Hardware maker ECS has also , which it calls the "first AMD 8 core-ready motherboard in the world." It has listed the chips as having 16MB of cache.

The chips will compete with Intel's high-end Core i7-990X Extreme Edition processor, based on the Westmere architecture, . However, Intel will soon release an Extreme Edition chip based on its newer Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, said an Intel representative at the company's trade show in September.

Intel also offers the Core i7-2600 six-core processor, which is based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture and priced at $294. The chip has been demonstrated running gaming systems.

Other chips based on AMD's Bulldozer design, such as the 16-core "Interlagos" Opteron processors, will be used in servers. Those Interlagos systems are expected this quarter.