Intel Launches Sandy Bridge Pentiums
Five years ago, there was some speculation that Intel would kill its Pentium brand and all the negative perceptions that resulted because of the power-hungry Netburst processors.
However, Intel decided to move Pentium downmarket and it appears that the brand will also survive the Sandy Bridge generation of processors.
The company quietly launched four Sandy Bridge chips as the Pentium G600/G800 series as offerings for entry-level desktop PCs. The G620 (dual-core, 3MB cache, 2.6 GHz), G840 (dual-core, 3MB cache, 2.8 GHz) and G850 (dual-core, 3MB cache, 2.9 GHz) are positioned as general processors, while the 2.2 GHz G620T (dual-core, 3MB cache) is a low-power option. Prices start at $64 (2.6 GHz) and end at $86 (2.9 GHz).
As before, it is virtually impossible for consumers to decrypt the sequence number and understand what exact product they are buying. Given the confusion created by 12 different desktop product families, 32 nm and 45 nm versions as well as multiple architectures, it is surprising that even Intel can still keep track and figure out what processor is exactly what. The company currently offers 70 different desktop processor models.
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Douglas Perry was a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering semiconductors, storage technology, quantum computing, and processor power delivery. He has authored several books and is currently an editor for The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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oparadoxical_ Their naming scheme (or lack thereof) makes my head hurt. They really need to figure out a good solid naming scheme that actually makes sense and that consumers can easily understand.Reply -
warezme its easy to advise the general consumer, anything celeron or pentium is the uber slow cheap version of whatever new technology there is. Don't buy it.Reply -
fullofzen Looking forward to reading about how these bench against the SB i3s or the Athlons at the $60-$90 prices. Any predictions based on the specs above?Reply
I wonder if these are strictly intended for large-scale OEMs or if they will be available boxed for retail... -
c0oim4n ^+1Reply
AMD has the naming scheme perfect, and it's something Intel should do too. It would make everybody's lives A LOT easier -
reggieray Ah I remember my first Pentium, a Pentium 1 running at 60 MHz, yes MHz young readers. My neighbor was envious at the speed I could run Doom II.Reply