Intel Releases Seven Sandy Bridge CPUs

Today, Intel has released seven new Sandy Bridge based CPUs: three Core i5 and four Celeron models. All the i5 SKUs are desktop models, whereas the Celeron SKUs are mobile: two standard voltage and two ultra-low voltage models. Below is a table of the new SKUs. 

Specifications of New Intel CPUs (1/30/2012)SKUCore/Thread CountFrequencyMax Turbo FrequencyL3 CacheTDPPriceCore i5-2550K4/43.4GHz3.8GHz6MB95W$225Core i5-2450P4/43.2GHz3.5GHz6MB95W$195Core i5-2380P4/43.1GHz3.4GHz6MB95W$177Celeron B8152/21.6GHzN/A2MB35W$86Celeron B7201/11.7GHzN/A1MB35W$70Celeron 8672/21.3GHzN/A2MB17W$134Celeron 7971/11.4GHzN/A1MB17W$107

You may be wondering what the P at the end of two Core i5 SKUs stands for. Intel has not updated their product database yet so we aren't 100% sure, but VR-Zone is reporting that it implies a GPU-less model. VR-Zone is also stating that the i5-2550K is GPU-less as well, which would be a step down from the i5-2500K that features Intel HD 3000 graphics.

This is a logical move as Intel must have a stack of chips with fully working cores and other parts, but the IGP isn't functional. On the other hand, it's good to keep in mind that a disabled IGP means no Quick Sync. Since the price and specification differences between the models with IGP and the models without is so small, we recommend buying a model with the graphics as you never know when you might want/need Quick Sync or more video outputs. The 100MHz increase in frequency isn't worth the loss of the IGP. 

As for the CPUs in general, i5-2550K is obviously the successor of i5-2500K. It has 100MHz (i.e. one CPU bin) higher frequencies than i5-2500K and is priced $9 higher. Similarly, i5-2450P and i5-2380P are successors of i5-2400 and i5-2320—the i5-2450P being $11 more expensive and i5-2380P being priced the same as its predecessor. Celeron B815 replaces B810 at the $86 price point; they share the same core specs while the GPU gets a bump in maximum clock from 950MHz to 1050MHz. Meanwhile, B720 succeeds B710 with 100MHz higher frequency and the same $70 price tag. Celeron 867 becomes the new high-end ULV Celeron by taking the place of 857 at the price point of $134 with 100MHz higher frequency, and 797 increases the frequency by 100MHz to 1.4GHz in the $107 category and replaces 787.

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