Intel (Lynnfield vs Bloomfield)

[clifford_cooley]

Making sense of Lynnfield: Is Bloomfield really better?

Right on schedule, Intel has launched new Core i5 and Core i7 processors based on the LGA1156 Lynnfield core. Arriving in three flavors, are the new chips enough to unseat AMD’s price/performance crown? How do they stack up to the existing Bloomfield Core i7s? How are they different? Are they worth buying? We wanted to answer these questions ahead of our official Core i7 860 review

Great Article Thrax
As always I love reading your work

 

[Veedaz]

I use an i7 in my gamer - Intel Core i7 950 D0 Stepping 3.06Ghz (Nehalem)

Spec
- Lithography Process: 45 nm
- Cores: 4
- Threads: 8
- Frequency: 3.06 GHz
- Cache: 256 KB L2/core and 8 MB shared L3
- Memory Controller: Triple channel DDR3 800/1066/1333 MHz
- Bus Interface: 1x 4.8 GT/s QuickPath
- TDP: 130W
- Socket: LGA1366

£410 one month ago.

 

[Thrax]

Thanks, Clifford!

 

[Ian]

Agreed! That is a fine article Thrax, very well written and easy to understand

I'm looking forward to my next system upgrade, as I've caught the overclocking bug again... I won't be doing it anytime soon though, so it will be well after Westmere launches.

 

[Veedaz]

Have you decided on a Motherboard yet Ian ? I am using the Asus Rampage II Extreme Intel X58 for the last month and cant fault it. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-319-AS

 

[Kougar]

I'm looking forward to my next system upgrade, as I've caught the overclocking bug again... I won't be doing it anytime soon though, so it will be well after Westmere launches.

Prices should begin to settle on the new stuff, but Westmere isn't going to include 32nm Quads anytime soon. It's all going to be duals, and dual+gpu combo designs from what I've seen. Instead Intel is going to use 32nm for Gulftown.... Lynnfield is going to occupy the outmoded 45nm fabs they have and keep those busy.

 

[Thrax]

Westmere chips:
Gulftown: Enthusiast desktop, 32nm, 6 cores/12 threads, LGA1366, 130W TDP, Core i9 branding
Clarkdale: Mainstream desktop, 32nm, 2 cores/4 threads (Core i5/Core i3 branding), 2 cores/2 threads (Pentium branding), LGA1156, 73 or 87w TDP, onboard GPU.
Arrandale: Mainstream mobile, 32nm, 2 cores/4 threads, Core i5 and i7 branding, mPGA-989 socket, 18-35w TDP, onboard GPU.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Will the motherboards being sold today support these 32nm processor or will a new motherboard be needed to support them?

 

[Veedaz]

Hi Clifford

Yes, i5 processors will all work on lga 1156 exept for mobile ATM >

Link http://www.inpai.com.cn/doc/pic.asp...d8ab-8dad-4c1f-944d-a26a9d1323ae.jpg&id=99368


Link http://www.pro-clockers.com/motherboards/573-gigabyte-ga-ep55-ud6-socket-1156-motherboard.html

 

[clifford_cooley]

Hi Clifford

Yes, i5 processors will all work on lga 1156 except for mobile ATM >

Link http://www.inpai.com.cn/doc/pic.asp...d8ab-8dad-4c1f-944d-a26a9d1323ae.jpg&id=99368

Link http://www.pro-clockers.com/motherboards/573-gigabyte-ga-ep55-ud6-socket-1156-motherboard.html

First link for the i5 and i7 the chipset is unknown
Second link doesn't say it supports the 32nm CPU's

I suppose we will need to wait and see if the motherboards we have for our 45nm CPU's will support the new 32nm CPU's. For one thing I know this will result in lower voltages needed for a thinner die.

 

[Veedaz]

I thought we were talking i5 / i9 32nm Clifford ?

 

[clifford_cooley]

Sorry - I miss read the Core i5 Clarkdale column. So the P57, H57, & Q57 Chipset will support the 32nm CPU's

Edit:
However link two is a P55 Chipset that is not listed under the i5 32nm Clarkdale column for a supported chipset

 

[Veedaz]

Yes should do Clifford, and i would lay £ that Gigabyte will be releasing more new boards in the near future, there a good camp and like to be first

 

[Kougar]

Gulftown is LGA1366, it will only work on X58 boards.

Lynnfield and Clarkdale work on LGA1156, which would be the P55 boards.

Arrandale is the mobile socket for laptops, so don't worry about that one.

 

[Thrax]

Right now it's also looking like Gulftown will only be available at the $999 pricepoint for several months, too. The first and only scheduled GT chip is the Core i9 1000 XE chip for ~$1000 in lots of 1000.

If that's true, it means people looking to get price performance are:
1. Stuck with Bloomfield, or...
2. Saddled with the dead-end LGA1156 socket.

I hope Intel reconsiders, because that's an impossibly douchetastic maneuver.

 

[Kougar]

Right now it's also looking like Gulftown will only be available at the $999 pricepoint for several months, too. The first and only scheduled GT chip is the Core i9 1000 XE chip for ~$1000 in lots of 1000.

If that's true, it means people looking to get price performance are:
1. Stuck with Bloomfield, or...
2. Saddled with the dead-end LGA1156 socket.

I hope Intel reconsiders, because that's an impossibly douchetastic maneuver.

That's been known for months though, except for maybe the dead-end part.

Until now nobody knew what things looked like beyond Gulftown's socket. What is interesting is both LGA1366 and LGA1156 appear to be "dead end" now. So far it appears Sandy Bridge is going to introduce a entirely new socket, something called "Socket R" that uses the same mounting holes as LGA1366. XtremeForums

 

[Thrax]

A new socket with a new generation was completely unavoidable. But whereas Lynnfield has no upgrade options between now and Sandy Bridge (Westmere LGA1156 CPUs will be dual core APUs), LGA1366 has at least one drop-in replacement in the wings.

 

[Kougar]

It might be better than nothing, but I think LGA1156 has a very good prospects that it will remain around and updated long after Sandy Bridge launches. There isn't any reason to change the low-end to midrange socket when Sandy Bridge will be a high-end processor targeting the same market LGA1366 resides in. They'll be getting rid of LGA1366 regardless, the option for expensive hex-cores notwithstanding.

 

[LowWaterMark]

Rip Van Winkle 9 mos later . . .

The ol' Sandy River Bridge is a beautiful place. In Zigzag, OR - winding up Mt. Hood just off an access road called E. Lolo Pass (I think) is $5000 of spikes and ties that will become the moniker for the biggest chips of the next decade (I'll betcha). Last time I was there, the weightiest chips to cross it were Doritos. We had Pong at the cabin, and I was good.

Here's my plan in no small part influenced by the article I just read and the fact that I already grabbed up an ASUS Rampage III Extreme. It seems most rational to go with an Intel Core i7 920 now, Westmere later.Let them laugh now. I might invest in the power module now (Sivetstone ST1000-P), and back off on the RAM. Perhaps G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 1600 PC3 12800with loose timings at $25 per GB (3 x 2).

How does my core sound?