8 core SB anyone?

[Admiral Huddy]

Yup, and 8 well used cores is better than 6 well used cores.

From what I understand game designers are struggling with mutli-threaded applications and utilise multicore CPUs because they still need a single route thread that pass smaller tasks to the other cores which is why we don't see suich a big difference in games. I may be wrong though.

8-core chips for workstation/server chips are ideal because the job instructions can be different.

 

[debs3759]

They won't be unlocked like the k or x, so outside of gearing the bclock and/or the limited multi change if it has any option to, you're stuffed for overclocking.

It's true that there will probably be no CPU core multiplier overclocking, but with the cpu divider ratios available that shouldn't be a major problem. A pre-release article at Bit-Tech details how to overclock a SB-E chip with locked multiplier, and that information can be scaled to use with SB-EP as well as they are bascially the same chip. I've also seen benchmarks from Joe User that have bought a 3960X and overclocked using both methods (ie clock multiplier and base clock ratios). Both methods are perfectly capable (even if not identical in the final performance/heat) and prove that it can be done without an unlocked multiplier.

So overclocking is not impossible, you are not stuffed. It's just involves more work than SB (which is so easy to overclock for most people that many don't realise there are settings other than multiplier and vcore that can be altered).