German vendor HPM-Computer has begun listing 32nm Core i3 and Core i5 processors well ahead of their scheduled street date.
These 32nm parts hail from the same Westmere family discussed yesterday in our overview of the forthcoming Intel Core i9 processor. However, whereas the Core i9 is a descendant of the LGA1366 Bloomfield core, this new batch of budget chips descends from the LGA1156 Lynnfield core.
The most notable aspect of these new chips is that they’re based on the Clarkdale core, which pares back the number of processing cores from four to two, and marries them to an on-die Intel GPU. These processors are by no means enthusiast parts, particularly on account of the sluggish GPU, but they’re perfectly legitimate chips for businesses and productivity people who want Windows 7’s Aero on the cheap.
Listed models include: Core i3 530 (2.93GHz), Core i3 540 (3.06GHz), Core i5 650 (3.20GHz), Core i5 660 (3.33GHz), Core i5 661 (3.33GHz, no VT) and the Core i5 670 (3.46GHz).
The distinction between Core i3 and Core i5 chips appears to be a matter of clockspeed, as both ranges feature the same L2 cache, GPU and die count. These models are expected to launch by the end of the calendar year with prices between $180 and $300 USD.
Clarkdale
Architectural Family: Westmere
Retail Name: Core i3 and Core i5
Process: 32nm
Socket: LGA1156
Cores: Two
Frequency: 2.93-3.46GHz
TDP: <89W
GPU?: Yes
Launch: 4Q09-1Q10
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