Intel’s new Gulftown i7-980X CPU reviews well [Core i7]

Intel cut loose some benchmarking samples of their new, top of the line CPU, the i7-980X Extreme Edition. This is not a CPU intended for the causal use, but rather aim directly at the gaming market. MSRP for the CPU all by itself is a jaw-dropping $999, and rumors are already circulating that the OEMs are already looking at coming out with systems that utilize the new processors.

The reviews are looking good too. There’s just one little problem. There’s no software out there that can really take advantage of the new processor threading yet. See, the i7-980X supports up to 6 cores, which means it’s a multi-threading monster, but if the software doesn’t support it, you end up spending a grand on future proofing. Not a terrible idea, I mean it’s not like it’s worthless, but don’t expect the your brand new smoking CPU to be all it can be until the software can take advantage of it.

Don’t take my word for it, I haven’t actually seen one of these bad boys yet, but all the reviews out there are pretty much saying the same thing.
[CrunchGear]

AMD Confirms Six-Core Consumer Processors Codenamed "Thuban" [Amd]

Just one day before Intel's IDF conference, AMD dropped a little bit of a bomb on us, confirming that they will bring hexa-core processors to consumer computers. Even better, they'll be backwards compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ motherboards.
The processor will be a version of AMD's six-core server processors, and will place all six cores on one 45nm die. AMD warned that clock speeds will probably not be quite as high as current quad-core processors (MaximumPC suggests this may be due to "added thermal output from the two additional cores"), and will have 3MB of L2 and 6MB of L3 cache. It'll be competing with Intel's "Gulftown" (probably Core i9)when it debuts next year. But the best news here is the backward-compatibility—unlike Intel, you won't have to replace your motherboard if you want to upgrade to the "Thuban" procs. We hope Intel follows suit, and we'll let you know how they respond later this week from IDF. [MaximumPC via Engadget]