Intel Core i3, mobile Core i5 processors coming January 7
By Joanna Stern 
posted December 17th 2009 4:10PM
posted December 17th 2009 4:10PM
Intel's Arrandale chips haven't been the best-kept secret around, and today Chipzilla made 'em official: the Core i3 and mobile Core i5 will launch on January 7, and we'd guess a bunch of new machines come along for the ride. Although the desktop Lynnfield Core i5 is a quad-core, both the new Core i3 and mobile Core i5 are dual-core -- and in a first for Intel, both of the new chips have an integrated GPU core that's being branded "Intel HD Graphics." The new GPU is supposedly good enough for "high-end" HTPC use, but manufacturers can add switchable discrete GPUs, so don't fret too much. Both Arrandale chips have Intel's latest hyperthreading tech, and the mobile i5 also has the Turbo Boost core-overclocking feature found in the desktop i5 and i7, which redirects power to a single core to boost performance when needed.
We got to see a few Core i3 and i5 laptops and desktops in action at Intel's pre-CES briefing today, although we didn't get to run any tests. The mobile Core i5 systems on display were doing a fine job running Call of Duty 4, while the scaled-down Core i3 rigs were playing Blu-ray movies and World of Warcraft -- not a bad demo, but we'll let you know when we see some real numbers.
We got to see a few Core i3 and i5 laptops and desktops in action at Intel's pre-CES briefing today, although we didn't get to run any tests. The mobile Core i5 systems on display were doing a fine job running Call of Duty 4, while the scaled-down Core i3 rigs were playing Blu-ray movies and World of Warcraft -- not a bad demo, but we'll let you know when we see some real numbers.
Ooh! Switchable graphics. Would be nice to get more than two hours of battery life if I opt for a decent chip.
@Dafrety Whoever has got 3D glasses, is that picture 3D? does it work on normal screens? just curious
Fusion who?
Imagine Switchable Graphics like on current gen ThinkPads, but with good driver support and GPUs that aren't obsolete. Gimme now.
@Pickaxe
Yeah seriously huh? I am willing to upgrade to a T500 for CAD and stuff but I don't want horrible batterylife. I need my batterylife.
How many Watts?
i5 Laptop? Finally. Don't quite want to spend enough for an i7, but I'd love an i5 (with a half-decent video card for once) for
@Sean O plus the i7's have shown to be really hot in mobile form like the envy 15 so hopefully these will be just right.
@Sean O Yup that's the big question. Current i7 laptops look really iffy to me--too hot and lousy battery life. For my work laptop I'll take all the CPU I can get, but it needs to hold up for a few years without melting. And I don't want to burn myself touching the track pad. We'll have to see what the first reviews of these things show. A core i5 laptop in Q1 might well be in my future...
Question, can they get the heat out? Biggest problem for laptops and sizing down is heat, not board space. Look at the Motherboards in the X series Thinkpads. They could cram more on there or just make them bigger. More heat on the other hand means increasing the 2nd heaviest component, the heat spreader, which there might not even be space for.
Hey Apple... is this what you have been waiting for?
I'm still waiting for my Apple blessed ultra-portable netbook (my hacked HP is looking long in the tooth). Seriously, take the HP mini, Apple-fy it... and overcharge me $200 and you will have a happy fan.
I give you a thumbs up for trying with the MacBook Air, but you originally missed the mark by about $2000 and about 5 inches.
@(Unverified)
I am waiting for Apple to update the MacBook Air in the next few months. Though I like the screen size as is, and would like it even better if it could be converted into a tablet (That you could touch to turn magazine/book pages).
And I have waited long enough that I have saved up the money.
@(Unverified) Nah, this isn't an ultraportable chip, it really isn't. However I'm almost certain this WILL be the update for the Macbook Pro. The Macbook is currently on the same spec as the equivalent MBP only with more hard drive space and other manufacturers have had i5 machines out for a while (albeit running ridiculously hot and hungry for power). The i5 will almost certainly become the high end processor on the 15 and 17 MBP's with the 13" maybe getting an i3 in the base configuration? Actually, that'd be a killer package for me: a 13" MBP with a i3 processor, 250Gb hard drive, 2Gb of Ram (preferably 4) and the usual extras for the same price as the current entry level MBP. Very very nice indeed as an entry level Mac. Not that it'll ever happen of course as Apple never seem to do what you'd expect but....
@(Unverified) Apple isn't happy about the integrated graphics though. They're trying to get Intel to make a version without it.
@Spiraling Shape I have to wonder what's better, a dual core 2.4 = 4.8 or a quad 1.2 = 4.8? I guess we can see what's going on in the future with GCD and how multi core processing plays out by the programmers.
@rcappo I'm waiting on the next MB Air as well!
Want an Acer Timeline 11.6" with an Core i7-640UM please.
@jayayess1190 How's the 640UM clock line? 1.2-2.6? Could an 1810TZ handle that processor?
