Intel's 32nm desktop CPU speeds and feeds revealed
Dual-core 32nm Core i5 and Core i3 in early 2010
Intel's first Core i5 - the chip bringing the giant's Nehalem technology into the mainstream desktop processor market - is due early in September. Further out, the company has roadmapped additional members of the family, the 32nm 'Clarkdale' chip.
It's also added the low-end Clarkdale Core i3 to its proposed line-up, assorted Asian moles say.
A big batch of i5s will be born in Q1 2010. September's Core i5-750 will be joined at that time by the i5-750s, aka 'Lynnfield'. It's said to be a low-power version of the i5-750 that runs at 2.4GHz rather than 2.66GHz and with an 82W power envelope - 13W less than the regular 750's TDP. But it too can overclock dynamically to 3.2GHz, drawing more power when it does.
While the 750 will cost $196, the greater power efficiency of the 750s is expected to set buyers back $259. Both chips support 1066MHz and 1333MHz DDR 3 memory.
Joining the 750s will be as-yet-unnumbered 3.2GHz, 3.33GHz and 3.46GHz i5s which contain only two cores, though HyperThreading technology - absent from the first i5 - will present eight cores to the host OS. All three will contain 4MB of L3 cache.
They will auto-overclock to 3.46GHz, 3.60GHz and 3.73GHz, respectively. They share the same TDP: 73W. Like the 750, they have virtualisation support (VT-x) but this time that will extend to direct I/O access (VT-d).
Thousand-chip tray prices yield price-per-processor numbers of $176, $196 and $284, respectively.
Q1 2010 will also see the arrival of two - again, not yet numbered - Core i3 CPUs. They too will contain two cores HyperThreaded up to four and 4MB of L3. Like the i5s the i3s will support DDR 3 running at up to 1333MHz. They have a 73W TDP.
Clock speeds are set to peak at 2.93GHz and 3.06GHz, but here there's no opportunity for the processor to auto-overclock itself. There's no VT-d support either, and the i3s lack Intel's Trusted Execution Technology (TXT).
Prices are currently pegged at $123 and $143.
Expect a cheaper option in Q1 2010 too: an $87, 2.8GHz Nehalem-derived Pentium with 3MB of L3, two cores but no HyperThreading, no auto-overclocking and no VT-d. ®
COMMENTS
COuld be 8 threads on 2 cores
The Alpha was supposed to get 4 threads on a core when they designed the SMT system intel later took over (after getting hold of alpha from compaq in a settlement). It would be about time intel managed to fully implement it. If you look up the alpha 21464 you will find some info on the use of SMT they were planning.
Re: 8 threads from 2 cores?
I guess that's ultramegahyperthreading.
8 threads from 2 cores?
"Joining the 750s will be as-yet-unnumbered 3.2GHz, 3.33GHz and 3.46GHz i5s which contain only two cores, though HyperThreading technology - absent from the first i5 - will present eight cores to the host OS. All three will contain 4MB of L3 cache."
Unless Intel is doing 4 hyperthreads/core, I think that's going to be four cores (or threads) not eight.
An 82W "Low Power" chip?
I hope someone's made a mistake and it's not actually 82W...
