Intel Core i9-7980XE: 18C/36T chip costs $2000

Intel unleashes on AMD with the Core i9-7980XE: 18C/36T @ $2000.

Anthony Garreffa

Gaming Editor

Published May 30, 2017 2:01 AM CDT
Updated Nov 3, 2020 11:55 AM CST

45-second read time

Computex 2017 - Intel has just launched its new HEDT offensive with the introduction of the new Core i9-7980XE processor offering 18C/36T of CPU performance for a whopping $2000.

Intel Core i9-7980XE: 18C/36T chip costs $2000 | TweakTown.com

Intel's upcoming Core i9-7980XE will have 18C/36T of CPU performance at a yet unknown frequency, but their new 10C/20T chip in the Core i9-7900X sees a base clock of 3.3GHz, Turbo Boost 2.0 clock of 4.3GHz, and scales right up to 4.5GHz under Turbo Boost Max 3.0 tech.

The new Core i9 Extreme processor will feature support for Intel's AVX-512 instruction set, Turbo Boost Max 3.0, 44 PCIe 3.0 lanes, quad-channel DDR4 support at up to DDR4-2666, rebalanced Intel Smart Cache hierarchy, and support for Intel's Optane memory.

Read more: AMD launches new Ryzen Threadripper 9000 series CPU perf: 2x faster than Intel Xeon CPUs

There's currently no ETA on the flagship Core i9-7980XE, but holy hell - 18C/36T trumps AMD's new ThreadRipper 1998X with its 16C/32T of CPU power. Damn, Intel... this is insanity.

Anthony Garreffa

Gaming Editor

Anthony joined TweakTown in 2010 and has since reviewed 100s of tech products. Anthony is a long time PC enthusiast with a passion of hate for games built around consoles. FPS gaming since the pre-Quake days, where you were insulted if you used a mouse to aim, he has been addicted to gaming and hardware ever since. Working in IT retail for 10 years gave him great experience with custom-built PCs. His addiction to GPU tech is unwavering and has recently taken a keen interest in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

Anthony's PC features Intel's Core i5-12600K paired with the GIGABYTE Z690 AERO-G, Corsair's 32GB DDR4-3200, and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4090 FE. It runs Sabrent's Rocket 4 Plus 4TB with Windows 11 Pro, housed in Lian Li's O11 Dynamic XL, and powered by ASUS's ROG Strix 850W. Accessories include the Logitech G915 Wireless keyboard, Logitech G502X Wireless mouse, and LG C3 48-inch OLED TV 4K 120Hz monitor.