Intel delays debut of Core i5 platform until early September

[Nedjo]

It was pure titillation baby, and by your response it obviously had the desired effect.

and you're who's personal spoke person?

[Vozer]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardwar...0-to-go-soon/1

COMPUTEX 2009: Despite Intel giving us the smiles yesterday, bit-tech has seen confirmed roadmaps of the future of Core i7

Despite telling us face to face yesterday that its Core i7 920 and 950 CPU's will be around for a little while yet, bit-tech has exclusively seen roadmaps and been given multiple confirmations that every-single-one of the X58 motherboard manufacturers is expecting: 920, 940, 950 and 965 are will be end-of-life by early next year.

Only the extortionately expensive 975 and the future 6-core LGA1366 CPUs will exist on this socket, with Lynnfield engulfing the entire middle field (we're hesitant to use the word "mainstream" considering the price).

LGA1366 and X58 motherboards will be thinned out in the next refresh in Q3/4 with the launch of Lynnfield on Sept. 1st, although no one had an exact date for the phasing out of these CPU products.


We've confirmed that most of Intel's Core i7 range will go to be replaced by Lynnfield (above).

DrWho, could you say something about this?

[RPGWiZaRD]

I don't personally mind it, i5 would get more focus so we'd get better motherboards and support for it. Looks like i5 and i7 are too close to each other performance wise and Intel want X58 to remain the highend/enthusiast (so it cuts down the "slow" CPUs) and seeing how it would stale the i7 sales pretty much as Intel doesn't probably want to offer i5 much cheaper (preferable same) as i7 lineup.

It's a logical choise but I honestly expect 950 to remain in the market too... Cutting almost the entire lineup like that is not a good way to make friends with mobo manufacturers. If it's really true then we can see a lot more focus on P55 motherboards from now on and less on X58.

[Helmore]

It's a logical choise but I honestly expect 950 to remain in the market too... Cutting almost the entire lineup like that is not a good way to make friends with mobo manufacturers. If it's really true then we can see a lot more focus on P55 motherboards from now on and less on X58.

The article doesn't say that Intel is cutting the entire lineup, it pretty much states that pretty much all quad core chips will be replaced with Gulftown (6-core) when it arrives (for LGA 1366). Which is to be expected.

[Mumak]

Gulftown (just one member of the Westmere family) is targeted at the HEDT segment, so a 6-core replacement of Bloomfield (Tylersburg-HEDT platform LGA1366).
Other members of this family are:
Westmere-EP, Westmere-WS, Westmere-EX (the segements are clear here)
Clarkdale and Arrandale MCP (replace cancelled Havendale and Auburndale with a 32nm CPU Hillel core instead of Gilo; Ironlake GMCH stays).
All Westmere-family (32mn) CPUs are compatible with previous (Nehalem 45nm) platforms.
Anyone missing the mainstream desktop/mobile (w/o GFX) segment in the Westmere family? Me too.. Haven't heared of anything here yet...

But Intel has thus far only said Gulftown will come to socket LGA 1366, they have not said it would come to socket LGA 1156. Which makes me think that there won't be any desktop quadcore (or 6 core) chip for socket LGA 1156 until Sandy Bridge.

[orangekiwii]

would a current x58 board be able to use future westmere processors with a bios update?

i'm thinking specifically towards the classified and other high end boards

[SamWise]

The Westmere Xeon EP for the 1366 socket is going to be upto 6 cores i.e. 4 and 6 cores.



I expect that around Q1 2010, there will be 4 and 6 core versions of Westmere (Gulftown) that will replace the current i7 processors.

[Hornet331]

why is everyone suprised that westmere will run on s1366? Intel said from the introduction onwards that Westmere will run current X58 S1366 boards...

[Chad Boga]

and you're who's personal spoke person?

Not last time I checked, but I do have a habit of speaking out against blatant idiocy.

[ILikeCosmosS]

why is everyone suprised that westmere will run on s1366? Intel said from the introduction onwards that Westmere will run current X58 S1366 boards...

isnt that after the x58 chipset gets B3 steppping?

[Drwho?]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardwar...0-to-go-soon/1

DrWho, could you say something about this?

that is funny how people always complain about the price of 731millions transistors beating at 3.3Ghz and turboing at 3.6Ghz ...
Something people need to get use to, if you don t charge premium for premium parts, you end up selling your fabs ... to pay for the bills ...

an other thing, Intel is doing Tick Tock ... so, the past is a year, innovation goes fast, and new product come out at very high speed. Now, few people find a way to complain about it ... some product dissapear faster than in the past ... well, Tech-bit is innacurate in his claims, but it is innovation at its best. 940 dissapeared ... there are good reason, The marketing at intel optimized the product line, to make sure we can pay for the next fabs ... and nobody can say it is a bad thing ... WE all know how it end up if you don t pay attention to the balance sheet to pay for the fabs.

