Intel's Sandy Bridge-E is Reportedly BYOC (Bring Your Own Cooler)

Posted 08/15/2011 at 6:38am | by Paul Lilly

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Intel and AMD have a history of tackling the same problem with different solutions. Remember Intel's Netburst architecture? It was all about extra long pipelines in pursuit of ever-increasing frequencies. AMD went the efficiency route and branded its processors with model numbers intended to denote performance, a marketing trick designed to wean consumers off of GHz ratings. Now the two chip makers are one taking opposite approaches to their upcoming processors, with AMD seriously considering bundling a liquid cooling system (LCS) with its top-flight Bulldozer chip, and Intel reportedly telling Sandy Bridge-E system builders to bring their own coolers.

The latter is the word from VR-Zone, which claims that Intel's upcoming 3820, 3930K,a nd 3960X Sandy Bridge-E processors will each ship without a stock cooler in the retail box. The Sandy Bridge-E platform is aimed at enthusiasts, and Intel's angle is that these users tend to use their own coolers anyway. There's also an ulterior motive.

According to VR-Zone, Intel is planning to sell a its own branded coolers for Sandy Bridge-E. It's unclear if it will be a single, one-size-fits-all cooler for all Sandy Bridge-E CPUs, or an entire series, but presumably these coolers will be better performers than Intel's current stock offerings.