Intel’s ‘Auction-Only’ Core i9-9990XE Available in Retail: €2999
by Anton Shilov on April 11, 2019 10:40 AM EST
When Intel quietly rolled out its 14-core Core i9-9990XE aimed at extreme desktops earlier this year, the company only planned to sell the CPU to system integrators and only through a closed online auction. We expected that the system integrators would sell them only in systems, however CaseKing has decided to sell it at retail.
CaseKing.de, a major retailer specializing on high-performance PCs and hardware, on Thursday started to sell Intel’s ultra-rare Core i9-9990XE processor for €2999 (~$2800). The processor is designed primarily for high-end desktops that require maximum single-thread performance out of a multi-core HEDT processor. The LGA2066 CPU packs 14 cores with Hyper-Threading that operate at 4 GHz base frequency as well as 5 GHz all-core turbo frequency, a 19.25 MB L3 cache, a quad-channel memory controller, and 44 PCIe lanes.
The Core i9-9990XE has a listed TDP of 255 W and was never meant to be mass produced or made broadly available. In fact, Intel said earlier this year that the CPU was designed “for the financial services industry” and was “built with unique specifications and high frequency to meet the workload needs of this targeted industry”. Meanwhile, there are people from other market segments that could use the power of 14 cores running at 4 – 5 GHz as well, which is why makers of gaming high-end desktops buy them for their premium offerings. Therefore, it is not surprising that CaseKing is making these processors available: there will certainly be extreme enthusiasts and overclockers who would like to try out the ultra-rare Intel parts.
| Intel Basin Falls Skylake-X Refresh | ||||||||
| AnandTech | Cores | TDP | Freq | L3 (MB) |
L3 Per Core |
DRAM DDR4 |
PCIe | |
| i9-9990XE | $2800* | 14 / 28 | 255 W | 4.0 / 5.0 | 19.25 | 1.375 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9980XE | $1979 | 18 / 36 | 165 W | 3.0 / 4.5 | 24.75 | 1.375 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9960X | $1684 | 16 / 32 | 165 W | 3.1 / 4.5 | 22.00 | 1.375 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9940X | $1387 | 14 / 28 | 165 W | 3.3 / 4.5 | 19.25 | 1.375 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9920X | $1189 | 12 / 24 | 165 W | 3.5 / 4.5 | 19.25 | 1.604 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9900X | $989 | 10 / 20 | 165 W | 3.5 / 4.5 | 19.25 | 1.925 | 2666 | 44 |
| i9-9820X | $889 | 10 / 20 | 165 W | 3.3 / 4.2 | 16.50 | 1.650 | 2666 | 44 |
| i7-9800X | $589 | 8 / 16 | 165 W | 3.8 / 4.5 | 16.50 | 2.031 | 2666 | 44 |
| *Retailer pricing | ||||||||
There's also a Gaming and Streaming PC
Along with selling the Core i9-9990XE processor by itself, CaseKing also offers an extreme desktop based on this CPU which is actually two systems in one.
The King Mod CKPC-843 is actually not one system, but two machines in one case. The primary Core i9-9900XE-based HEDT is used for gaming, with an RTX 2080 Ti and an ASUS Omega motherboard, whereas the secondary Core i5-9600K-powered one is used for streaming with an Elgato/Corsair 4K60 Pro card installed. If you want to stream your games and still enjoy all 14 cores of the HEDT machine, you can dedicate the second Mini-ITX PC solely to streaming. The CKPC-843 costs €12,999.90 with taxes.
Related Reading:
- Intel Core i9-9990XE : Up to 5.0 GHz, Auction Only
- The Intel Core i9-9980XE CPU Review: Refresh Until it Hertz
- The Intel Xeon W-3175X Review: 28 Unlocked Cores, $2999
- Intel's Basin Falls Skylake-X Refresh: Core i9-9980XE with up to 15% Better Power Efficiency
Source: CaseKing
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GreenReaper - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
You have the currency conversion the wrong way around: €2999 is ~$3,380.Unless you're counting the impact of not paying VAT?
Thunder 57 - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
I was wondering about that as well. Also, "The primary Core i9-9900XE-based HEDT is used for gaming,...", 9900XE should be 9990XE.Ian Cutress - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
When quoting US prices, you never have sales tax included, as all retail US listings never have sales tax in the price.ajp_anton - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
In Europe it's mandatory to always include all taxes in all prices for consumers. In Germany the standard VAT is 19%.2999€ / 1.19 is, at the moment according to google, $2837.
SaturnusDK - Friday, April 12, 2019 - link
But we're not quoting US prices here, are we? You might see it as a "best guess" at what a retailer in the US would charge but the fact of the matter is there is no US retailer so the $2800 comparison is completely made up.It's just lackadaisical reporting. At least you could have given the price of what it would cost if you had to buy it in Europe and import it to the US. Since it's over the $1600 limit you would have to fill out an import clearance from and pay 6% import tax, and since Anandtech is owned by Purch Group, Inc. we'll assume NY State Sales tax of 8.875% on top of that which would be, provided you could somehow get freight and insurance for free, at least $3167.
Oxford Guy - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
[According to Intel,] [Intel] only planned to sell the CPU to system integrators and only through a closed online auction.[According to Intel, the Core i9-9900XE] was never meant to be mass produced or made broadly available.
"In fact, Intel said earlier this year" = Intel claimed, earlier this year
"In fact, Intel said earlier this year that the CPU was designed 'for the financial services industry' and was 'built with unique specifications and high frequency to meet the workload needs of this targeted industry'. Meanwhile, there are people from other market segments that could use the power of 14 cores running at 4 – 5 GHz as well, which is why makers of gaming high-end desktops buy them for their premium offerings. Therefore, it is not surprising that CaseKing is making these processors available: there will certainly be extreme enthusiasts and overclockers who would like to try out the ultra-rare Intel parts."
=
Intel claimed, earlier this year, that the CPU was designed 'for the financial services industry' and was 'built with unique specifications and high frequency to meet the workload needs of this targeted industry'. However, there are people from other market segments who could use the power of 14 cores running at 4 – 5 GHz as well, which is why makers of gaming high-end desktops buy them for their premium offerings. Despite Intel's claims, these processors are now available for purchase, by consumers, via CaseKing. How surprising that is depends upon one's degree of cynicism.
Darcey R. Epperly - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
I take the 9980XE more L3 cache in total, more cores or better I wait for Sunny Cove, more L1 and L2 cache.HStewart - Thursday, April 11, 2019 - link
Intel also change architexture to support more execution units in Sunny Cove.- one thing is change from 2 load and 2 store units and separated from 2 load and one store in Skylake. This sounds like to me that Intel work on Parnellism in Sonny Cove.