The management at Intel is very good at keeping the book safe, and this is one example of it.

Francois

[xVeinx]

The argument, I'm guessing, is that the dearth of processor purchases that took place during the first and even second quarters has changed the roadmap. People aren't willing to buy as expensive of computers as before the recession. So, by revamping the roadmap and focusing on the mainstream, Intel can produce processors that people will buy in larger quantities rather than for a smaller, rather niche market as it were. Intel has limited fab space, so dedicating it to processors that will more likely sell (ie, not requiring a more expensive chipset, etc) makes sense. Whether or not this will limit the lifespan of the 1366 socket/platform remains to be seen, as does the status of the PC market. The six-core westmere processors will come out soon enough, albeit at a premium, along with any 4 core processors (ie, 975, etc.). Then again, you don't go and buy an i7 thinking it's going to be budget and to be able to install cheap processors/parts. Does the price go up? Sure, and I don't imagine I'll be plunking down $1k for a 975 any time soon. On the other hand, there isn't any indication that there won't be westmere alternatives that aren't more affordable. So, before the panic attack, lets wait for things to settle. There isn't a deadline for when the i7 920 is eol anyway.

[salad]

Much as I think Intel is a sleazy company, I LOVE the 6 DIMM slots on 1366. Can socket 1156 support 6 mem slots? I saw an i5 board recently with 6 slots, does anybody have more info on this?

As far as I'm concerned 1156 is fine if it supports 12GB mem using common 2GB sticks.

[Chickenfeed]

i5 is dual channel, thats one of the main thing that sets it appart from i7. However there was a thread with news that one of the mem companies claim that kits will be in 4x2GB sizes soon enough so you should still be able to do your 12GB+ ram

[570091D]

Remember something Drwho? You can be the best hooker in town but if you consistently charge too much, all of that great sexual experience will only please fewer and fewer customers.

WTF?!?

lga1366 has and will always be a performance/server platform. i'm willing to bet that next year there will only be 6+ core cpu's available for 1366. lga1156 is the mainstream platform, and they will be offering us quads, duels, imbeded graphics, hyperthreading.... intel has been nothing but up front about this. people seem to be upset about the difference in performance between 1366 and 1156 cpu's, but this is a comparison that can't really be accurately demonstrated (because there are no 1156 cpu's to test for one). but the fact is that 1366 was created for people that actually need 8 threads and tripple chanel memory. i can't think of an application (outside the server realm) that can really use all of the i7's power. when we do see production 1156 parts, i don't think there will be much of a difference 1160 and 1366 performance concerning desktop applications. now if someone has the forsight to test them using some server apps.......

[Vozer]

an other thing, Intel is doing Tick Tock ... so, the past is a year, innovation goes fast, and new product come out at very high speed.

A little off-topic, but I hope Intel will apply Tick-Tock to their graphics products as well. Nvidia and their big mouth need to taste a bit of it.

[Donnie27]

WTF?!?

lga1366 has and will always be a performance/server platform. i'm willing to bet that next year there will only be 6+ core cpu's available for 1366. lga1160is the mainstream platform, and they will be offering us quads, duels, imbeded graphics, hyperthreading.... intel has been nothing but up front about this. people seem to be upset about the difference in performance between 1366 and 1160 cpu's, but this is a comparison that can't really be accurately demonstrated (because there are no 1160 cpu's to test for one). but the fact is that 1366 was created for people that actually need 8 threads and tripple chanel memory. i can't think of an application (outside the server realm) that can really use all of the i7's power. when we do see production 1160 parts, i don't think there will be much of a difference 1160 and 1366 performance concerning desktop applications. now if someone has the forsight to test them using some server apps.......

Sorry, I wasn't merely talking about just i7 but i5 and Penryns as well. Frankly I don't give a flip about what Intel or AMD will be doing but what they are doing right now! I don't care about upgrade paths or I'd still be using on of my P35. I expect a new board based on performance and Price.

Example
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115055
No way in hell that processor is worth $159 no matter WTF AMD is selling.

i5 or soon to be relabled as i7 whatever was listed as Mainstread and that's what I was talking about. Socket 1156 is Quickly becoming the New 1366 Price wise. I got an EMail of another VAR about another P55 going for $229 and I was thinking "Yeah, right". He even typed a himself LOL! As I told Shintai, I'm not even interested until maybe May 2010 before I even start shopping!

[Cooper]

Thread cleaned.
Please stay away from personal insults.

[570091D]

Sorry, I wasn't merely talking about just i7 but i5 and Penryns as well. Frankly I don't give a flip about what Intel or AMD will be doing but what they are doing right now! I don't care about upgrade paths or I'd still be using on of my P35. I expect a new board based on performance and Price.

