Intel announces beastly 5GHz CPU, and teases 28-core model for later
Intel has announced a beastly limited edition CPU, the 5GHz i7-8086K, and teased an even more impressive model, a 28-core processor running at that same clock frequency.
The news came on-stage at Computex 2018, where Intel seemed keen to fight back in a CPU battle that’s recently returned to being a two horse race thanks to AMD’s recent Threadripper chips.
The i7-8086K is a limited edition CPU produced to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Intel’s original 8086. The headline feature here is the clock speed, with the chip running at a maximum of 5GHz (default 4GHz) which is Intel’s first to do so — not including previous chips that could reach this speed with a bit of tinkering.
It’s also overclockable, in case you need any more power under your hood.
Although Intel hasn’t yet divulged the price of the new CPU, it’s unlikely to come cheap. The product is intended as a limited edition, and we’re expecting many gamers (who stand to benefit most from single core performance) will jump at the opportunity to get their hands on an 8086K.
The original 1978 Intel 8086 processor next to the Intel Core i7-8086K. Image Credit: Intel
A 28-core monster
But it wasn’t just the 8086K that had people excited at Intel’s presentation. The chip manufacturer also announced plans to release a 28-core, 5GHz chip later in the year.
Details on this new chip were even more scarce. We don’t know what fabrication process it will be using (since Intel is on the cusp of switching to a 10nm process), and naturally we don’t know a price yet either.
Intel has been on its toes since AMD unleashed its Threadripper chips on the world. Rather than focussing on single-core performance, AMD’s chips focus on boosting the amount of cores, with some processors featuring up to 16 cores.
This isn’t currently too important for gaming performance due to the small amount of games optimised for multiple cores, but it’s lead to AMD chips getting a good reputation amongst content creators, whose creative software is well optimised for the format.
Are you going to try your hand at grabbing an 8086? Let us know @TrustedReviews
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
