Rumor: Intel plans to release consumer-grade 5.1 GHz processor
Not long ago, AMD and Intel were known for competing with one another to see who could design a CPU with the highest clock speed. Nowadays, the two tend to instead compete on how many cores and thread capabilities they can cram into one processor.
However, a rumor has been spreading across the internet that Intel might be pushing for a 5.1 GHz stock clock on its new Xeon Series Broadwell-EP CPUs. While Xeon has typically been used for workstations or servers, the chips occasionally find themselves in some of the most powerful gaming rigs.
The rumor of a 5.1 GHz processor hitting shelves came from a Chinese website that stated the following:
"Intel is planning to launch a default frequencies up to 5.1GHz of special products , thereby creating history, the highest in the history not only Intel, but also beyond the AMD FX-9590, even if the latter is to accelerate the frequency only 5.0GHz, reference to 4.7GHz."
MyDrivers.com (translation via Google Translate)
The other specs of the Xeon chips are for the most part unknown. However, the Xeon E5-2602 v4 is rumoured to have 4 cores with 8 threads each, a 10MB cache, and use a 165W power load. Don't expect these chips to be cheap as chips of this calibre have been known to sell for prices around the $1,500 mark, and so it will likely remain an unrealistic choice for most gamers.
If this rumor turns out to be true, I will be happy. Not because I can afford these processors, but rather because it means that somewhere along the line they will bump down the prices of expensive 4.0 GHz processors. That's just how technology rolls, after all!
David Fisher
Author, GameSkinny columnist, and part-time childhood destroyer. David W. Fisher (otherwise known as RR-sama) is a no B.S. reviewer and journalist who will ensure that you get as close to the facts as humanly possible!
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As a consumer, I most certainly won't be forking out the cash (or PSU, or motherboard, or...anything) required to run this chip. But as a technology enthusiast, that number is insane, and exciting.
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If the rumors are true... and knowing Intel with Xeons, they really can be... remember as you said David, the price, and the fact Xeons are larger than the the 32nm AMDs. They require more power, and require larger motherboards (EATX). Xeons are also not consumer products, they are B2B products. Intel have always had the lead when it comes to clock speeds at the B2B level, but AMD tend to inch a little bit ahead when it comes to the consumer level.
I'm only going to get excited when these speeds come to the 22nm (or less(14nm)) size CPUs, with a 95w power draw. -
I'll just be waiting for smaller, cheaper, hardware. I'm not looking to upgrade for a while, but I'm not in the business of wasting money on tech that'll probably be cheaper and more efficient in a year or two.
