http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=776It's hard to get excited about CPUs anymore these days with the clock speed not improving much for the past couple of years. A few reasons to upgrade from Core 2:
* Integrated Memory Controller.
* 8MB L3 Cache.
* Turbo Mode.
* Support for SSE 4.2
* Hyper Threading
In my opinion, the sweet spot is at $199. I'll buy when there is an Intel Core i7 at around that price range.
Also, Intel marketing should get fired. The current system is:
Intel Core i7 - High end
Intel Core i5 - Mid range
Intel Core i3 - Low end
The problem is that they don't differentiate the processor generations. This is problematic for expert users trying to explain the difference between Nehalem and Lynnfield to their bosses. Also problematic for users purchasing Intel Core i7 as different processor generations use different sockets. Pity the poor engineer trying to figure out the differences between all the processor types when searching for documentation. Intel may be trying to take a cue out of Apple's marketing, but they forgot that they are selling microprocessors, not end products! And i3, i5 and i7 are hardly intuitive.
I feel that there should be a modifier which includes the generation. Previously, Intel used Core and Core 2. But that wasn't sufficient as there was no way to differentiate a Penryn based system from a Conroe based system.
A better system would be as follows - considering Intel's "tick-tock" roadmap:
65nm (Conroe/Kentsfield/Merom)
Intel Core 2 Pro - High end
Intel Core 2 - Mid range
Intel Core 2 Basic - Low end
45nm (Yorkfield/Penryn)
Intel Core 2+ Pro - High end
Intel Core 2+ - Mid range
Intel Core 2+ Basic - Low end
Nehalem
Intel Core 3 Pro - High end
Intel Core 3 - Mid range
Intel Core 3 Basic - Low end
Lynnfield
Intel Core 3 Pro (PCIE)- High end
Intel Core 3 (PCIE)- Mid range
Intel Core 3 Basic (PCIE)- Low end
Clarkdale
Intel Core 3 Pro (GPU)- High end
Intel Core 3 (GPU)- Mid range
Intel Core 3 Basic (GPU)- Low end
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