Intel's Core i3 530 processor up for order, still unconfirmed by Intel

Remember Intel's budget-friendlier Core i3 line that we've been talking about since June? Despite recent leaks the company still hasn't made it officially official, but it's now unofficially officially thanks to a pre-order at a Canadian retailer. If you're getting a little déjà vu right now don't worry, it isn't a glitch in the matrix; this is exactly the same scenario that played out with the Core i5 back in August, about a month before that proc was finally given its coming out party. In other words, expect this 32nm chip -- with its 2.93GHz speed, 512KB of L2 cache, 4MB of L3, and $157 CAD asking price (a mere $10 lower in American) -- to be given the full press release rigmarole sometime around the new year.

[From My Cube Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:39AM]

I just wish they would stick to one name scheme, its like they try to confuse the end users....go ask the average joe, whats faster, core 2 duo, or i7....bet they wont get it right

[hexoDAT64 Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:41AM]

@From My Cube

I think that's the point of this new naming system, 5 is better then 3, and 7 better then 5.

[YpoCaramel Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:45AM]

@hexoDAT64 Then they had to go mix it up with i7 9xx-series and 8xx-series.

[Andurilan Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:50AM]

@From My Cube
I actually like that they used name differentiations. It's not as though people who purchase via OEM or don't build there own rigs research what there going to to any reliable degree. Most only want to know, "Does that mean it's fast".

What i don't like, which i think was your point, is when companies use similar name assignments to their products, especially when they release around the same time. Nokia is notorious for doing this, and its one of the reason I don't purchase there products.

[d3sc3nd3ncy Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:17AM]

@From My Cube

7 > 2 right?

[Sea Urchin Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:43AM]

So what is faster QX Chips or iCore 3 or iCore 5???????

[Sneakz Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:54AM]

@Sea Urchin A QX9770or QX9650 will easily beat a dual core (Clarksdale) i3 or i5.

[SarnGate Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:54AM]

@Sea Urchin Well there haven't been any benchmarks for the i3 chips yet, but as far as i'm aware the i5 and i7 chips are generally faster than the QX series, with the exception being a few gaming benchmarks.

I assume the i3 will be around the level of what the Core 2 Quad's, and are simply a way for Intel to offer lower priced products on their newer motherboards.

[Sneakz Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:55AM]

@Sneakz Clarkdale, not Clarksdale

[mitcha Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:55AM]

So.. WHY using NKOTB's picture for this post ?!?!

[SarnGate Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:56AM]

@mitcha Who cares ?

[mitcha Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:02AM]

@SarnGate I care.. MTF

[tylersmyler Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:02AM]

@mitcha
ya, and what member is going to be the i9?

[mitcha Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:06AM]

@tylersmyler @dannywood ! ahahahaah

[KAL326 Posted Dec 9th 2009 10:57AM]

@mitcha I think the better question is how did you know it was NKOTB? That question aside, its a new product line for Intel aka 'a new kid on the block'.

[KAL326 Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:07AM]

So when is the i9 silently slipping into the retail channel?

[d3sc3nd3ncy Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:18AM]

@KAL326 sometime after intel milks the market dry with i7s.

[YuriTenshi Posted Dec 9th 2009 11:51AM]

The i9 isn't scheduled until 2010 (possible 2Q).

[One Love Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:34AM]

so confused...

[SomethingInMyFrontPocket Posted Dec 9th 2009 2:35PM]

@One Love That tends to happen when you smoke weed.

[One Love Posted Dec 9th 2009 2:56PM]

Who says I smoke weed?

[Phoenix Posted Dec 9th 2009 3:17PM]

@One Love
Well when it comes to comments on here, most seem to attach the personality of the avatar to the commenter.

So by that respect you smoke weed and worship Ja.

[COCOViper Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:58AM]

Somewhere along the line I missed how close 32nm was to production...

[GaryZ Posted Dec 9th 2009 1:44PM]

I hope the HD bitstreaming stuff works as advertised

[Marc B Posted Dec 9th 2009 2:08PM]

Is this really going to be a worthwhile improvement over a C2Duo/ C2Q that already offer perfectly respectable or better performance at a good price? Can't they just produce a low speed i5 to run an a cheapo P55 mobo? The Intel marketing team is over-thinking the number of market tiers. The i3 segment buys almost entirely on price and barely pays attention to specs, so why bother with this redundancy?

[dallashigh Posted Dec 10th 2009 5:39PM]

@Marc B

i3 is the new Celeron, i5 is the new Core2 Duo, i7 is the new QX/Xeon.