CES 2010 : Intel Core 32nm CPU + Integrated GPU = Good Or Bad?

Lower-power mobile packages like Intel's 1.06 GHz dual-core Core i5 model 520UM ($241 in 1,000-unit quantities) will feature iGFX processors clocked at 166 MHz; by contrast, the higher-power 2.66 GHz Core i7 620M ($332 in 1ku) will be clocked at 500 MHz.

But for the first time, Core CPUs will be geared for built-in automatic burst-mode overclocking, called "Turbo Boost." For high-workload periods, mobile systems can overclock themselves -- for example, the 520 UM can burst from 1.06 to 1.86 GHz on the CPU, and from 166 to 500 MHz on the iGFX. The 620M can burst from 2.66 to 3.33 GHz on the CPU, and from 500 to 766 MHz on the iGFX.

Turbo Boost mode on desktop processor affects just the CPU. The highest-order 32 nm desktop package released for consumers today, the dual-core Core i5 670 ($284 in 1ku) can jump from 3.46 to 3.73 GHz.

Graphics speed is fixed at 733 MHz, though the next model down -- Core i5 661, from 3.33 to 3.6 GHz -- includes a 900 MHz iGFX processor.

These introductions today are clearly for the value and midrange OEM manufacturers, and embedded server makers. They're clearly aimed squarely at AMD's home base, the value-conscious buyer; and as such, they pack as much of the full Intel platform as it has ever fit onto single dies.

With the exception of some Core i5 and i7 and Xeon embedded processors, these are all dual-core with hyperthreading -- a feature introduced in 2005, prior to the dual-core era, to help Intel implement parallelism while AMD already had it.