Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer memory, power supplies and flash memory products, including solid-state drives, today announced that is has launched a full range of dual-channel performance DDR3 memory products, designed for Intel Core i5-750, Core i7-870, and Core i7-860 "Lynnfield" processors.

The initial product offering consists of four 4GB kits comprised of matched pairs of 2GB DIMMs, and two 8GB kits comprised of four matched 2GB DIMMS, in frequencies of 1333MHz, 1600MHz and 2000MHz. This lineup includes a 4GB 1600MHz CAS 8 Dominator and 4GB 2000MHz CAS 8 Dominator GT, both of which feature Corsair's innovative DHX+ (Dual-path Heat eXchange) memory cooling technology for maximum performance and reliability. All the kits use a low operating voltage of 1.65V or less.

A little over a fortnight away from launch, one of Intel's first socket LGA-1156 processors, the Core i5 750 has started being listed on popular American online (and ground) retailer Fry's. Not for pre-order or expected stock, but accepting orders for same-day shipping! The processor ended up being priced just where we expected it to be: around the $200 mark (listed on roadmaps so far as $196).

Based on the Nehalem architecture, the Core i5 750 "Lynnfield" is a monolithic quad-core processor with a clock speed of 2.66 GHz, with a QuickPath Interconnect connection to the northbridge it shares the chip package with. It features 256 KB L2 caches per core, and a shared 8 MB L3 cache. Its integrated DDR3 memory controller addresses dual-channel memory. The listing can be found here.

The folks over at Coolaler and XFastest took one of the first public pictures of the retail packaging of Intel's Core i5 750 processor. The pictures reveal what is typically expected of an Intel retail package: a blue box with branding in the front, a sticker on the bottom-right corner that shows which model it is, windows that let you see the processor and its cooler. Inside, is the usual molded plastic cover that holds the processor and cooler, and some documentation.

The cooler design hasn't changed at all from several previous generations. It consists of a copper base with pre-applied thermal compound. From the base, several forked aluminum fins project radially. Size-wise, the cooler is roughly the same size as that of Core 2 Duo E8000 series processors. One of the first socket LGA-1156 processors to hit the market, the Core i5 750, along with Core i7 860 and 870 (both LGA-1156 processors too), will launch in under 5 weeks from now. More details about the processor can be read in our older article here.

Intel's upcoming processor and compatible platform launch schedule gained some clarity today with tentative launch dates and time-frames surfacing from industry sources. Highlights on the client front include:

• Desktop platform initially based on Lynnfield quad-core processor and P55 chipset to be out between September 8~11
• Three recently detailed mobile quad-core processor models based on the Clarksfield core will be announced towards the end of September or early October
• Around the same time as above, Intel will release two new budget chips for its CULV platform, called Celeron SU2300 and Celeron 743. Expect these to be toned-down variants of the existing Core 2 CULV chips

Using new lows in core clock speeds, Intel is looking to give its upcoming Westmere-based Core i7 "Clarksfield" mobile quad-core processors surprisingly low rated TDPs. Apart from the rest of the known lineup of upcoming Intel processors, it is learned that Intel will initially have three mobile quad-core chips, all branded Core i7, and based on the 32 nm Clarksfield core. The three will include an Extreme Edition (XE) SKU. The clock speeds of these will be surprisingly low: ranged between 1.60 to 2.00 GHz, while having a high Turbo-Boost speed ranged between 2.80 to 3.20 GHz.

The Turbo-Boost speed is enabled when the processor powers-down some of its cores, and increases the clock speed of the cores that are available. In the process, power consumption is reduced. These chips have some very low TDPs that make them ideal for notebooks. The XE variant has a TDP of 55W, while the two lower models have rated TDP of 45W. The low-end model comes with 6 MB of L3 cache, while the higher two have 8 MB. All models have four cores with HyperThreading enabling 8 threads, and lack IGPs. They will run on the new PGA-G1 socket.

