Intel Core i7 Extreme 965 unboxing

Although we still don't know when the official announcement will take place, Intel is expected to unveil its next generation Core i7 processors, based on the Nehalem architecture. As with most other highly anticipated hardware products, details have already surfaced on the Internet, which literally means that, by the time the Santa Clara, California-based leading chip maker decides to officially unveil the product, most users will already have a general idea of what to expect from it.

Photos of the company's upcoming Core i7 Extreme processor have popped up on the Internet, clearly showing everything you are to look for from a straight out-of-the-box offering. While the packaging isn't that which will be seen in stores at insane ($1000+) prices, everything else is there, including the new boxed cooler and, of course, the star quad-core CPU. The Core i7 Extreme 965 features four cores and eight threads, 8MB of L3 cache, a triple-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller and a passion for one little chip known as the X58.This also includes the new and improved cooler, specifically designed to ease temperatures for Intel's next-to-be flagship processor.

The Core i7 920 and Core i7 940. These will come with core speeds of 2.66GHz and 2.9GHz, respectively, and will provide a total of 8MB of L3 cache. As far as pricing is concerned, they will be available for approximately $284 and $562.

Intel Core i7 Extreme 965 unboxing

The cooler is certainly quite an impressive looking beast with its mixture of copper and aluminum fins, not to mention the sheer size of the thing.

Intel Core i7 Extreme 965

Touching on the 965s specs once again, it features four cores running at 3.2GHz, 8MB of L3 cache and triple channel DDR3 integrated memory controller. You can see below the size of the new LGA1366 processor (left) against existing LGA775 (middle) and Socket 478 processors (right).

A size comparison with the Core i7 965 (Socket LGA1366) on the left, an LGA775 processor in the middle and a Socket 478 CPU to the right

Pictures courtesy of Mobile01.com.