LGA-1156 to get unlocked CPUs

Not Extreme Editions

THE ONE DOWNSIDE of Intel’s Extreme Edition CPUs that makes most people shy away from them is the sky high price tag, but it looks like Intel is getting ready to take a leaf out of AMD’s book by releasing what will hopefully be more cost conscious overclocking CPUs with unlocked multiplier carrying the K suffix.

The Core i7 875K has been confirmed by Gigabyte in its CPU support lists of multiple motherboard models using the P55, H55 and H57 chipsets. The other CPU will be the 655K, although opinions go apart with regards to the branding here, as XFastests suggests Core i3 while TechConnect Magazine suggests a Core i5 branding. The latter makes more sense to us, especially as the Core i5’s are part of the 650-series already.

The quad core Core i7 875K will be clocked at the same 2.93GHz as the Core i7 870 and it also features the same default multiplier, 8MB L3 cache and 95W TDP. However, with no BCLK multiplier lock this CPU should appeal to overclockers, despite predictions of a starting price that will be higher than that of the Core i7 870 which can be had for about $550 online.

On the other hand, the dual core Core i5 655K is likely to end up being only slightly more expensive than the Core i5 650 which retails for around $185 online, and if Intel can manage to get this CPU on the market close to a $200 price point, then it might have a very popular chip on its hands. Still a dual core 3.2GHz chip with 4MB L3 cache and a 73W TDP might not be as appealing as the Core i7 870, but considering the price difference and the already excellent overclocking figures that Intel’s Core i5 range of processors have cranked out, there’s definitely a place in the market for it.

In related news, Intel is also readying the Core i7 880, which will be the first LGA-1156 Core i7 model to break 3GHz at 3,067MHz. On top of this Intel is also working on the Core i5 860 which is a dual core 3.6GHz part. Finally there’s the Core i7 870S which has a lower clock speed of 2.67GHz, but it also has a lower TDP of 82W like the previous S-series processors. All of the new models are expected sometime in Q2 with an announcement expected at Computex.S|A

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