Rumor: Intel Discontinuing Over 25 Desktop CPUs

By published

Intel is reportedly making room for the flood of new Ivy Bridge CPUs slated to arrive in April.

Unnamed industry sources in Taiwan claim that Intel has updated hardware partners with a new schedule that sees the halt of over 25 existing desktop CPU models. The cease in production will reportedly start in 1Q12 in order to make room for the new 22-nm Ivy Bridge processors slated to launch sometime around April 8, 2012.

According to the sources, Intel has issued a notice to cease production of the following CPUs:

1Q12
 - Core i7-875K/860S
 - Core i5-760/750S/655K
 - Celeron 450/430

2Q12
 - Celeron E3500
 - Celeron E3300
 - Core i7-960/950/930/870
 - Core i7-880S/870S
 - Core i5-661/660
 - Core i5-2300/680/670
 - Core i3-530
 - Core Duo E7500/E7600
 - Pentium G960
 - Pentium E6600/E550
 - Pentium E5700

As previously reported, Intel is slated to launch Ivy Bridge on April 8. On the whole, Intel is expected to release a total of 25 models including 17 CPUs for the desktop and 8 for notebooks and ultrabooks. The first desktop flood will include the Core i7-3770K, 3770, 3770S, 3770T CPUs, the Core i5-3570, 3550 and 3450 CPUs, and the Z77, H77, Z75 and B75 chipsets. Then in May, Intel will unleash the Core i5-3470T CPU along with the Q77 and Q75 desktop chipsets.

As for notebooks, Intel will reportedly release the Core i7-3920QM, 3820QM and 3720QM CPUs along with the HM77, UM77, HM76 and HM75 notebook chipsets (followed by the QS77 and QM77 chipsets in May). Sources claim that other models including the Core i5-3520M, 3360M and 3320M CPUs for notebooks, and the Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U CPUs for ultrabooks will officially be unveiled at a later date.

Kevin Parrish
41 Comments Comment from the forums
  • de5_Roy
    i5 750, 655k were good cpus. core i5 2300, not so much. 2320 is better.
    Reply
  • TheMaristBoy
    Makes me and my Core 2 Duo E7500 feel old and outdated -___-
    Reply
  • bigman8291
    But what about the starving children?
    Reply
  • Thunderfox
    TheMaristBoyMakes me and my Core 2 Duo E7500 feel old and outdated -___-Lucky you. I still have an E6400 from August 2006. Just waiting for Ivy Bridge...
    Reply
  • AstroTC
    Personally I hate the new naming scheme for Intel and AMD
    Reply
  • ojas
    AstroTCPersonally I hate the new naming scheme for Intel and AMDthe new naming scheme actually makes sense to me...the only one that didn't was that of the first generation Core i3/i5/i7 procs.
    Reply
  • dark_knight33
    Woah, number confusion here. All the model numbers with very little differentiation, save for a single letter at the end in some cases, does not exactly make it easy for a consumer to know what to ask for, let alone know what he is getting. Pretty short sighted of Intel marketing.

    Take i7 (sock 1366) for example:
    920
    930
    950
    etc

    Pretty clear that an increase in model number corresponds with an increase in performance.

    3770
    3770K
    3770S
    3770T

    I can see the customers in Microcenter waiting to buy a cpu, scratching their head and trying to ask what the difference is, all the while trying not to be embarrassed about having to ask. Even worse, when you get an associate who "knows it all" and instead of just answering the question proceeds to pepper the customer with questions like "Well what are you trying to do with your computer?" I mean really... Just answer the damn question!

    I know what the different model numbers mean, but most people don't. I see it time and time again when I'm in there to buy parts. I feel like I have to answer another customer's questions because it's not already clear.
    Reply
  • lradunovic77
    Too many versions. What happened with old days Pentium II 166Mhz, Pentium II 200Mhz
    Reply
  • rflynn88
    lradunovic77Too many versions. What happened with old days Pentium II 166Mhz, Pentium II 200Mhz
    Well there never was a 166MHz or 200MHz Pentium II, they were 233, 266, 300, 333, 350, 400, and 450MHz. Regardless, after intel got a lot of flak for ramping up clock speeds at the expense of IPC with Netburst, MHz/GHz wasn't cool anymore. Intel jumped on the model numbering bandwagon to make it easier for consumers to select CPUs without having to worry about why a 3GHz Pentium 4 was slower than a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo. IMO, the model numbers just create a new form of confusion among the uninformed computer buying public.
    Reply
  • dickcheney
    dark_knight33I know what the different model numbers mean, but most people don't. I see it time and time again when I'm in there to buy parts. I feel like I have to answer another customer's questions because it's not already clear.
    If you know your stuff like I do, why are you going to a brick and mortar store to buy a CPU in the first place?

    Tigerdirect, newegg and NCIX. Store are for OEM retail computers.
    Reply