The forthcoming Core i7-980X will be, without any doubt, the fastest CPU for personal computers available on the market (until Intel comes up with an even faster product).

From our tests we could clearly see that the user that will benefit the most from this new monster will be the professional running applications that can recognize the extra cores provided by it, namely video editing, image rendering and similar applications. For this kind of user, the price won’t probably be an issue: since the professional will be able to finish jobs faster, more money can potentially be made. In other words, it is an investment that pays itself.

The regular user, however, will be better off with a more affordable CPU. We ran four different games and we didn’t see any significant performance increase, meaning that for high-end gaming you are better off spending on an expensive video card than on an expensive CPU. Translation: buy a cheaper CPU and the most expensive video card you can afford.

Unless, of course, you are Richie Rich and want to impress all your nerd friends.