i7

In the last few months you may have seen previews and news stories regarding Intel’s new Core i7 desktop processor family, formerly known as Nehalem. Today, we’re able to publish our impressions of Intel’s new chip and ultimately its new platform. We’ve selected the flagship $999 (~£637) Core i7-965 Extreme Edition CPU to represent the Core i7 family, which at launch later this month will include three other processors, starting at $284 (~£181). These new chips all require a new chipset, which will only exist at first by way of a very expensive new motherboard. We don’t expect mainstream users to adopt Core i7 in any variation at first, at least until the motherboard prices come down. But well-heeled performance-seekers who do make the leap will enjoy the fastest CPUs on the market.

Core i7 has enough architecture changes to require a brand-new connection design between the chip and the motherboard. This is no small change, because Intel has stuck with the LGA775 chip socket since the days of Pentium 4. The new socket design, LGA1366, will not accept any older Intel CPUs, nor will Core i7 work on any older motherboards.

Unlike a new socket design, new chipsets aren’t uncommon with updated Intel CPUs. The last three Extreme Edition chips Intel has launched each required its own new motherboard circuitry, and Core i7 is no different. Intel’s new Core i7-supporting X58 chipset will only appear in very high-end boards. We conducted this review with the Intel Extreme Motherboard DX58SO board, and we’ve already reported on a new X58 board from ASUS. Expect Gigabyte, MSI and Intel’s other typical board partners to introduce their own new X58 boards, and we expect prices will stay at or around the $300 (~£191) mark. For this reason, Core i7 will remain an enthusiast CPU until Intel introduces a more moderate, mass consumption-friendly Core i7-compatible chipset.