In related news, the first three Core i5/i7 "Lynnfield" processors come with rated TDP no higher than 95W. They come with Turbo-Boost Speeds ranging between 3.20 and 3.60 GHz.

While the bulk of Intel's upcoming Nehalem and Westmere derived products include quad-core processors, the company hasn't left out dual-core processors just as yet. The dual-core Core i5 desktop processor will be based on the new Clarkdale core, built on the 32 nm Westmere architecture. Originally slated for a Q1 2010 launch, the new chip seems to have been pulled into the Q4 2009 launch schedule, deep enough to make for a significant amount of projected sales, according to sources in the Taiwanese motherboard industry.

The sales projections for Q4 look particularly interesting. Core i5 "Clarkdale" dual-core is projected to amount for 10% of Intel's sales, while Core i7 "Bloomfield" at 1%, Core i5 "Lynnfield" at 2% (Core i7 "Lynnfield" is slated for Q1 2010), Core 2 Quad at 9%, Core 2 Duo E7000/E8000 at 35%, Pentium E5000/E6000 at 31%, Celeron E3000 and Atom together at 9%, Pentium E2000 and Celeron 400 together at 4%. In the following quarter, Clarkdale's sales share is expected to rise to 20%. The numbers prove just how large the market for dual-core processors is, even four years into the introduction of quad-core chips.

Last week, Intel sketched out its strategy in dealing with its client processor brand Core, and placing its different kinds of processors in series of markers (such as "i3", "i5", and "i7"), on the merit of performance and features they offer, and not necessarily a segregation based on core type and socket type. This raised a big debate in our forums, on who is really going to benefit from this kind of branding.

Chinese website INPAI.com.cn sourced information which explains what factors go into determining which brand marker a processor gets. The table elaborates on how different kinds of Intel processors (determined by core and socket types) cross different lines, with a few features toggled or enhanced. It is sure to throw up some surprises.

ASUS' P55 motherboard lineup seems to have come a full-circle, complete with a Republic of Gamers (ROG) series model. The Maximus III Formula takes over its name from the X38-based Maximus, and P45-based Maximus II. The board is based on the new Intel P55 chipset, which supports the upcoming Intel Core i5 series processors.

The board is a sprawling metropolis. The CPU is powered by a massive 19-phase power circuit. It is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3 memory, with its own 3-phase power circuit. A sporty cooler sits atop the board's VRM while a pseudo-heatsink gives it the industrial feel of having a northbridge which it doesn't, while a flat, large heatsink cools the P55 chipset. The board packs several ROG-exclusive features, such as iROG, Voltmeter LED, and ROG-Connect. The two red PCI-Express x16 slots arrange as dual x8 slots when both are populated, while the third white slot is electrically x4 and connected to the the P55 PCH. From the looks of it, a SupremeFX audio card will be bundled. Gigabit Ethernet, LCD poster, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet, and a CMOS reset switch make for its rear-panel. It is expected to arrive in Q3 2009. More pictures of the board can be viewed here.

Prepare to bid farewell to the $400 Core i7 upgrade dream. Chip major Intel is reportedly planning to discontinue some of the relatively affordable Core i7 processors, including the most commercially successful model, the 920. Cannibalizing the Core i7 920 and 940, will create market headroom for the company's upcoming Core i5 "Lynnfield" processors. Internal analysis reportedly show that the high-end Lynnfield processors perform too close to the lower models of Core i7, and that could potentially affect sales of those high-end Core i5 chips. Perhaps Intel is trying to oil the segment to make the most profits. Sources at motherboard manufacturers tell that the companies are already working on adjusting their X58 product lines to cater to the future lines of Core i7 processors, which, may start with the $649 Core i7 950 and beyond. What's more, 950 is expected to get the axe later down the line. It may have certainly been a good couple of quarters for you, saving for triple channel memory, true dual PCI-E x16 motherboards, and the elusive Core i7 920. You may want to execute your plans now, or change them.

