Rumor: Intel will only sell Core i9-9990XE with 5GHz via auction
Intel will release a Core i9-9990XE with fourteen cores and a maximum boost clock of 5GHz, but will not ship it through stores, according to AnandTech. System builders could bid on the processor.
It will be closed online auctions for system integrators, AnandTech reports based on documents and multiple sources. The system builders will probably use the processors in exclusive, and expensive, systems for gaming in particular.
Intel will hold an auction every quarter, starting in the third week of 2019. Only three system builders would participate in that first auction. The processor is the Core i9-9990XE, with clock speed of 4GHz and boost frequency of 5GHz.
In order to achieve that clock speed, the chip must have the correct electrical properties and Intel must therefore select the processor accordingly, the so-called binning. According to AnandTech, it’s likely that Intel can deliver just a few hundred per quarter.
| Intel Basin Falls Skylake-X Refresh | ||||||||
| cores | tdp | clock speed | L3 (MB) |
L3 per core |
ddr4 | pci-e | ||
| i9-9990XE | $auction | 14 / 28 | 255 W | 4.0 / 5.0 | ? | ? | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9980XE | $1979 | 18 / 36 | 165 W | 3.0 / 4.5 | 24.75 | 1.375 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9960X | $1684 | 16 / 32 | 165 W | 3.1 / 4.5 | 22.00 | 1.375 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9940X | $1387 | 14 / 28 | 165 W | 3.3 / 4.5 | 19.25 | 1.375 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9920X | $1189 | 12 / 24 | 165 W | 3.5 / 4.5 | 19.25 | 1,604 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9900X | $989 | 10 / 20 | 165 W | 3.5 / 4.5 | 19.25 | 1.925 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9820X | $889 | 10 / 20 | 165 W | 3.3 / 4.2 | 16.50 | 1,650 | 2666 | 44 |
| i7-9800X | $589 | 8 / 16 | 165 W | 3.8 / 4.5 | 16.50 | 2.031 | 2666 | 44 |
Table prepared by AnandTech