Are you a graphics designer and do you find your latest computer slow? May be you need to take a look at the new Haswell E processors Intel has just launched. Part of the Extreme series processors, the top-end Haswell E processor - Core i7 5960X - is the fastest chip Intel has released for home users.
Though all this power comes at a rather steep price. The Core i7 5960X, which is the top end Haswell E processor, costs $999. But Core i7-5930K and Core i7-5820K, which are 6-core processor, costs $583 and $389, respectively.
Core i7 5960X is also the first Intel processor for home users that has 8 physical cores. It supports hyper threading and hence can process 16 threads simultaneously. Until now, this kind of processing power was limited to Intel Xeon processors, which are meant to be used in workstations and servers. It has a base speed of 3GHz and a turbo speed of 3.5GHz.
The Haswell E processors have to be used with X99 chipset, the world's first motherboard platform to support DDR4 memory.
"For enthusiasts, gamers and content creators craving the ultimate in performance, Intel's first client processor supporting 16 computing threads and new DDR4 memory will enable some of the fastest desktop systems ever seen. The new X99 chipset and robust overclocking capabilities will allow enthusiasts to tune their systems for maximum performance," an Intel spokesperson said.
The Haswell E processor have been reviewed by several computer technology websites and the consensus is that they are astoundingly fast.
"For general desktop use, the 5960X is easily the fastest CPU we've ever tested, and it's a healthy generational improvement over Ivy Bridge-E. This chip's eight cores and 16 hardware threads really shine in heavily CPU-intensive applications that can make use of them -- things like video encoding, image processing, and compiling large software projects. No, this CPU is not cheap. If you do the right sort of work, though, the 5960X could be well worth the investment, because it burns through large jobs much faster than anything short of a Xeon-based workstation," Scott Wasson, the editor of Techreport.com, wrote in his review.
Currently the new Haswell E processor are not available in India but it is expected that Intel will launch them here in the coming weeks.