Intel Phases Out 10 More Mobile Sandy Bridge Processors

The following models are affected:

- Core i7-2720QM (BGA and PGA)
- Core i7-2657M
- Core i7-2617M
- Core i7-2629M
- Core i7-2649M
- Core i7-2920XM
- Core i7-2820QM
- Core i7-2760QM
- Core i7-2860QM

According to the product change notification, these processors can be ordered until February 18, 2013. Last tray shipments are scheduled for August 13, 2013. Shipments for boxed processors will be available until supply lasts.

The change affects all mobile i7 processor price ranges from $1,096 (2920XM) to $346 (2629M) and is apparent move to transition the product portfolio to the 22 nm Ivy Bridge generation. Intel has become increasingly effective to shift its processor offering to newer manufacturing processes. The only 45 nm chips currently available are some Atom CPUs, the Xeon 7500 series as well as all Itanium processors.

Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback

  • teh_chem
    Incremental upgrades FTW!

    I could almost understand phasing in the new CPUs if every IB CPU had the HD4K GPU chipset. But with only offering the HD2500 on a lot of the low-to-mid range CPUs (where the HD4K would actually make sense), they're not really giving the users a lot of value, or much of a reason to upgrade.
    Reply
  • blazorthon
    teh_chemIncremental upgrades FTW!I could almost understand phasing in the new CPUs if every IB CPU had the HD4K GPU chipset. But with only offering the HD2500 on a lot of the low-to-mid range CPUs (where the HD4K would actually make sense), they're not really giving the users a lot of value, or much of a reason to upgrade.
    All of the CPUs that replace these ones would have HD 4000. Besides, Intel is more into promoting Nvidia graphics cards on their low end laptops and their low end desktop CPUs wouldn't have a whole lot of use for HD 4000 when anyone whom uses them for gaming and such would get a discrete card at the least (even i3s are far too high end to be wasted on anything weaker than a Radeon 6750; leave the lower end graphics for lower end CPUs that also cost less) and anyone who doesn't go for gaming should be more than satisfied with the HD 2500.
    Reply
  • bustapr
    an i7 laptop is more likely to have nvidia graphics than to use the on-die hd4000/hd2500. if youre getting an i7 laptop without discrete graphics, youre probably doing something wrong.
    Reply
  • blazorthon
    bustapran i7 laptop is more likely to have nvidia graphics than to use the on-die hd4000/hd2500. if youre getting an i7 laptop without discrete graphics, youre probably doing something wrong.
    ... An i7 laptop is far more likely to be someone who uses say QuickSync, someone who wants the faster GPU for better Lucid optimization of discrete graphics cards, someone who simply wants better CPU performance, et cetera. HD 4000's performance advantages can help discrete cards with Lucid, so they can make a difference even if there is a discrete card! If you have some imagination behind your opinions and do some more research to understand the situation better, you'd probably see this.
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    blazorthonAll of the CPUs that replace these ones would have HD 4000. Besides, Intel is more into promoting Nvidia graphics cards on their low end laptops and their low end desktop CPUs wouldn't have a whole lot of use for HD 4000 when anyone whom uses them for gaming and such would get a discrete card at the least (even i3s are far too high end to be wasted on anything weaker than a Radeon 6750; leave the lower end graphics for lower end CPUs that also cost less) and anyone who doesn't go for gaming should be more than satisfied with the HD 2500.That's a good point, I forgot these were all i7's. But it won't change the fact that eventually the low and mid end CPUs will roll out--gaming graphical performance is only the tip of the iceberg. For video conversion using QuickSync, the HD4k is significantly faster than the 2500. When you have a "slower" processor (not the best way to put it, but essentially the mid-to-low range CPUs that won't get HD4k), you'd think they'd want to supplement that lower CPU power with a more advanced graphical chipset capable of more GPGPU tasks.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    blazorthon... An i7 laptop is far more likely to be someone who uses say QuickSync, someone who wants the faster GPU for better Lucid optimization of discrete graphics cards, someone who simply wants better CPU performance, et cetera. HD 4000's performance advantages can help discrete cards with Lucid, so they can make a difference even if there is a discrete card! If you have some imagination behind your opinions and do some more research to understand the situation better, you'd probably see this.
    Unless if you need Hyperthreading, the i7s are barely faster than the i5s at a higher price.
    Reply
  • blazorthon
    A Bad DayUnless if you need Hyperthreading, the i7s are barely faster than the i5s at a higher price.
    It's a very different story in the mobile market, especially with the quad core i7s versus the dual-core i5s rather than the dual-core i7s versus the dual-core i5s (there aren't quad-core i5s for new laptops).
    Reply
  • blazorthon
    teh_chemThat's a good point, I forgot these were all i7's. But it won't change the fact that eventually the low and mid end CPUs will roll out--gaming graphical performance is only the tip of the iceberg. For video conversion using QuickSync, the HD4k is significantly faster than the 2500. When you have a "slower" processor (not the best way to put it, but essentially the mid-to-low range CPUs that won't get HD4k), you'd think they'd want to supplement that lower CPU power with a more advanced graphical chipset capable of more GPGPU tasks.
    Whether or not future IGPs from Intel will be enough for modern entry-level gaming doesn't change the fact that the HD 4000 is kinda poor for gaming, admittedly it is playable when the drivers don't fail. It would be like playing a Radeon 6450, except with far inferior drivers. If it is fail at gaming, then it doesn't make sense to put it in situations where its poor drivers would give bad reactions from gamers whom try it, thus hurting Intel's reputation.

    It isn't ready for that yet, so Intel didn't put it in that situation. As much as I'd rather have HD 4000 on an i3 if I buy one, at least there are good reasons for it not being there.

    The argument of supplementing CPUs with inferior integer performance and FPU performance with a superior or similar GPU than their bigger brothers is also somewhat flawed. It would mean that, at best, the i7s would have a substantial GPU frequency advantage and Intel might lock the frequency in the lower end models so low that it would only be somewhat better than an HD 2500. Intel would also only do this with some models and would charge a premium over the models that have the same CPU performance with an HD 2500. Intel would need some way to make up for chips that have faulty graphics and that would be it.

    So, they i7s would still have a substantial GPU performance advantage even if Intel gave the HD 4000 to lower end models. Keep in mind that Intel's HD graphics of the same model still have frequencies that can be literally all over the place with different CPUs.
    Reply
  • eddieroolz
    Frankly, not really news here. It was matter of time.
    Reply
  • blazorthon
    9392017 said:
    Frankly, not really news here. It was matter of time.

    It's not stop the presses important, but it's nice to know.
    Reply