Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Core i5 and i3 CPUs With On-Chip GPUs Launched

Posted by timothy on from the two-links-is-plenty dept.

MojoKid writes "Intel has officially launched their new Core i5 and Core i3 lineup of Arrandale and Clarkdale processors today, for mobile and desktop platforms respectively. Like Intel's recent release of the Pinetrail platform for netbooks, new Arrandale and Clarkdale processors combine both an integrated memory controller (DDR3) and GPU (graphics processor) on the same package as the main processor. Though it's not a monolithic device, but is built upon multi-chip module packaging, it does allow these primary functional blocks to coexist in a single chip footprint or socket. In addition, Intel beefed up their graphics core and it appears that the new Intel GMA HD integrated graphics engine offers solid HD video performance and even a bit of light gaming capability."

2 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Intel branding considered harmful by NoNickNameForMe · · Score: 5, Informative

    That is not the only problem nowadays, even processors within a given family may or may not have specific features (VT, for example) disabled. You'd think that there is a conspiracy going on...

  2. Not that different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Intel also has three lines that more or less directly correspond to AMDs: Core/Phenom (good), Pentium/Athlon (ok) and Celeron/Sempron (cheap), plus the server Xeon/Opteron. The real pain is the amount of different model numbers and numbering schemes. The secret decoder ring for Intel models is:

    A) old three number codes
    E.g. Pentium 965, Celeron 450, ...
    First digit is the model, second digit corresponds to the speed
    These are usually old crap and should be avoided. Celeron 743 and Celeron 900 fairly recent low-end chips that you can still buy.

    B) Letter plus four numbers codes, e.g. SU7300:
    * S = small form factor
    * U = ultra-low voltage (5-10W), L = low-voltage (17W), P = medium voltage (25W), T = desktop replacement (35W), E = Desktop (65W), Q = quad-core (65-130W), X = extreme edition
    * 7 = model line, tells you about amount of cache, VT capability etc. Scale goes from 1 (crap) to 9 (can't afford).
    * 3 = clock frequency, relative performance within the line. Scale from 0 to 9.
    * 00 = random features disabled or enabled, have to look up for specific details.

    C) New Core i3-XYZa
    Similar to scheme B, with the added dash and more confusing
    * i3 = Line within Core brand, can be i3 (cheap, but better than Celeron or Pentium), i5 (decent) or i7 (high-end)
    * X = the actual model, tells you the amount of cache and number of cores, but only together with the processor line (i3-5xx is very different from i5-5xx)
    * Y = corresponds to clock speed, higher is better
    * Z = modifier, currently 0, 1 or 5 for specific features
    * a = type of processor: X = extreme, M = mobile, QM = quad-core mobile, LM = low-voltage mobile, UM = ultra-low-voltage mobile