Intel's Core i5 series marks the consumer mainstream entry of the Nehalem architecture, in a bid to propagate quad-core processors, at the same time letting the market digest existing inventories of dual-core processors, and making sure its foundries are well-oiled to cater to the 32 nm process, Intel is giving its "Lynnfield" quad-core processor a quarter's head-start. Taiwanese industry observer DigiTimes notes that the platform' debut may have been delayed by a little over a month.

Originally slated for July, the industry debut of Lynnfield and its launch companion, Intel P55 chipset, have been pushed to early September. Stocks of the processors and compatible motherboards however, will be in time for the launch. The processors may be available to retailers about a week ahead, in late August itself, while compatible motherboards even earlier, in mid-August.

Intel plans to start the lineup with three models (yet to be named), clocked at 2.66 GHz, 2.80 GHz, and 2.93 GHz, and priced at US $194, $284, and $562 respectively (in 1000-unit tray quantities). Major motherboard vendors such as ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI have already displayed some of their first compatible motherboards. The P55 chipset itself is expected to be priced at $40.

Intel's quad-core Core i5 2.66 GHz processor based on the Lynnfield core, was tested on an Intel reference-design P55 motherboard (DIBX_CRB) by forum members of XFastest. The processor accompanies 2.80 GHz and 2.93 GHz variants higher up in the series, and is expected to be priced at US $196.

The test bed was put through 3DMark Vantage (Performance and eXtreme settings), Cinebench R10, Queen, Photoworxx and AES tests of Everest. The GPU is of little relevance, as the CPU test 1 is what is to be looked at. At Queen, the setup with 4 cores and HyperThreading enabled, edged a dual-Xeon L5320 (8 cores) setup. It proved to be roughly 25% faster than Core 2 Extreme QX9650 at Photoworxx, and scored marginally higher than it AES. More pictures of the motherboard at the source.

Intel's next big thing in the making, the Core i5 series processors are nearing launch, which is reportedly delayed to October. The new processors replace the Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo series of processors, while leaving the high-end market for Core i7 to play with. These processors are based on the LGA 1156 socket, and are incompatible with Core i7 motherboards. Recent reports shed light on three models in the making to start the lineup, all of which are quad-core processors based on the Lynnfield core, built on the existing 45 nm process.

The common features of these processors include: four x86 processing cores with support for HyperThreading technology, an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller specified to run DDR3-1066 and DDR3-1333 modules, 8 MB of L3 cache, and support for TurboBoost technology. The three models will come with core clock speeds of 2.66 GHz, 2.80 GHz, and 2.93 GHz. The three will be priced at US $196, $284, and $562 respectively. With the TurboBoost technology enabled, the clock speeds card be stepped up to 3.2, 3.46 and 3.6 GHz respectively, on the fly. Shortly after launching these processors, Intel may introduce the industry's first 32 nm processors. With these prices, the chips clearly intrude the price-domain of Core i7, though perhaps their lower platform costs could serve as deal-makers.

Earlier this month, Intel released a series of its Core 2 Quad processors with low power ratings, rated TDPs at 65W. This move served two purposes: to bring down the energy footprints of the CPUs, and to propagate quad-core chips to even those platforms whose electrical components are built for CPUs in that 65W power range. An example of that would be small form-factor PCs, mini-ITX motherboards with LGA-775 sockets, and some variants that might make it to notebooks. Intel now has plans to bring in a low-power Lynnfield processor sometime in Q1 2010. Given the amount of machinery the Lynnfield processors hold: four x86 processing cores, a dual-channel IMC, internal QPI and PCI-Express root complexes, in some cases even an IGP, a low-power variant sounds like a great engineering feat. We don't exactly know as to what low-power in context of Lynnfield is, at this point, but we can tell it will bring down platform power consumptions, given that the processor could end up being the single largest power consumer on a motherboard, and its power consumption affects that of the entire platform significantly.

