Intel Broadwell-E Core i7-6950X could be the world’s first 10-core desktop consumer processor

TECHNOLOGY

Eight cores not enough? Intel is bringing a 10-core monster for you

Intel’s Core i7-6950X, an upcoming extreme edition processor could be the company’s first ever deca-core processor aimed towards the enthusiast consumer. According to the latest info, the processor is going to be compatible with X99 chipset motherboards but you are going to have to be peddling serious cash because this chip has been rumored to carry a price of $1500 USD, which was expected from an extreme edition processor from the company. While Broadwell-E processors are based on the 14nm technology, there is not a whole lot of difference between them and their predecessors, the Haswell CPU lineup; as far as performance is concerned.

However, with the extra cores, you will automatically have an added advantage when it comes to tackling heavy workloads, not to mention that the chip will come in very handy for future proofing yourself in order to experience the best of what next generation gaming titles have to offer. However, consumers will still have to upgrade their graphics adapter otherwise they will run into serious performance bottlenecking issues.

The last time Intel launched a $1500 USD CPU was a Core 2 Quad QX9775, however, we are guessing that thanks to its excessive price tag and small performance margins, the processor was not able to accumulate a whole lot of success. In addition to Core i7-6950X, there are two more processors that are going to be added to the Broadwell-E lineup, although they will not feature the same number of cores as the extreme edition processor.

• Intel Core i7-6900K (8 core processor with 16 threads)
• Intel Core i7-6850K (6 core processor with 12 threads)

Core i7-6950X will have a total of 10 cores and 20 threads and each core will have a base clock speed of 3.00GHz, with a 3.50GHz boost clock. In case you were wondering, the processor has an unlocked multiplier and will have a TDP of 140W. We can expect that the processor is going to be unveiled during Computex 2016.