Officially, Intel’s top-end desktop CPU is the 3.2GHz Core i7 Extreme 965, but the gossip-hungry hacks at The Inquirer have just done a little digging and pointed out that the Core i7 975 has now appeared for sale on a number of UK retail sites already.

This is probably the result of a cock-up with an automated computer system, and we’re sure the offending pages will be taken down soon, but the situation has allowed us to get a glimpse of the potential pricing of the new chip. There’s a wide range of prices, from £860.09 inc VAT from Ballicom, to £994.37 inc VAT from Athema Supplies. More Computers (pictured) also has the processor listed for £905.18 inc VAT.

As a point of comparison, the Core i7 965 Extreme currently costs £817.31 inc VAT from Ballicom, so it looks as though the new chip will generally cost around £50 more than its predecessor. According to the sites, the Core i7 Extreme 975 has a 3.33GHz clock speed, compared with the Core i7 965’s 3.2GHz frequency. The sites also say that the 975 will also come with 8MB of Level 3 cache, which is the same amount found in the 965. As you would expect, the page on More Computers also says that the 975 is built using the same 45nm technology as its predecessors, and uses the same LGA1366 socket.

This tallies up with the specs of the test chip that was benchmarked by the guys at Xtreme Systems a few months ago. They managed to overclock the chip to 5.25GHz using liquid nitrogen, and broke the 3DMark05 record by pairing it with a pair of 1GB Radeon HD 4870 cards. The folks at Xtreme Systems also posted a CPU-Z screenshot showing that the Core i7 Extreme 975 used Intel’s new D0 stepping, compared with the C0 stepping used in Intel’s current top-end Core i7 Extreme 965.

Will you be in the market for a top-end Core i7 Extreme 975 if and when it’s officially released, or would it just be too expensive for what it is? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.