Today Intel is finally releasing new Core i7 models and speed bins to the market, as well as announcing a new flagship chip, the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition. Though it will definitely command a hefty price tag, at a stock clock speed of 3.33GHz and Intel Turbo Boost speeds at 3.45GHz (all cores) and 3.6GHz (single core), you can bet this new Core i7 is one hot-rod of a quad-core CPU.  The first reviews of the Intel Core i7 975 3.33GHz Processor can be found on DH, HotHardware, PC Perspective, TweakTown, Techage.

To be perfectly frank, discussing the performance profile of the new Core i7 975 Extreme Edition is a tad on the mundane side. In short, we're looking at a 4% clock speed boost that, by and large, offers a 4 - 5% performance increase versus the previous Intel high-end Extreme Edition Core i7 965. In fact, the results were so linear and predictable, that we're rather impressed at the efficiency of IPC (Instructions Per Clock) production as clock speeds scaled with Intel's new leading-edge desktop processor architecture. We witnessed virtually a 1:1 scaling of clock speed versus most benchmark results. It was all a bit uneventful perhaps. Then again, it was also refreshing to see a processor architecture scale so cleanly at various clock speeds.

In terms of overclocking, the new Core i7 975 processor stepping offered more headroom in top-end clock speed versus previous iterations of the architecture. Whereas historically we've seen the Core i7 965 hit speeds of 4GHz with relative ease, the new Core i7 975 was able to settle down cleanly at 4.1GHz and handle our entire battery of benchmark tests with only a small voltage bump and a stock retail Intel heatsink keeping it cool; so cool in fact, it never broke 50ºC on our test bench under full load.

In terms of idle power consumption, the new Core i7 processors are right in line with their Yorkfield-based Core 2 predecessors. Only a few watts separate these architecturally very different platforms. Under load, however, the Core i7-based systems consumed markedly more power. The 3.33GHz Core i7 Extreme 975, for example, consumed 42 more watts than a Core 2 Extreme QX9770 while under a heavy workload. Keep in mind though, the Core i7 offers a fair degree of upside performance at like frequencies versus Intel's legacy Core 2 architecture.