Introduction
Today, Intel’s two most powerful models for this generation of HEDT processors were unveiled: they are the new 16-core Core i9-7960X and the 18-core Core i9-7980XE Extreme Edition. These processors come from Intel’s Xeon lineup, but they are being turned into powerful processors for the desktop platform intended to compete and beat AMD’s powerful Threadripper processor introduced back in July.
New X-series processors
These two new processors are a plot twist for the technology that Intel has already introduced on its HEDT lineup with the Core i9-7900X and the Core i7 processors with LGA2066 sockets for the X299 chipsets. We get a higher processing power via more cores and a more demanding TDP (for the cooling system more than anything else) that exceeds the 140 W that Intel had set as a limit for desktop processors so far, now reaching 165 W.
The competition had no problem in going over this limit, so Intel came up with these two new processors that have been preceded by 10-core and 12-core models, respectively, and we are still getting a 14-core model in a few weeks. All of these processors feature Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows a single physical processor core to behave like two logical processors. This translates into two threads per core, up to 36 threads with the Core i9-7980XE.