The processor runs at a clock speed of 3.46GHz and has overclocking features that allow users to manually crank up the speed, Intel said. The chip includes 12MB of cache and draws 130 watts of power.

The processor's overclocking features could appeal to hardcore gamers, 3D artists and media enthusiasts, Intel on Monday.

In addition to manual overclocking, the chip includes a feature called Turbo Boost, which can ratchet up the clock speed to as high as 3.73GHz, depending on the power drawn and the performance demanded by an application.

The Core i7-990X Extreme is Intel's top-of-the-line desktop processor. Intel and rival Advanced Micro Devices routinely up the ante in desktop chip performance in order to gain the performance crown.

PC makers announced new gaming systems to coincide with Intel's chip announcement. CyberPower announced the Black Mamba gaming desktop that runs on the Core i7-990X. The US$4,465 system includes 12GB of DDR3 RAM, two Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 graphics processing units, a 64GB SSD and a 2TB hard drive. It runs the Windows 7 OS.