Monday, December 12th 2011
Intel Core i7-3960X and i7-3930K CPUs Transitioning to C2 stepping in January
As previously reported, Intel's first wave of Sandy Bridge-E processors have VT-d (Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O) disabled due to an errata in the C1 stepping. That issue couldn't be resolved in time for the launch but it's getting fixed with the C2 stepping which is set to start rolling out to customers on January 20th, 2012 (samples have already been delivered).
The CPUs moving to the C2 stepping are the hexa-core Core i7-3960X (3.3 GHz) and Core i7-3930K (3.2 GHz). Beside the fixed VT-d, the C2 chips will feature new S-spec and MM numbers so a BIOS update for current motherboards will likely be required.
The CPUs moving to the C2 stepping are the hexa-core Core i7-3960X (3.3 GHz) and Core i7-3930K (3.2 GHz). Beside the fixed VT-d, the C2 chips will feature new S-spec and MM numbers so a BIOS update for current motherboards will likely be required.
59 Comments on Intel Core i7-3960X and i7-3930K CPUs Transitioning to C2 stepping in January
i think that by selling off the first revision they fuck ppl over , make money, then they can release refined versions
boooo-fucking-hooo Intel
The C1 only had a small problem which didn't affect normal pc users so why would they refund people when all the C2 does it fix a simple problem D0 will be the big Overclocker?
new revisions usually come with better overclocking abilities, less voltage needed, and sometimes they are even cooler
remember CO vs DO with the x58 chips?
I wanted to get one so i did. I don't use the tech at issue and I'm happy with a SB chip to overclock. People who dive in first do it because they want to and they know the downfalls.
And the price wont shift much at all.
And usually the new stepping brings other improvements as well like (FIH) The Don already said.
ark.intel.com/products/63697/Intel-Core-i7-%203930K-Processor-%2812M-Cache-3_20-GHz%29
And according to the specification update, the VT-d errata has already been fixed for C1 steping:
www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/core/core-i7-lga-2011-specification-update.html
They make tons of money selling these to people who use workstation level platforms.
They also make tons of money off n00bs who don't know what they're doing.
Gamers who buy these are either:
1) Ignorant and think more expensive = better
2) Need a new E-peen extension
3) Or they like to push technology to the limits with overclocking, extreme benching, and the like.
So if you are just an average user, or a gamer stick with the SB i3 or i5 series.
The only benefit I can see in this platform is if you are running Pro level graphics cards (Firestream/Firepro from AMD, or Quadro & Tesla from nVidia.) plus are running an enterprise level SSD or extreme RAID setup. And you like to get your work done as fast as possible.
tbreak.com/forums/topic/65500-intel-core-i7-3960x-and-3930k-to-get-c2-stepping-in-january/
If you don't need VT-d you don't need a C2 stepping.