The Intel Core i7-2600K was a desktop processor with 4 cores, launched in January 2011, at an MSRP of $317. It is part of the Core i7 lineup, using the Sandy Bridge architecture with Socket 1155. Thanks to Intel Hyper-Threading the core-count is effectively doubled, to 8 threads. Core i7-2600K has 8 MB of L3 cache and operates at 3.4 GHz by default, but can boost up to 3.8 GHz, depending on the workload. Intel is building the Core i7-2600K on a 32 nm production process using 1,160 million transistors. You may freely adjust the unlocked multiplier on Core i7-2600K, which simplifies overclocking greatly, as you can easily dial in any overclocking frequency.
With a TDP of 95 W, the Core i7-2600K consumes a good deal of power, so decent cooling is needed. Intel's processor supports DDR3 memory with a dual-channel interface. The highest officially supported memory speed is 1600 MT/s, but with overclocking (and the right memory modules) you can go even higher. For communication with other components in the computer, Core i7-2600K uses a PCI-Express Gen 2 connection. This processor features the Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics solution.
Hardware virtualization is available on the Core i7-2600K, which greatly improves virtual machine performance. Programs using Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) will run on this processor, boosting performance for calculation-heavy applications.