Intel’s next generation of desktop processors are here with the company announcing its new 9th Gen Core chips Tuesday at its fall hardware event.
To that end, Intel revealed its new Core i9-9900K, which Intel says is “the best gaming processor in the world. Period.” The i9-9900K offers eight cores and 16 threads, clocked at base frequency of 3.6 GHz, which can be boosted up to 5.0 GHz.
Intel also notes that these are its first desktop processors to have hardware fixes for the Meltdown Variant 3 and L1 Terminal Fault issues, with the remaining protections done through software.
Preorders for the 9th Gen chips open today, with the processors set to ship on October 19th. The chips are priced far more modestly than Intel’s pricier Core X, too: the Core i9-9900K is set to cost $488, the i7-9700K will cost $373, and the i5-9600K will set you back $262.
But Intel isn’t leaving out its high-end users, either: the company also announced an updated lineup of its Core X-Series processors (first announced in 2017), with new Core i7 X-Series, Core i9 X-Series, and Core i9 Extreme processors that are built on Intel’s 14nm++ process (but still based on the Skylake X design.) And like the first-generation Core i9 Extreme, the new model continues to offer 18 cores and 36 threads — remaining at the top of Intel’s consumer range.
But Intel isn’t leaving out its high-end users, either: the company also announced an updated lineup of its Core X-Series processors (first announced in 2017), with new Core i7 X-Series, Core i9 X-Series, and Core i9 Extreme processors that are built on Intel’s 14nm++ process (but still based on the Skylake X design.) And like the first-generation Core i9 Extreme, the new model continues to offer 18 cores and 36 threads — remaining at the top of Intel’s consumer range.
And for professional users who need even more firepower, Intel announced a new 28 core and 56 thread unlocked Intel Xeon W-3175X processor. Base clock speed is 3.1 GHz, boosted up to 4.3GHz and its set to ship later this year in December. No price has been announced yet, but it likely won’t be cheap when it does hit stores.
