Speculation regarding the future of Intel's Nehalem architecture has continued today in the form of a supposed launch date for the first desktop Core i5 processor.
Just days after Intel dropped the wholesale price of various existing parts, motherboard manufacturers have seemingly penned September 6th as the launch date for Intel's Core i5 750.
The chip, although yet to officially confirmed by Intel, is a "Lynnfield" part clocked at 2.66GHz - with Turbo Boost allowing for speeds of up to 3.2GHz. It'll feature 8MB of L3 cache but it'll differentiate itself from current Core i7 "Bloomfield" chips in three key areas - the 2.66GHz Core i5 will utilise socket LGA 1156 as opposed to LGA 1366, it'll be without Intel's Hyper Threading technology, and it'll support only dual-channel memory.
According to existing reports, the Core i5 750 will be priced at $196 per thousand-unit quantities on September 6th.
What's confusing is that Intel is believed to be launching two other "Lynnfield" parts on the same day, but they'll be branded as the 2.8GHz Core i7 860 and 2.93GHz Core i7 870, featuring Turbo Boost speeds of 3.46GHz and 3.6GHz, respectively.
Why Core i7? Well, it's part of Intel's strategy to deliver "a simplified family of Core processors spanning multiple levels". The Core i7 800-series will utilise socket LGA 1156, while Core i7 900-series parts will remain on socket LGA 1366. Both 800 and 900-series parts will feature Hyper Threading - meaning support for a total of eight threads - but 800-series parts, importantly, will be without Intel's QPI and tri-channel memory. Meaning less bandwidth but a cheaper all round platform.
Come September 6th, the Core i7 860 and Core i7 870 should be available priced at $284 and $562, respectively, per thousand-unit quantities.
Confused? We are too, so we're bringing out the ol' table. Here's what you could be shopping for this September in terms of Core i# processors:
Core i5 750 |
Core i7 860 |
Core i7 870 |
Core i7 920 |
Core i7 950 |
Core i7 975 Extreme |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codename | Lynnfield | Lynnfield | Lynnfield | Bloomfield | Bloomfield | Bloomfield |
| Process | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm |
| Architecture | Nehalem | Nehalem | Nehalem | Nehalem | Nehalem | Nehalem |
| Socket (LGA) | 1156 | 1156 | 1156 | 1366 | 1366 | 1366 |
| Intel chipset support | P55, P57, H55, H57, Q57 | P55, P57, H55, H57, Q57 | P55, P57, H55, H57, Q57 | X58 | X58 | X58 |
| Cores / Threads | 4 / 4 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 |
| Hyper Threading | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| QPI / DMI | DMI | DMI | DMI | QPI | QPI | QPI |
| Memory | Dual-channel | Dual-channel | Dual-channel | Tri-channel | Tri-channel | Tri-channel |
| Turbo boost | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| L3 cache | 8MB | 8MB | 8MB | 8MB | 8MB | 8MB |
| TDP | 95W | 95W | 95W | 130W | 130W | 130W |
| Availability | September 6th 2009 | September 6th 2009 | September 6th 2009 | Now | Now | Now |
| Price | $196* | $284* | $562* | $284** | $562** | $999** |
*speculative pricing, to be confirmed **current pricing as of July 19, subject to change |
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That clears it up somewhat, but it'll only get more complicated over time. Early in 2010, Intel is expected to introduce energy-saving versions of the Core i5 750 and Core i7 860. The less power-hungry parts are said to be down clocked and feature an 82W TDP.
That's just the start of the fun, mind you, as we'll also soon see the launch of 32nm Clarkdale Core i5s, 45nm mobile Clarksfield Core i7s, and a whole line of Core i3s, too.
