Intel debuts Core i7 960

Without any fanfare, Intel has released a new Core i7 processor.

The Core i7 960 is an LGA1366 "Bloomfield" 3.2GHz (3.46GHz when turbo-boosted) part that re-jigs Intel's Core i7 lineup. It's basically the same speed as 965 Extreme Edition and makes way for the top-end 3.33GHz (3.6GHz turbo-boosted) 975 Extreme Edition part.

Other than speed, it's a bog-standard 9xx series part - 45nm architecture, four cores, eight threads, 1MN L2, 8MB L3 cache and 4.8 GT/s QPI.

Essentially this new CPU eliminates both the i7 965 Extreme Edition and the 950.

At $562, it's not cheap, but since there's no competition from AMD at the top end, it doesn't need to be cheap.