Intel demonstrates six-core gaming chip

The Core i7-980x is Intel's first product to have six processor cores built into one silicon chip, manufactured with its newest production technology, the Santa Clara, California-based company said Wednesday in a posting on its Web site.

While gaming computers account for a fraction of about 300 million personal computers sold a year, gamers are willing to pay for expensive chips to get better performance. Intel's Extreme Edition products usually are priced at more than US$1,000 per chip, more than many computers cost.

Intel is showing the new chip at the Game Developers Conference Wednesday in San Francisco. Its statement didn't say when the i7-980x will be available or how much it will cost.

Adding multiple cores to processors increases their ability to perform several tasks simultaneously. Most current chips have two cores with higher-end processors using four. Reducing the line width on the chip circuits, measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter, allows them to be made faster or more cheaply.

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