Intel's new Clarkdale and Arrandale processors launched, benchmarked, and judged from all angles

This year's newest dual-core Core i3 and i5 processors (codenamed Arrandale and Clarkdale) have just been officially launched by Intel and already Anandtech has put up data on performance, among other things. The new Clarkdale processors, which will fall under the desktop category, will run on Intel's LGA 1156 socket and all existing P55 motherboards will support them with a proper BIOS update (all seven of them, ranging from the high-end Intel Core i5-670 which will retail at nearly $300 USD and the entry-level Intel Core i3-530 which is already on pre-sale at PC Hub Gilmore).

Meanwhile, Intel also plans to launch entirely new motherboards with integrated graphics in the form of the H55, H57 and Q57 chipsets. Apparently, this is where Intel's new processors shine, giving integrated graphics a new leash on life both on the desktop as well as the laptop category, with Arrandale taking care of things in the mobile department (with no less than 11 mobile Arrandale CPUs, at that).

So, there's a slight increase in performance in terms of computing power and graphics processing with Clarkdale and Arrandale, but not enough to warrant their slightly ridiculous price tags, which I've already pointed out on several occasions. But why should you take my word for it? Go on and read Anandtech's review of the new processors for yourself, with two clear links as sources below.

Source: [Anandtech - Arrandale review, Clarkdale review]

Pinetrail: Intel's Atom D510 processor and NM10 chipset get tested

Intel's Pinetrail Atom platform isn't just intended for netbooks, but also nettops, or as Intel likes calling them, entry-level desktops. The first entry-level desktops with Pinetrail are expected to hit the market by January 2010, and they will be fitted with either the single-core Atom D410 CPU or the dual-core Atom D510 CPU (partnered with the new NM10 chipset which was previously referred to as Tiger Point; see a better explanation of the Pinetrail platform here).

If you plan on getting any of the new nettops that will come out running on Pinetrail in January, then you might want to check on the benchmarks ran by Tom's Hardware, comparing the performance and power consumption of the new Intel dual-core Atom D510 with the last generation Atom and a low-end Pentium E-series processor. The results are not in the least bit surprising. The Intel Atom D510 didn't show a significant increase in performance. In fact, it even failed to complete some tests and constantly crashed during testing. However, it did show a significant reduction in power consumption, and if you're after low electric bills, I'm sure you'll find that to be very good news.

There's a lot more information to be digested about the new Pineview Atom desktop processor, so head on to Tom's Hardware for the full test results.

Source: [Tom's Hardware]

Intel prepping Pentium Dual-Core E5500 processor

While Intel is heavily promoting its upcoming Core i5 and Core i3 processors for system builders, it still has its eye on the budget segment, for which it is preparing to launch a new Pentium Dual-Core processor to be called the Intel E5500. A step up from the E5400, the E5500 will have a stock clock speed of 2.8GHz with an 800MHz FSB, 2MB of L2 cache and a 65W TDP. Fudzilla, where the report of this processor's existence originates, mentions that it will be available for $74 USD or about 3,400 Pesos by early Q2 2010.

Source: [Fudzilla]

Dave Explains: Intel's new Pinetrail Atom platform detailed

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Today we had a total of five different netbook models announced with Intel's new Pinetrail Atom N450 processor (the Fujitsu LifeBook MH380, Asus Eee PC 1005PE, MSI Wind U130 and 135 and the Dell Inspiron Mini 10). But what exactly is this new processor all about, and how does it differ from the N270/N280 Atom CPUs that we've been hearing about in netbooks for the past year? In a way, Intel's Pinetrail platform of CPUs heralds a new age for the company's aging x86 processors. And things can only get better. Continue reading for a more in-depth explanation.

Intel working on 32nm Cedarview-D Atom platform with sub-10W TDP

Think the Atom processor is small enough? Well apparently, Intel does not. The Atom processor is going to get smaller and smaller, and consume less power as the months go by and we enter into 2010. Based on information picked up by Fudzilla, Intel is set to launch a new Atom platform codenamed "Cedarview-D" possibly some time in late 2010. We'll bear witness to the Pineview-D nettop platform's launch when next year arrives, but then it will make way for the new 32nm Atom CPUs with sub-10W TDP which are part of the Cedarview-D platform. So it offers less power consumption with a smaller TDP, less cost due to being part of Intel's 32nm process, and better reliability... or so we are told. One can only hope, though, that this doesn't result in an even weaker processor that bogs down the entire system as the biggest bottleneck as with most Atom-powered mobile devices these days.

Source: [Fudzilla]

Intel's Gulftown Core i9 hexa-core CPU previewed with set of benchmarks and overclocking

The fabled Intel Core i9 processor, codenamed Gulftown with its six physical cores and support for multi-threading, sounds like a pretty promising piece of hardware, doesn't it? Polish hardware site PClab.pl has gone through the trouble of showing its potential through a series of benchmarks, as well as monitoring power consumption and performance when overclocking. The result? It is indeed something to watch out for. It's not going to be very useful for gamers with the limited multi-threading support in games these days, but for desktop servers and workstations, Intel's hexa-core 32nm Gulftown CPU should shine, able to overclock easily up to 4.3GHz and providing six additional virtual cores to go alongside the six physical ones it already has. Check out the full hands on review for more.

Read - Intel Core i9 (Gulftown) - 6 cores, 32 nm: hands-on review

Sources: [PCLab, NordicHardware]

Intel to launch Core i5 and Core i3 processors in mainstream notebooks on January 2010

While having Intel's top-of-the-line Core i7 processors on notebooks might not sound like a very good idea to some (taking power consumption and heat generated into account), having Intel's Core i5 and upcoming Core i3 processors on notebooks seem like a much more interesting proposition. And this will become a reality soon as Intel is expected to launch a total of four 32nm dual-core Arrandale CPUs during the first half of January 2010, which are the Core i5-520M, Core i5-430M, Core i3-350M and Core i3-330M. This is according to notebook players being cited in a recent report by DigiTimes. The Chinese news site adds:

The Intel Core i5-430M runs at a clock speed of 2.26GHz, but with Intel's Turbo Boost technology, it can run up to 2.53GHz for a single core. The Intel Core i3-350M also runs at 2.26GHz, but does not support Turbo Boost technology; Intel Core i3-330M runs at 2.13GHz and also does not support Turbo Boost technology.

Core i5 CPUs will feature a graphics clock that runs at a base speed of 500MHz but can also run at speeds up to 766MHz. The Core i3 also runs at 500MHz but can also run at speeds up to 667MHz. Both series support DDR3 memory up to 1066MHz and feature 3MB L3 Cache with a TDP of 35W.

This is definitely good news and is worth waiting out for. Do not buy new notebooks come Christmas time is what I'm trying to say.

Source: [DigiTimes]