Intel to drop bottom-of-the-range gaming CPU
Intel will take no further orders for the four-core Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor on 4 January 2008, the company has told its customers. And they'll have to get orders in before 2 November 2007, if they want the right to cancel at a later date.
The decision to end-of-life the $999 2.66GHz gaming processor doesn't comes entirely out of the blue. Having recently launched the 3GHz QX6850, which also features a higher, 1333MHz frontside bus - the QX6700 has a 1066MHz FSB.
The arrival of the QX6850 left Intel with three Core 2 Extreme desktop CPUs, all priced at $999. And while it might want to hang on to the 2.93GHz QX6800 to retain compatibility with older chipsets, it doesn't need the QX6700. So, out it goes.
Intel has also marked its Core Solo and Core Duo chip families for termination.
