Intel Reveals 16 New Sandy Bridge CPUs & Price Cuts
Over the holiday weekend, Intel released 16 new "Sandy Bridge" processors (11 desktop and five mobile), along with price cuts to existing "Sandy Bridge" chips.
Intel released 11 new "Sandy Bridge" processors for the LGA 1155 socket. The release looks to address some price points in the below $100 range and take aim at AMD's "Llano". The Core i3-2125 is one chip designed to take aim directly at the "Llano" with its clock speed of 3.3 GHz and HD 3000 video for around the same price as the current AMD A8-3850 ($134 vs $140). The Core i5-2320 has 4 cores (no HyperThreading), 6 MB of L3 cache, HD 2000 integrated graphics and 95W TDP to lead the pack at the $ 177 price range.
Intel released three new Pentium dual-core chips, include the G630T (@ 2.3 GHz), G630 (@ 2.7 GHz), and G860 (@ 3.0 GHz), with 3 MB of L3 Cache. The G860 and G630 have a TDP of 65W, while the G630T has a TDP of 35W. The three new Celeron dual-core chips, include the G540 (@ 2.5 GHz), G530 (@ 2.4 GHz), and G530T (@ 2.0 GHz), with 2 MB of L3 Cache. The lone single core is the Celeron G440, which is clocked at 1.6 GHz with 1 MB of L3 Cache, 35W TDP at a low price of $37.
| Model | Cores / Threads | CPU clock / with turbo | L3 Cache | Graphic | Graphics Clock / with turbo | TDP | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I5-2320 | 4 / 4 | 3.0 / 3.3 GHz | 6 MB | HD 2000 | 850 / 1100 MHz | 95 W | $ 177 |
| I3-2130 | 2 / 4 | 3.4 / - GHz | 3 MB | HD 2000 | 850 / 1100 MHz | 65 W | $ 138 |
| I3-2125 | 2 / 4 | 3.3 / - GHz | 3 MB | HD 3000 | 850 / 1100 MHz | 65 W | $ 134 |
| I3-2120T | 2 / 4 | 2.6 / - GHz | 3 MB | HD 2000 | 650 / 1100 MHz | 35 W | $ 127 |
| Pentium G860 | 2 / 2 | 3.0 / - GHz | 3 MB | HD | 850 / 1100 MHz | 65 W | $ 86 |
| Pentium G630 | 2 / 2 | 2.7 / - GHz | 3 MB | HD | 850 / 1100 MHz | 65 W | $ 75 |
| Pentium G630T | 2 / 2 | 2.3 / - GHz | 3 MB | HD | 650 / 1100 MHz | 35 W | $ 70 |
| Celeron G540 | 2 / 2 | 2.5 / - GHz | 2 MB | HD | 850 / 1000 MHz | 65 W | $ 52 |
| Celeron G530 | 2 / 2 | 2.4 / - GHz | 2 MB | HD | 850 / 1000 MHz | 65 W | $ 42 |
| Celeron G530T | 2 / 2 | 2.0 / - GHz. | 2 MB | HD | 650 / 1100 MHz | 35 W | $ 47 |
| Celeron G440 | 1 / 1 | 1.6 / - GHz | 1 MB | HD | 650 / 1000 MHz | 35 W | $ 37 |
Intel introduces a new extreme performance chip, the Core i7-2960XM, which has 4 cores with HyperThreading (8 threads) and clocked at 2.70 GHz (Turbo enabled to 3.7 GHz). It has 8 MB of L3 cache and 55W TDP, all at a hefty price of $1,096. In addition, two more quad-core processors are added to the line up, the Core i7-2860QM and Core i7-2760QM. The chips feature both HyperThreading (8 threads) and 45W TDP but the Core i7-2760QM comes in at 6 MB of L3 cache. The Core i7-2640M has 2 cores, with HyperThreading (4 threads), 4 MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 35W.The Celeron B840 has 2 cores (lacks HyperThreading) and clocked at 1.90 GHz, with 2 MB of L3 cache and 35W TDP.
| New "Sandy Bridge" for Mobile | ||||||
| Model | Cores / Threads | CPU clock / Turbo | L3 cache | GPU clock / Turbo | TDP | Price |
| Core i7-2960XM | 4 / 8 | 2.7 / 3.7 GHz | 8 MB | 650 / 1,300 MHz | 55 W | $ 1,096 |
| Core i7 2860QM | 4 / 8 | 2.5 / 3.6 GHz | 8 MB | 650 / 1,300 MHz | 45 W | $ 568 |
| Core i7 2760QM | 4 / 8 | 2.4 / 3.5 GHz | 6 MB | 650 / 1,300 MHz | 45 W | $ 378 |
| Core i7-2640m | 2 / 4 | 2.8 / 3.5 GHz | 4 MB | 650 / 1,300 MHz | 35 W | $ 346 |
| B840 Celeron | 2 / 2 | 1.9 / - GHz | 2 MB | 650 / 950 MHz | 35 W | $ 86 |
In addition to the release of its new CPUs over the weekend, Intel has announced price cuts for a few current CPUs in the range from 2 to 6 percent.
| Model | Cores / Threads | CPU clock / with turbo | L3 cache | Graphic | old price | new price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I5-2390T | 2 / 4 | 2.7 / 3.5 GHz | 3 MB | HD 2000 | $ 195 | $ 184 |
| I5-2400S | 4 / 4 | 2.5 / 3.3 GHz | 6 MB | HD 2000 | $ 195 | $ 184 |
| I5-2405S | 4 / 4 | 2.5 / 3.3 GHz | 6 MB | HD 3000 | $ 205 | $ 201 |
| I5-2500T | 4 / 4 | 2.3 / 3.3 GHz | 6 MB | HD 2000 | $ 216 | $ 205 |
| I5-2500S | 4 / 4 | 2.7 / 3.7 GHz | 6 MB | HD 2000 | $ 216 | $ 205 |
| Core i7-2600S | 4 / 8 | 2.8 / 3.8 GHz | 8 MB | HD 2000 | $ 306 | $ 294 |
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legacy7955 The number of versions they have is MIND BOGGLING to say the least.Reply
I have to say more choice is better, but maybe if they reduced the number of chip versions they produce maybe they could just offer the best ones for less and still make the same profit? -
jsc No. The chips come off the same lines. If they fail any of the testing, they are simply binned at a lower speed, smaller cache, fewer cores, or higher TDP.Reply
Better to make some money on a chip than no money. Intel has been doing this since the 386DX days. It's the same thing AMD does with the X2 and X3 chips. -
jsc More thoughts. I agree that there seems to be a lot of versions, but most people just do not care. I do not say this disparagingly, but for most, a PC is an appliance, bought to do something they need or want to do.Reply
For most of us here, all the versions do not matter either. If budget permits, the decision comes down to which "K" model to get. -
iam2thecrowe bullcrap, no 2500k price cut....ill just keep waiting for bulldozer then....its only a couple more weeks....... And what is the crap with all the suffix letters? why would i pay the same for a 2500t as a 2500s?.... oh, and wheres the K edition i3's? Intel, your giving me nothing that i want and your naming convention is up sh*t creek.Reply -
fstrthnu I was wondering why there were such small price and performance gaps among the Celeron and Pentium processors. IMO, a gap of only $15-20 between the best and worst processor in the family would be pretty ridiculous otherwise. The quality-testing process sure explains a lotReply