We’ve been featuring a lot of news related to German overclocker Der8auer lately, and that is because he has been a constant figure in the high-end performance scene the last few weeks. Well, this week is no different, as he has taken Intel’s latest top-tier HEDT CPU, the Core i9-7980XE, which we reviewed here, to the extreme. Extreme being 6.1GHz across all 18 cores. We will let that sink in for a moment.
What we found to be nearly as amazing as the 6.1GHz speed was the fact that after taking the IHS off of the CPU, Der8auer then proceeded to slather the CPU die and surrounding PCB with thermal interface material. While it is common to take a “less is more” approach when it comes to TIM, in this case “more is more”. With the IHS back in place and utilizing liquid nitrogen cooling, Der8auer was then able to take the i9-7980XE just past 6.1GHz. Another huge number found on the way, was the use of over 1,000 watts by the CPU when under load.
And while these results are absolutely amazing, and place Intel back on top of the HEDT pure performance chart, the nearly $2,000 price point of the i9-7980XE can be tough to swallow. This is especially true when AMD offers performance in the same HEDT ballpark for half the price with their Ryzen Threadripper 1950X.