For the first time, a 2nd-gen Sandy Bridge Intel Core i7 processor has an Extreme Edition. The specs include a six-core, 12-thread processing beast that breathes 3.3GHz of computational firecrackers. It supports four channels of DDR3 memory, has 15MB of L3 cache, and goes up to 3.9GHz using Turbo Boost (Intel’s automatic overclocking). The drawbacks include the need of a new socket, the LGA-2011, and a bulk price of $990 that will be well above $1,000 at retail, and a pretty large 130W TDP. In fact, it’s already appearing in Maingear desktops.
Too expensive of a proposition? Then there is the Core i7-3930K, on a 3.2GHz base clock speed, 3.8GHz Turbo, the same six cores of the latter, but only 12MB of L3 cache. It should retail for $555 when it releases. Via: ZDNet
Oh, lookie! It’s been a few days for a new laptop not to get announced by some company, so it turns out Dell will have a crack at it. The Dell Vostro V130 is a thin 13.3-inch WLED display beast with Core i3 or i5 ULV processors, Bluetooth 3.0/WiMAX/Bluetooth/Wi-Fi, HDMI port, 2 USB ports, E-SATA/USB port, and finally a 5-in-one SD card reader. And it starts at — $429. Nice.
With today’s announcement of the new Macbook Pro line, the 15-inch and 17-inch models now either sport new Core i5 or Core i7 processors, but the Macbook Pro 13-inch, which is in fact the most popular Mac sold by Apple is still sticking to a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo. You might be asking yourself, “Why”? After speaking to Tim Bajarin from Creative Strategies
