Intel Core i7 920 - Moving to D0 Stepping

[Tejstar]

Apparently, today is the day the new stepping should start shipping according to Fudzilla:

Today is the official launch day for Intel's Core i7 920 processor with the new D0 stepping revision. Similarly to the arrival of the Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 stepping in summer 2007, this CPU will initially be difficult to find as it shares the same model number of its C0 predecessor.

TankGuys.com, a popular enthusiast hardware distributor, has recently listed the retail edition Core i7 920 D0 stepping CPU on its site with pre-order spots going for $5 and final pricing going for $319.99. The chips are expected to ship out on March 25th, yet interestingly enough the site claims them to already be in stock.

Contrary to the delightful price drop we've seen on C0 stepping chips, this revision will retail for an average starting price of $284 in quantities of 1000. Yet, the $320 price point that TankGuys has listed seems most sensible for popular e-tailers and distributors.

On another note, Intel has issued a specification update sheet including errata information dated January, 2009 which can be found here. Rest assured, there is nothing listed in the sheet that has not already been fixed with BIOS updates.

 

[Nick1881]

Wonder when we will start seeing overclocking results for these.

 

[Wolfy89]

Am I right in thinking these would be the same price as the current 920's? Also, how would you know you're getting a D0 stepping 920 when ordering? I was about to buy an Intel Core i7 920, but if these are just around the corner it makes sense to wait...

 

[jakspyder]

i would ahve asumed it would list it as D0 stepped same as the Q6600 was lsited as G0 stepped....

 

[Tejstar]

Anandtech have a D0 stepping preview here.

The first test results just blew us away and we wanted to share one particular result today. We are still testing and will have a full article up in the near future featuring a variety of motherboards and cooling choices, but at this moment, the D0 920 stepping provides real and tangible benefits for the overclocking community over the previous C0 steppings.

These improvements have enabled us to achieve higher overclocks at like or lower voltages, higher memory speeds at like or lower voltages, and as a result, our CPU, PWM, and case temperatures are down while overclocked numbers are up.

Looking great!