How do the new chips stack up?
Bringing pragmatism into play, here's how they stack up in one easy-to-read table.| Model number | Cores/threads | Clockspeed | Turbo Boost | Process | Cache | Interface | Memory
controller |
Official
memory support |
TDP |
Socket | Price (as of today) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i5 750 | 4/4 | 2.67 | 3.20 | 45nm (Lynnfield) | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
DMI | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333 | 95W | LGA1156 | £139 |
| Core i7 860 | 4/8 | 2.80 | 3.46 | 45nm (Lynnfield) | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
DMI | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333 | 95W | LGA1156 | £190 |
| Core i7 870 |
4/8 | 2.93 | 3.60 | 45nm (Lynnfield) | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
DMI | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333 | 95W | LGA1156 | £385 |
| Core i7 920 | 4/8 | 2.67 | 2.93 | 45nm (Bloomfield) | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | DDR3-1066 | 130W | LGA1366 | £190 |
| Core i7 950 | 4/8 | 3.06 | 3.33 |
45nm (Bloomfield) | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | DDR3-1,066 | 130W | LGA1366 | £385 |
| Core i7 960 | 4/8 | 3.20 | 3.46 | 45nm (Bloomfield) | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | DDR3-1,066 | 130W | LGA1366 | £385 |
| Core i7 975 EE | 4/8 | 3.33 | 3.60 | 45nm (Bloomfield) | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | Unlocked (1,600+) | 130W | LGA1366 | £699 |
Speed and branding
The top three rows denote Lynnfield CPUs. Intel's revised nomenclature is such that Lynnfield is productised as either Core i5 and Core i7 - the latter also being concurrently used for Bloomfield-based chips.
It's the model-numbering system that sets them apart. The entry-level Core i5 750 stands as the budget part because its performance is hampered by the lack of Hyperthreading support, evinced in heavily multithreaded scenarios. This, we believe, is an intentional ploy on Intel's part, to differentiate the range, and to keep models' performance from overlapping.
The Core i7 800-range includes the 860 and 870. The chips are separated solely by clockspeed, with the former clocking in at 2.80GHz and the latter at 2.93GHz.
Incumbent Core i7 900-series will continue to use the establishing model-numbering systems, but we note that the actual numbers don't line up with the Lynnfield 800-series. For example, a Core i7 960 (Bloomfield) is clocked in at 3.20GHz, whereas the Core i7 860 (Lynnfield) runs at 2.80GHz.
Value proposition?
Retail-boxed Core i5 750s should ship for around £139. The pricing brings AMD Phenom II X4 and lower-end Core 2 Quads very much in the firing line, deliberately so, and the basic specification of the chip suggests it will do quite well at this price point.
Core i7 860, clocked in at 2.80GHz - rising to 3.46GHz under Turbo Boost - is to be priced identically to the slightly slower-clocked Core i7 920 that's been out a while. AMD's Phenom X4 965 BE appears to be a target, as well as mid-range Core 2 Quads.
Pricing for the Core i7 860 is bemusing, set to £385 and matching Core i7 960's, which is an intrinsically better chip.
Of course, isolationist pricing only tells one part of the value story. Further in to the review we'll be looking at platform costs and evaluating overall bang for your buck.
Range upheaval
Introduction of three new CPUs based on the potent Nehalem architecture - two costing less than £190 - means that Core 2 Quad's lifespan will be curtailed. We expect Intel to sell current stock but move on to Lynnfield production, which should be cheaper, for all £100-plus chips by mid-2010.
Complicating matters, Intel will also introduce a bevy of 32nm-based chips, codenamed Westmere, to fit on to the same LGA1156 package as these Lynnfield CPUs. Limited to dual-core, quad-threaded chips in the first instance, they will feature integrated graphics as standard. That's getting ahead of ourselves, so let's benchmark Lynnfield vs. Bloomfield vs. Deneb.
