Intel announces the world's first consumer desktop CPU with 18 cores & 36 threads

After ARM, NVIDIA, it is Intel who is now taking the limelight at Computex 2017 Conference in Taipei. Intel, the chipmaker unveiled a new family of “Core X” desktop processors at Computex, offering even more robust versions of its existing Core i5 and Core i7 models.

Targeting gamers, the Core X series scales from models with 4-cores topping out with the $1,999 Core i9 Extreme, the world's first ever consumer desktop CPU with 18 cores and 36 threads.

The Intel Core i9-7900X X-series processor and this first version will be made available with ten cores and 20 threads, with 18, 16, 14 and 12 core variants coming soon.

The 10-core i9 variant will come with a base clock speed of 3.3GHz, Intel Turbo Boost Max technology, which ups the frequency to 4.5GHz. It sports 13.75MB of cache thanks to an updated cache configuration, includes 44 lanes of PCIe 3.0. With a thermal design power of 140W, the new LGA2066 socket will be utilised.

The 18-core Core i9 7980XE, along with the 16-core Core i9 7960X, 14-core Core i9 7940X and 12-core Core i9 7920X should follow soon. All will come with up to 44 PCIe lanes and support for Intel Optane memory, that delivers an amazingly responsive computing and storage experience.

Intel also revealed the X-Series family of processors, which Intel says is its most "scalable, accessible and powerful desktop platform ever", and covers a range of processors with 4 to 18 cores. The four core models, the i5-7640X and the i7-7740X, are built on Kaby Lake X, while the rest of the range are built on an upgraded Skylake X architecture.

Aimed at consumers who need to power advanced gaming, VR and content creation, the chips feature Intel’s Turbo Boost Max 3.0 technology to offer 10 percent faster multi-threading performance over the previous generation, and 15 percent faster single thread. The powerful chips will be backed by Intel’s new X299 motherboard chipset, which comes with improved I/0 capabilities.

As far as the pricing is concerned, the Core X family starts with the Core i5-7640X at $242. The Core i7 X-Series range from a $339, 4-core/8-thread model to a $599 10-core/20-thread chip. The Core i9 will range from $999 for a 12-core/24-thread processor to a $1,699, 16-core/32-thread chip. However, Intel is yet to announce when these chips will be hitting the market.