@N900 The Core i7 640-UM is 1.2GHz, but gets faster when plugged in with Turbo Boost. It has a TDP of 18W, 8W for the cpu and 10W for the gpu, so all together this is better than my 3810t with its SU9400 and GMA 4500 using more power combined. So yeah, the 640UM will work perfectly in an 1810 replacement and I would love to sell my 3810t for one.
@jayayess1190
What's the TDP of the 4500?
@Han Not sure, can't even find it anywhere. I think it is somewhere between 10-15W.
@jayayess1190 Not going to happen. These things are going to need significant heat dissipation, and big batteries, even if they are better than the i7's they're replacing. Don't hold your breath for these in a thin 'n light. You'll have to buy a full size.
@Fanfoot
The ULV chips exist for thin and lights, theres no reason there wont be thin and light Arrandales.
@Fanfoot
These chips are repalcing the current C2Ds, and they have the same TDP fpr the cpu, gpu and northbridge as the C2Ds have for the cpu alone.
Dell Vostro V13 w/ ULV Arrandales would be sweet. Would be nice to see them in the Asus UL30A/UL20A and the Acer Timelines as well...
I have been waiting 2 years for this day to come..
@Eraser
Same here. I really want a nice thin n light laptop with some real power. My netbook is nice and all, but I need a better keyboard.
Right now I am trying to decide between getting something like the V13/Timeline/X100e versus a Thinkpad T410 versus 13" Macbook Pro.
If one of these ULVs comes out with a really nice keyboard, it would make it really tough to justify spending twice as much for a macbook, or getting a significantly heavier thinkpad.
@DrDr
Thin and light is of key important to me too. Battery life as well. Those Asus UL30s get like 12+ hours of battery life. The V13 is a bit disappointing in that it only gets like 5, and the battery isn't removeable. Hopefully dell comes out with something that's basically the same form factor, but puts a removeable battery in it and adds more battery life.
@Eraser - look what you've done...drool all over the keyboard!
V13 with Arrandale & better battery life...sigh, like a dream!
@Eraser
Good luck waiting on Arrandale CULVs. Intel is still releasing Celeron, Pentium and Core 2 Duo CULVs.
will the new i3 work on a motherboard that can take a i5 and i7 LGA 1156 Intel
@armasmike
The clarkdale i3s and i5s will be LGA 1156, these arrandales are mobile CPUs.
What about the mobile i7 620?
How long will it be before someone OCs an i3 to match an i5 or even an i7?
@tylersmyler
Never, unless they can OC two more cores onto it.
@tylersmyler
Intel isn't dumb, they realize, you can over clock processor, thus they lock you down at things that you can't do shit about, fsb, cache, core.
Waiting for the first Arrandale ultraportables. 18W TDP for cpu+gpu hooooo
WoW isn't the greatest demo because it is so highly variable by area. Most old-world content (that looks like Teldrassil) runs much faster than BC/WoLK content or particularly Dalaran.
My Acer 1410 (Core 2 Solo 1.4GHz, Intel GMA X4500MHD) actually has no problems running old-world WoW content at around ~30fps. That screenshot shows 35fps, which is entirely possible with only a marginal increase in GPU performance.
Note that the GMA X4500 (current generation) GPU is much, much faster than the GMA 950 that's in most netbooks. But it's still 2 or 3 times slower than a Radeon HD 3200 integrated GPU or a GeForce 9300/9400 integrated GPU, let alone even the slowest dedocated graphics on the market.
@(Unverified)
So what you're trying to tell us, is that they should demo Crysis? :-)
@daytripper
i am betting about 10fps max :p
Back in my day I had an IBM PC running DOS on an intel i386. I remember playing Commander Keen and Duke Nukem on that thing.. Took it apart like 7 times :P That chip was made on 1000 nm node. Now we're at 32. Squared, that's 1 Million to about 1 Thousand. For every single transistor in that 386 I had, we could fit 1000 today.
1000. I'm only one score years old, but man.. Moore's law can make anybody feel old.
@ethana2
And assuming it ran at 40MHz, every one of those thousand transistors is working 50 times as fast.
@ethana2 If you are one score years old, it means you were born in '89. How old were you when you were using that 386, 2yrs old?
I was like 8.. It was a hand-me-down of sorts, but it did what I wanted and I was happy to have it.
I'd like an Envy 15 equipped with the Core i7 620 um. Add into that switchable to an ATI 4830, I'd call it a major win.
I'm so glad the i3/5/7 series is starting to trickle out to laptops. I've been itching for a new laptop, but I couldn't quite justify buying a new machine with a Core2Duo when my laptop from 3 years ago also has a Core2Duo, no matter how much better the new Core2Duos are. Core2Duo.
Wait so the Core i7 620M processor isn't being released Jan 03? Maybe the Fudzilla article got it wrong. http://www.fudzilla. com/content/view/16642/41/
marked my calender for january 7th, my white macbook is going under a truck >:)
Integrated graphics is a great idea if it doesn't cost too much silicon (added price, either) and is easily disabled for something better.
i want a dell with the icore 5 !!!
@KLegSY
yea I want the 14z with i5!
Any Clarkdale news?