Now faced with delays, Intel's upcoming Ibex-Peak platform, a next-generation mainstream implementation of the Nehalem architecture, is an interesting mix of technologies, where Intel seeks to minimise the platform and energy footprints while delivering value and performance through a clever bit of rearrangement of system components. HKEPC has learned that Intel's 5-Series mainstream chipsets consists of five models: P57, Q57, H57, P55, and H55. The P57 and P55 are built for the consumer PC with discrete graphics. The H57 and H55 chipsets are built for processors with integrated graphics, with support for the Intel FDI. The Q57 is built for the business / enterprise-client PC, it supports a host of exclusive Intel technologies that make the machine easier to manage.

I'm afraid that what's to be told here, is hard to be categorized as good news. Industry observer DigiTimes reports that Intel is about to postpone the initiation of Lynnfield processors and P55 chipset. Chips based on the quad-core Lynnfield design, are supposed to bring Nehalem to more people, because they'll represent the budget line of Core i7 processors.

Intel has recently decided to postpone its next-generation mainstream CPU Lynnfield along with the P55 chipset to the end of August or the beginning of September this year, and may postpone them to an even later time depending on the market situation, according to sources at motherboard makers. Both Lynnfield and P55 were originally scheduled to launch by the end of July. The economic decline which has caused motherboard makers to suffer overstocked chipset inventory is the major reason for the pull back, according to the sources. After the P55 launches, Intel plans to phase out non-IGP P45 and P43 chipsets and will transition its 4-series IGP chipsets to the entry-level.

i5? i5! Core i5 would be the brand name Intel's mainstream desktop derivatives of the Nehalem architecture based on the Lynnfield core would carry. It is similar to its big brother, the Core i7 for the most of the part except for a few differences:

• A current generation Direct Media Interface (DMI) Interconnect as chipset interface
• A 128-bit wide DDR3 memory interface (Dual Channel) instead of triple-channel
• Some more machinery from the northbridge migrated to the CPU, such as the PCI-Express root complex
• The newer LGA 1160 socket

Lynnfield continues to have four x86 processing cores with HyperThreading enabled, with 256 KB of L2 cache per core and a shared 8 MB L3 cache. Chiphell got its hands on not only the processor, but also a compatible motherboard and run a quick preliminary evaluation of the processor. The processor, clocked at 2,127 MHz, was put though SuperPi, wPrime, Cinebench, Fritz Chess, and 3DMark Vantage. The processor is expected to release in the second half of 2009.

In the weeks to come Intel and its partners, would be buzzing with activity, in the form of product launches. Three models of the Core i7 series processors, accompanied by supportive motherboards, and possibly tri-channel DDR3 memory kits, would hit shelves. The LGA-1366 socket would serve as an extreme and performance segment offering, on the whole. The mainstream segment would continue in the form of the newer LGA-1160 socket, and the Ibex Peak platform. Processors would essentially use the same architecture as the upcoming i7 processors, but feature dual-channel memory interfaces, and continue using the DMI front-side bus as the system interface.

As for its supportive chipset, Intel plans to label them under the P5x series. Chipsets without IGPs, would have so little machinery, with the memory controller shifted to the CPU, that even high-performance chipsets could be monolithic. A single chip would handle the system's peripherals, storage, and connect it to the CPU. There are indications that the CPU could house PCI-Express switches on-die. This would provide direct connections between PCI-E devices such as graphics cards, and the CPU. The P5x series chipsets could include a confirmed P55 chipset that rules its roost, with P53 and P51 chipsets that fabricate the lineup.

Pictures of the mainstream Nehalem chips otherwise known as Lynnfield have emerged in the asian forum XFastest. Unlike the Bloomfield that has 1366 pins, Lynnfield has only 1160 pins and lacks the QPI link that the Bloomfield uses for triple channel DDR3. Instead Lynnfield uses DMI which only supports dual channel DDR3. Check out the link below for even more comparison images.