Intel's Lynnfield and P55 Status: Postponed.

[dattimr]

Some sad news for everyone (except at AMD), but it looks like the boys in green will have some extra time to get their act together:

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090115PD218.html

Intel has recently decided to postpone its next-generation mainstream CPU Lynnfield along with the P55 chipset to the end of August or the beginning of September this year, and may postpone them to an even later time depending on the market situation, according to sources at motherboard makers.

In additional news, Intel will provide engineering samples of its next-generation entry-level CPU Havendale to motherboard makers in February this year, while design validation test (DVT) will be complete in July to August with mass production in September to October. However, Intel has postponed shipping to January next year to give its current entry-level CPU inventory more time to clear.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/461/1050461/lynnfield-cpu-p55-chipset-delayed

THOSE GOSSIP QUEENS in Taiwan are at it again, this time with claims Intel will delay launching its Lynnfield CPU and P55 chipset until September of this year, if not even later.

Lynnfield and P55 were both set to launch by the end of July, but according to the Taiwanese motherboard makers, delays will now almost certainly ensue due to an Intel inventory glut and, surprise, surprise, the credit crunch.

The real question is, though, is this bad news for Intel or for consumers? Chipzilla will probably let non-IGP P45 and P43 chipsets fizzle out once the P55 hits shelves and pushing back the launch just keeps Core i5/i7 as a premium product while giving the firm a chance to offload its piled up inventory.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11492&Itemid=35

Just recently, Intel has decided to postpone the launch of its 45nm Lynnfield socket LGA1156 mainstream processors as well as its P55 chipset to the end of August or beginning of September. According to Digitimes, Intel may postpone them even further according to the market situation.

In recent times, the market recession has caused an overstock of chipset inventory for board makers, which ultimately compels them to pull back on next-generation product releases.

Intel's 45nm Lynnfield processors and P55 chipset were originally scheduled to launch at the end of July. The company plans to phase out its non-integrated graphics processor P45 and P43 chipsets and will transition its 4-series IGP chipsets to the entry-level.

In February, Intel plans to provide engineering samples of its upcoming 45nm Havendale socket LGA1156 entry-level processors. Moreover, the design validation test for these chips will be complete in July to August and mass production is scheduled to begin in September to October. However, the entry-level CPUs won't be ready for shipping until January 2010.

 

[NMDante]

It's not good for those who were waiting to upgrade to Core i5, but with the latest Intel price cuts, it might actual be a good thing, since now, the Q9550 is selling for $294.99, which is also what the Core i7 920 is selling for, and the Q9400 is $249.00, it gives owners of compatible 775 boards an upgrade path that performed equal or better than the Phenom II CPUs, and is priced relatively equal (give or take $20).

With the economic environment the way it is, I don't blame Intel for delaying the Core i5 and chipsets. Use this time to clear inventory of Exxx and Qxxx CPUs, and when the economy shows signs of turning the corner, release the mainstream Core i5 lineup, along with new Core i7 CPUs.

All prices in USD and taken from Newegg.com

 

[roofus]

it's the smart move. why impose a new socket technology on the masses when the masses are scared to spend money. it isn't like they don't have a competitive product performance/price wise. ride that horse til it falls over I say!

 

[spathotan]

The market dosent need a new chip anyways, let alone another damn socket.

Where does Intel plan on putting this chip anyways? It has no place in the market, literally. Fitting it between the Q9550 and i7 920 is literally pointless, so where else? Intel has way too many chips on the market that are close in performance.

 

[cjl]

Actually, this chip will replace current socket 775 stuff. Likely, the 775 will be discontinued when this chip comes out.

 

[spathotan]

So they will just toss out/drop Q9000's and E8000's to rock bottom prices? It dosent make sense. Way to many chips for them to do that. Being that the i7 920 "barely" beats a Q9550, i5 is just a worthless step, we know it wont beat i7 so it fits right where existing 775 stuff is.

 

[cjl]

What is that supposed to mean?

More likely, the supply will dwindle on the Q9000s and E8000s until they simply aren't available.

 

[spathotan]

It means i5 is worthless, pointless, and a waste of time and money. Its a step nowhere, its no progression. There isnt a large enough gap in performance (not to mention price) between the Q9550 and i7 920 to squeeze i5 in, so whats wrong with the existing LGA775 stuff? Why the hell would ANYBODY buy an i5 build?

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

I totally agree with spathotan. It would make sense if i5 was a cheaper version of i7 with the SAME SOCKET. I don't see why anyone would spend a few less to get a different socket board and a lower performing chip with virtually no good upgrade path in the future.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Theres been rumors of Intel creating a 2 tiered system. Performance is i7, mainstream and beginner Lynnefield and Havendale. I know that i5 will use less power, have almost as good performance as i7, and be alot cheaper, having only dual channel capability and only up to 16x pci for gfx, and tho therell be sli/xfire, itll be restricted to 8x each lane/slot. Its for OEMs mainly, and alot of enthusiasts wont necessarily take to this chip. Thats what Ive been reading and hearing.

 

[dattimr]

Unless, contrary to popular expectation, it performs equal or better than i7 outside of the server space. Perhaps i7 was just to test the server platform and squeeze a litte $ out of enthusiastic pockets.

"i5" will bring an integrated PCIe controller, which effects I really wanna see. Maybe an extra cache can help, forget a Northbridge ever existed, throw in SATA3 and PCIe3 support, something else (Lucid's Hydra?) and there you go.

The performance might be similar to 775 top builds, but the features really have the potential to shine, even if not being that useful right on the launch date.

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot USB 3.0 too. But it doesn't look as if all of these were going to be implemented this soon, anyway.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

Yeah I can't see anyone building an i5 system over an i7 build. Hell I would not care about not using triple channel DDR3 anyway, I don't play benchmarks lol.

 

[spathotan]

Memory is memory to me. Youre not going to tell the difference between dual channel and triple channel in games, not to mention DDR2 and DDR3. What I really need is another card to crossfire so I can max out EQ2 shadows

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

The only perf numbers Ive seen arent necessarily true, but if they are, they show i5=17. Unless in those apps using tri channel

 

[dattimr]

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11520&Itemid=37

According to several Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers, Intel's forthcoming Ibex Peak will not only be introduced on the P55 chipset, but will be spanned across five individual mainstream and entry-level chipsets for its 45nm Lynnfield and Havendale processors. The entire lineup will include the mainstream P55 and H55 as well as the high-end H57, P57, and Q57 which will all launch in Q1 2010 while the P55 exclusively launches in Q3 later this year.

On another note, Intel has decided that it will not extend all Ibex Peak features to every chipset. Instead, the chipsets will be allowed different capabilities according to their respective market segments. For instance, the Lynnfield P55 and P57 will offer dual PCI-Express 2.0 x8 slots for CrossFire and SLI but will lack support for the Flexible Display Interface (FDI), which routes GPU-specific data to Ibex Peak's display controllers. In contrast, the Q57, H57, and H55 will be the only ones to support FDI but will only have single PCI-Express 2.0 x8 slots.

Never heard of 'FDI' until this.

 

[roofus]

The only perf numbers Ive seen arent necessarily true, but if they are, they show i5=17. Unless in those apps using tri channel

that would certainly generate a sting if that were the case. it would almost make you want to delay a launch until you pooched it down. may not be the case but it isn't unprecedented.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

FDI is for igp usage only.

Look at Intels production numbers from earlier. The "i" series will take hold at the end of the year, phazing out Yorky

 

[roofus]

makes for a nice market for 775 board owners providing their boards have a BIOS that can allow for the 45nm quads. a mid to top end Yorky is still a solid purchase to get a person by for a couple years.