Intel has quietly released a new top-of-the-line Sandy Bridge CPU: Core i7-2700K. We reported the
i7-2700K "leak" about a month ago, and guessed that i7-2700K will be released around
the same time as AMD's Bulldozer CPUs, which ended being quite accurate.
In terms of specs, 2700K is very similar to 2600K - the only difference
is the extra CPU multiplier and hence the extra 100MHz in 2700K. That
means 2700K has default frequency of 3.5GHz and up to 3.9GHz Turbo.
Otherwise 2700K is equal to 2600K: Four cores, Hyper-Threading (up to
eight threads) and 8MB L3 cache. Like the "K" implies, the CPU
multiplier is unlocked, allowing effortless overclocking. Intel hasn't,
however, added 2700K to their product database yet (aka ARK), so
possible changes in stepping for example are unknown. 2700K is sold for
$332 in 1000 unit lots, making it $15 more expensive than 2600K.
On top of the launch of i7-2700K, Intel has also reduced the prices of
three CPUs: i3-2120, Pentium G850 and G630. As the naming suggests,
these CPUs are lower-end desktop models. The new prices are $117, $75
and $64 respectively. The price cuts range from 13% to 15%, the biggest
cut being i3-2120's $21
