Intel 18-core Core i9-7980XE launches September 25 for $2,000

Sports a 2.6GHz base clock and 4.4GHz boost—but can it combat AMD's Threadripper?

Intel's monstrous 18-core, 36-thread Core i9-7980XE CPU launches September 25 for a whopping $2,000, Intel announced today. It will be joined by the $1,700 16C/32T i9-7960X and the $1,400 14C/28T i9-7940X, while the 12C/12T i9-7920X launches a month earlier on August 28 for $1,200. UK prices are TBC, but the top-end chip will likely start at around £1,900 and then work its way down from there.

Alongside release dates, Intel also revealed TDPs and boost clock speeds—information that was curiously missing from the original X299 announcement back in May. The Core i9-7980XE features a 2.6GHz base clock, a Turbo Boost 2.0 clock of 4.2GHz, and a Turbo Boost 3.0 clock (up to two cores) of 4.4GHz. That's accompanied by 24.75MB of L3 cache, 44 PCIe lanes, and a 165W TDP (the 10-core i9-7900K has a 140W TDP).

Boost and turbo clocks for the remaining i9 chips are largely the same with a mere 100MHz variance, although the i9-7940X sports a higher 3.1GHz base clock. PC Gamer dug up a more detailed look at stock clock speeds, which shows the variance depending on how many cores are under load. In the case of the i9-7980XE, clock speeds vary from 4.2GHz to 3.9GHz up to 12 cores, dropping to 3.4GHz when all 18 cores are active.

The Core i9-7980XE and other i9 CPUs follow on from the launch of the 10C/20T i9-7900X and accompanying X299 platform in July. Reviews of the i9-7900X showed it to be the fastest consumer chip around, but it's still a poor value when compared to AMD's Ryzen CPUs. The addition of a quad-core i7-7740X, which can't take full advantage of the X299 platform, further took the shine off Intel's latest release.

Alongside increased competition from AMD's mainstream Ryzen CPUs, it also has to contend with the upcoming launch of Threadripper, which offers 16C/32T for $1,000 (~£950)—a significant saving over Intel's chips. Threadripper also offers 64 PCIe lanes across the board without the limitations Intel imposes on the cheaper X299 chips. Threadripper also offers more efficient cooling thanks to the use of solder instead of thermal material underneath the heat spreader.

Some users have taken to "delidding" Core i9 CPUs like the 7900X to replace the thermal material, resulting in a drop in temperature by as much as 20°C.