Intel’s mainstream Core i7 derivatives could cost as little as $196 when they come out in the latter part of this year. That’s according to the folks at HKEPC, who claim to have obtained a list of the upcoming CPUs and their prices from sources within Taiwan’s motherboard industry. The list covers both Lynnfield, the Core i7’s less upscale little brother, and Clarksfield, which will bring the same architecture to notebooks.
The automated Google translation is a tad difficult to decipher, but here’s our understanding of what HKEPC expects in the Lynnfield lineup:
| Model | Clock speed | Top “Turbo” speed | L3 cache | Hyper-Threading | TDP | Price |
| ? | 2.66GHz | 3.2GHz | 8MB | No | ≤ 95W | $196 |
| ? | 2.80GHz | 3.46GHz | 8MB | Yes | ≤ 95W | $284 |
| ? | 3.46GHz | 3.60GHz | 8MB | Yes | ≤ 95W | $562 |
So far, we know for a fact that Lynnfield CPUs will have four cores, will include dual-channel DDR3 memory controllers, and will fit in a new socket alongside future Intel 5-series chipsets. HKEPC’s specs and prices seem plausible, although the maximum Turbo Boost speeds look a little high compared to the Core i7’s. Perhaps Lynnfield’s supposedly lower thermal envelopes have something do with that, though.
As for Clarksfield, HKPEC says Intel is planning three variants: a 1.6GHz model priced at $364, a 1.73GHz model priced at $546, and a 2GHz “Extreme” part with a $1,054 price tag. Reportedly, all three chips will have Hyper-Threading support and 35W thermal envelopes. Oh, and in case the low clock speeds aren’t a big enough hint, these will be quad-core offerings.
Intel’s official launch time frame for these two processors is the second half of this year, but recent reports from the rumor mill suggest we could see them as late as October.
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