Intel Core i5 and Core i3 desktop parts start shipping

Like the well-oiled global superpower that it is, Intel has performed a smooth and immediate transition from the announcement of its new 32nm CPUs to actual chips hitting shelves. Newegg has stock of the Core i5-670 (3.46GHz), i5-660 (3.33GHz), and i5-650 (3.2GHz), all of which come with 4MB of cache and that ultra-efficient power profile we drooled over not too long ago. There's also the i5-661 (which sucks up a bit more juice but has higher integrated GPU clock speeds) as well as a pair of Core i3 options. Hit up our Clarkdale review roundup here for a handy guide to distinguishing between all these.

[Thanks, Keenan]

[dedparrot Posted Jan 8th 2010 1:56PM]

Anyone know what the AMD competition is for these chips?

[Sneakz Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:00PM]

@dedparrot

The i3 530 and 540 compete with the AMD Athlon II X4 620 and 630.

[max1001 Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:10PM]

@dedparrot
AMD already lost the battle. They have stuff that can compare in term of pure power, but nothing in term of handling multitasking.

[lokienloki Posted Jan 8th 2010 4:09PM]

@max1001 How fast are they? Really fast, obviously, and apparently totally worth the upgrade. Clarkdale is fastest that anything dual core out there, while both mobile chips are faster than their Core 2 Duo counterparts, with the extra performance having no impact on the battery life. Imagine combining a GPU and a CPU in one processor? Z-omg: More details: http://bit.ly/arrandale-clarkdale-indepth-details

[TechMaster Posted Jan 8th 2010 1:57PM]

I wish i had moneyz to buy these sadley i don't anyone care to give me some xD

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:33PM]

@TechMaster

You can't have no Tree Fiddy. Damn Loch Ness Monster.

[ashleythehottiest Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:00PM]

What's that big thing?

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:35PM]

@ashleythehottiest


Um, that's what she said?

[Guru101010 Posted Jan 8th 2010 4:09PM]

@jon

Dude leave that whole "That's what she said" thing in 2009.

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 8:28PM]

@Guru101010

I actually agree with you.

In this case however, it's theoretically a chick asking a question that makes no sense. I couldn't help myself.

[htd Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:06PM]

i5 660/661 seem to be similarly priced as i7 920 but as less powerful?

[TMoney2007 Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:14PM]

@htd They are, but the motherboards are cheaper and the power usage is less. That said, I'm going to be getting an i7 920 sometimes soon.

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:21PM]

@htd

The prices will drop, remember the 920 was $300+ when it launched. Plus you have to add the cost of a video card, the third channel of ram, and the more expensive motherboard.

That said, I can't see myself building a Clarkdale system.

[hajj3 Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:15PM]

UK prices:

H55 board - £70-112
H57 board - £170

core i3 530 - £96
core i3 540 - £112

core i5 chips - £149-233

[dedparrot Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:20PM]

where's i7?
how does i7, i5 and i3 differ from each other?
and why don't I ever hear about i7?

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:24PM]

@dedparrot

There are no Clarkdale i7s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehalem_(microarchitecture)

Just about all the info you could want.

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:26PM]

@jon

Damn you Engadget comment system, that link never works.

click this on the previous link.

Did you mean: Nehalem (microarchitecture)

[dedparrot Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:34PM]

@jon Thank You :)

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:37PM]

@dedparrot

De nada.

[SpeedyJDK Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:37PM]

Sadly it will cost double that price on newegg when its going to be sold here in europe.

[va jj Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:39PM]

are they implying if installed video card are optional?

[mryuk Posted Jan 8th 2010 2:46PM]

Anyone know how the new 660/661 i5 compares to the older 750 i5 in terms of performance? They are both priced about the same, but the 660s are clocked a lot higher.

[mryuk Posted Jan 8th 2010 3:00PM]

@mryuk

The comparisons are in Anandtechs review here:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3704&p=12

Looks like the 750 still outperforms the new 660s in gaming performance.

[alexpigment Posted Jan 8th 2010 3:00PM]

Intel, you've truly outdone yourself in terms of confusing the f**k out of the customer.

[KAL326 Posted Jan 8th 2010 3:23PM]

@alexpigment No joke, hard to find differences between the i3 and i5 aside from cache size and turbo boost. Then the quad core i5's do not have hyperthreading while the dual cores do. Then you have the i7s with two different sockets depending on the series number, 8xx versus 9xx. The i5s are dual or quad core by series number 5xx versus 6xx. Yep this is really f'n clear Intel.

[BuffaloX Posted Jan 8th 2010 4:37PM]

@KAL326

This is what happens when they don't have real competition and a stupid marketing department. I keep up on this stuff and even I'm fairly confused...

[It Prints Money Posted Jan 8th 2010 3:12PM]

Dual-Core? I thought the i series were all Quad-cores. I'm lost.

[Raffi256 Posted Jan 8th 2010 3:46PM]

@It Prints Money

Only the Core i7 is quad-core, but some of the i7s are dual-core. The Core i9 will be six-core.

[jon Posted Jan 8th 2010 8:31PM]

@Raffi256

Probably not, most likely the Gulftown(six core) will be i7 980XE.

[moush Posted Jan 9th 2010 1:48AM]

@Raffi256

The i5 750 is quad-core.

[combouser Posted Jan 8th 2010 5:33PM]

by the time i cross reference my notes, bookmarks, and articles on the new chips, chipsets, etc., they will have intro'd new ones.....I think i will sit on my 1st gen c2d for another few months until others start reviewing homemade setups.....