With Core i5, Intel Takes Aim At Mainstream Market

During our evaluation in the CRN Test Center, the Nehalem processors broke all kinds of records and are still the most powerful CPUs to have passed through our lab. Unfortunately, all that power came at a price, with the high-end Core i7-975 processor selling for approximately $999 per processor in quantities of 1,000. Because of the new design, brand new motherboards and memory, DIMMs were also necessary.

On Tuesday, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker released three new processors along with yet another new chipset, the P55. The platform, this time code-named Lynnfield, is targeted for a more mainstream customer.

The three CPUs consist of two Core i7s and one with the new nomenclature, Core i5. Whereas the original Core i7s were part of the 900 series (920, 940, and 965), the new additions are in the 800 series, specifically the 2.80-GHz 860 and the 2.93-GHz 870. The 2.66-GHz Core i5 processor is called the Core i5-750.

So, how do they stand up? Reviewers tested both the Core i7-870 and the Core i5-750 in Intel's DP55KG Extreme reference board, using a Gigabyte GTX-275 graphics card and two, 2-GB DDR3-1333-MHz modules of Kingston Technology's Value-Ram memory.

Using Primate Labs' Geekbench 2 benchmarking suite, the Core i7-870 scored an outstanding 7838, just below the Core i7-965's score of 7998 (which was tested with 6 GB of RAM due to the X58's support of triple channel memory). This is quite a feat considering at $555 the newer 870 is priced at almost half the 975.

The Core i5-750 performed adequately also, attaining a Geekbench 2 score of 5734, which is respectable when you take into account its selling price of $200.

While the 870 is a 2.93-GHz processor selling for almost the same price as the 3.06-GHz Core i7-950, there are a few important things to note. Specifically, the Turbo Boost feature which allows for "automatic" overclocking is more powerful in the newer CPUs. This means the 870 can actually be pushed to 3.60 GHz (according to Intel) while the 950 tops out at 3.33 GHz. This might make it more attractive to enthusiasts, but probably not too much given the other differences, such as dual-channel memory. In the upcoming weeks, we'll be reviewing some new enthusiast motherboards designed around the P55 chipset.

On the other hand, the Core i5-750 is clearly targeted at the same market that AMD is after with its Phenom II X4 processors. While AMD made a pre-emptive strike last month with the X4 965, the Core i5-750 offers similar performance at a price of almost 20 percent less.

Unfortunately, as was the case when the original 900 series was released, this latest platform includes a new socket size (LGA1156), which will require the purchase of a new motherboard and memory. This makes it an option worth considering if you're in the market for a new system, but not very feasible for those who just want to upgrade.

Still, the Core i5 brings Intel one step closer to meeting rival AMD in the performance vs. price column. Now if they could only pull it off without another socket size, things could get interesting.