Intel Corp (INTC)

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As a desktop PC enthusiast I wonder who in their right
mind would pay so damn much for an outdated microarchitecture in
a 140W device no matter how many cores it has.

Server customers buy this "outdated architecture," no problem

The differences in perf/clock between Intel architectures a generation apart these days is never more than around 10%, so if your workload benefits from "moar cores" (and games are becoming increasingly threaded, so it's applicable to enthusiasts) the slight reduction in perf/MHz is more than offset by a 50%+ jump in core count.

Anyway don't underestimate the value of the HEDT platform from a strategic perspective. If AMD's Summit Ridge (8 core/16 thread Zen) turns out to be firecracker, Intel has a whole fleet of server MPUs that it can bring in to do duty as "HEDT." Prices on the 6/8/10 core parts can come down to block AMD, while a 12-14 core Broadwell-EP can be marketed as the 6990 Ultra Extreme Edition or something.