiple retailers, along with more than 200 Intel X299 Chipset motherboards.