Intel is radically shaking up their flagship CPU lineup, and our entire desktop line just got bigger and badder as a result. Intel has released two new processors and a new chipset to support them. That means new motherboards, new capabilities and a lot of amazing new options for Falcon desktop PCs. With any launch this big, there's bound to be some confusion, so we'll do our best to sort it out for you.

The two new CPUs (codenamed “SandyBridge-E”) are Intel’s fastest ever and are their highest end products.  They will effectively phase out X58 chipset “Gulftown” based 6-cores CPUs on the desktop side. They are:

• Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition  - 6 cores, 15 megs of Cache, 3.3 GHz base speed (3.6 - 3.9 GHz with Turbo Boost)
• Core i7-3930K – 6 cores, 12 megs of L3 Cache, 3.2 GHz base speed (3.5 - 3.8 GHz with Turbo Boost)

These new CPUs are physically larger compared to previous CPUs, and have a new socket – socket 2011, and new chipset with new to support them.  The X79 chipset brings a slew of new capabilities to the table:

• 8 Memory Slots (4 on FragBoxes), with support for up to 64 gigs of DDR3.  This makes 32 gigabyte configurations much cheaper and easier to do that it has been in the past.
• 1600 MHz memory support – officially.  And even faster bandwidths are possible with overclocking.
• 40 PCI Express lanes – This means dual x16 PCI Express lanes for multiple graphics cards.
• PCI Express 3.0 – For future graphics cards, this new standard supports up to 8 Gigatexels/Sec throughput

To configure your own X79-based system, just choose any Falcon desktop and select the "X79" option in the configurer window.  If you have any questions or need any assistance building up your new dream system, please call or email our sales team.  They'll be happy to assist you.