If - Its a mess like the tim but the alternative is Intel would have an expensive big 18c die that ended up slower in a 160w tdp than a tr 16c 180w. Aparently they think thats not the right way so they opt for more tdp.I'm seeing rumors that X299 in its current form was designed for 10 cores max and won't properly support core counts over that. The socket will need a V2 revision in order to increase the TDP specs and support the higher core count chips, according tom the rumor.
http://www.bitsandchips.it/52-engli...commercialize-a-v2-edition-of-the-socket-2066
Its a interesting move because it looks to me they have as a starting point both a perf/w disadvantage but also a huge cost diasadvantage vs smaller zen cores on infinity fabric. Imo its a lost cause and its thinking from the past. Instead of selling this solely at performance they should rather back down on it and sell as a balanced perf perf/w features and on stability and support using their brand.
Now they will have a 200w 16c that will look like a dinosaur vs a lean Epyc that is both faster and far more efficient at the expense of beeing just a tad more expensive. They are left with a 2000 usd product that have absolutely no hard hard advantages here and is not even in the same league as 1 socket epyc.