Example
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115055
No way in hell that processor is worth $159 no matter WTF AMD is selling.

i5 or soon to be relabled as i7 whatever was listed as Mainstread and that's what I was talking about. Socket 1156 is Quickly becoming the New 1366 Price wise. I got an EMail of another VAR about another P55 going for $229 and I was thinking "Yeah, right". He even typed a himself LOL! As I told Shintai, I'm not even interested until maybe May 2010 before I even start shopping!

well, there are no 1156 boards or processors on the market, so it's a bit early to assume that 1156 parts will step right in to 1366 price ranges. and if that does happen, intel will be forced to change thier pricing. if 1156 systems start within the price range of 1366 systems, no-one will buy them. everyone will opt for the 1366 system for longevity. i believe intel knows this and will price thier product accordingly. also, 1156 has the "economies of scale" pricipal on it's side. intel will inevitably make more 1156 parts than 1366 parts, so the 1156 parts will be cheaper to make and probably have a lower profit margin than 1366. this will play out well for the mainstream market, i do believe intel is genuine about it's plans to stop the core2 series when lynnfield production ramps up. lynnfield will probably step right into core2's price segment with a boost in performance, putting the pressure on amd to lower prices to remain competative. i see this as playing out well for us.

but then, we won't know for sure until september.

Thread cleaned.
Please stay away from personal insults.

thank you Cooper!

[orangekiwii]

should someone buy a core i7 920 D0 now then... or wait for westmere to get in?

i don't wanna pay a ton for a top performing lga1366... but if they're discontinuing everything...

[Helmore]

should someone buy a core i7 920 D0 now then... or wait for westmere to get in?

i don't wanna pay a ton for a top performing lga1366... but if they're discontinuing everything...

Everything is going to be discontinued at some point in time....
Core i7 920 will probably be discontinued when Gulftown (6-core Westmere) arrives, which is in Q1 of 2010. That's all the article says. Nothing special in other words.

[highoctane]

It seems fairly regular of Intel to EOL lowest bin chips when newer chips come out which may mean 950 will move down to replace and take the price point of 920 maybe when Westmere is released. By 920 going EOL and the 950 taking its place there should be a little more distance between i7 and i5 in the base clock speed overlap.

[salad]

Anybody know what the difference is between P55 and P57? And what are the H55 and H57?

[Shintai]

Anybody know what the difference is between P55 and P57? And what are the H55 and H57?

Basicly the flash slot. H and Q5x is targetted at value/business

[duploxxx]

that is funny how people always complain about the price of 731millions transistors beating at 3.3Ghz and turboing at 3.6Ghz ...
Something people need to get use to, if you don t charge premium for premium parts, you end up selling your fabs ... to pay for the bills ...

an other thing, Intel is doing Tick Tock ... so, the past is a year, innovation goes fast, and new product come out at very high speed. Now, few people find a way to complain about it ... some product dissapear faster than in the past ... well, Tech-bit is innacurate in his claims, but it is innovation at its best. 940 dissapeared ... there are good reason, The marketing at intel optimized the product line, to make sure we can pay for the next fabs ... and nobody can say it is a bad thing ... WE all know how it end up if you don t pay attention to the balance sheet to pay for the fabs.

The management at Intel is very good at keeping the book safe, and this is one example of it.

Francois

is that all you can bring to the table DrWho

No issues with paying the price for highest performing parts, this has always being the case at any point in history for any vendor. There are always people that what to keep spilling there budget for there e-penis or to clame highest online virtual scores, however this has nothing the do with fabs and overall profit, sales on this part are very low volume and the profit margin for distribution/end-sales are way higher then volume parts, so cut the fab crap and underlying hints to other vendors. If it wasn't for the long known brand name and illegal sales Intel would be in a much worse shape then they are now, no matter how good the platform is/was or whatever. (you know the one thing that management is good at is forcing...)

sales on x58 i7 are very bad and will only get worse if that is the way forward, your CEO was only to claim 1milj sales after 1 full quarter where they had to add a heap of pre-supply EP Nehalem to get to that milestone. i5 is nowhere near the high-end platform with its crippled amount of pci-e lanes and you will pay the price for that, no matter how good your cpu might be, perhaps check some reality game benchmarks, no need for high-end uber expensive motherboard +cpu and that is what reflects in sales, it is because 920 is so cheap that i7 volume is still there, the one Intel is going to cut out.
Other people just buy s775 platform or even am2+ - am3, those platforms have a much better price/performance ratio.

Much as I think Intel is a sleazy company, I LOVE the 6 DIMM slots on 1366. Can socket 1156 support 6 mem slots? I saw an i5 board recently with 6 slots, does anybody have more info on this?

As far as I'm concerned 1156 is fine if it supports 12GB mem using common 2GB sticks.

pls add a list of sw that really needs your 12GB RAM more then just 8GB or the third mem channel on desktop platforms, you know... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagination

I know a few where this could benefit but you would require a double investment on IO before you benefit from the added mem value.