Intel is readying its fastest six-core processors ever. While the company is working to introduce the Core i7 990X Extreme Edition for launch sometime in Q4 2010, it's already begun sampling the Xeon X5690. The X5690 is a dual-socket ready LGA1366 processor based on the 32 nm Westmere-EP silicon. It carries a nominal clock-speed of 3.46 GHz (26.0 x 133 MHz), with a Turbo Boost speed of 3.60 GHz (27.0 x 133 MHz). It features a QuickPath Interconnect speed of 6.4 GT/s, and supports triple-channel registered DDR3 memory with its integrated memory controller. Cache levels include 256 KB L2 cache per core, and 12 MB shared L3 cache.

The processor is compatible with most server boards based on the Intel 5500 and 5520 chipsets with BIOS updates. A quick overclocking feat by Fitseries3 on the EVGA Classified SR-2 motherboard yielded a speed of 5 GHz making use of the high BClk multiplier. The chip is likely to carry a rated TDP of 130W. Intel may release this processor in the next quarter, either displacing the X5680 from its US $1,730 price point, or occupying a higher one. The CPU-Z validation of the mentioned overclocking feat can be found here.