Intel Core i9-7920X 12-Core Monster Enthusiast Processor Rocks 2.9GHz Base Clock

We now know that it has a base clock that is 400MHz slower than its cheaper sibling, coming in at 2.9GHz. A lower clock speed is to be expected given the increase in cores, but 400MHz still seems like a pretty steep drop going from 10 cores to 12 cores. Turbo Boost 2.0 and 3.0 frequencies are unknown at this time. With that being said, it has also been confirmed that the Core i9-7920X will feature 16.5 MB L3 cache. Given the L3 cache scaling of the Skylake-X family, the Core i9-7940X (14 cores), Core i9-7960X (16 cores) and Core i9-7980XE (18 cores) should have 19.25MB, 22MB and 24.75MB of L3 cache respectively.

Intel's "old" Core X-Series chart which didn't yet reveal i9-7920X clock speeds (Click to Enlarge)

When it comes to Intel’s Skylake-X HEDT processors, the most potent variety launched to date has been the Core i9-7900X. Priced at $999, the Core i9-7900X has a base clock of 3.3GHz, Turbo Boost 2.0 clock of 4.3GHz and a Turbo Boost 3.0 clock of 4.5GHz. It is equipped with 13.75GB of L3 cache and happens to be an excellent overclocker (on LN2), hitting over 6GHz in a recent HWBOT record benchmark run.

Intel’s Core i9 processors will be going head-to-head with AMD’s upcoming Ryzen Threadripper family. AMD confirmed that the processors will launch with the following specs:

• Ryzen Threadripper 1920X: 12 Cores, 24 Threads, 3.5/4.0 GHz (Base Clock/Precision Boost)
• Ryzen Threadripper 1950X: 16 Cores, 32 Threads, 3.4/4.0 GHz (Base Clock/Precision Boost)

AMD is being very aggressive with Ryzen Threadripper pricing, as the 12-core 1920X will come in at $799, compared to $1,199 for the Core i9-7920X. Likewise, the range-topping 16-core 1950X is priced at “only” $999 compared to $1,699 for the Core i9-7960X.

It’s definitely a great time to be a PC gaming enthusiast. During an incredibly short span of time, we will have witnessed the launch of Core i9, Ryzen Threadripper and Radeon RX Vega. With AMD becoming more competitive on the processor front thanks to the launch of Ryzen earlier this year, we have high hopes for this brewing showdown between the Core i9 family and Ryzen Threadripper.