Intel's screaming mainstream: Lynnfield Core i7 and Core i5

Intel's new "mainstream" CPUs are screaming-fast for the money. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers get all of a fluster over the new Lynnfield Core i7 and Core i5, plus its P55 Express chipset.

By Richi Jennings. September 8, 2009.

Your humble blogwatcher has selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention the Twitter avatar roast...

Marco Chiappetta sets us up:

With today's launch of their new "Lynnfield" based Core i5 and i7 800 series processors, and the accompanying P55 Express chipset, Intel's current flagship CPU microarchitecture--codenamed Nehalem--finally trickles its way down into the mainstream computing segment. Since Nehalem first landed on the desktop in the form of the Core i7 line of processors, it has unequivocally owned the performance segment of the market. They are simply the fastest desktop processors currently available, bar none. But while the Core i7 was riding high, Intel still had the established Core 2 line-up to satisfy the mainstream.
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While the Core i5 and i7 800 series processors are based on Nehalem and share similar execution cores, with these new processors, Intel has changed the integrated memory controller configuration, brought PCI Express connectivity on-die, and revamped their Turbo Mode functionality to offer varying levels of increased performance depending on the type of application being used. These new processors also require a new socket, new coolers, and the P55 Express chipset--which is an elegant single-chip solution.

Rik Myslewski runs the speeds and feeds, ending with a cool surprise:

Intel released nine of its long-anticipated 'Lynnfield' microprocessors on Tuesday - two Core i7s, one Core i5, and six Xeons - with one nifty surprise at the low end of that server and workstation line. ... The basics: ... quad cores, 8MB cache, on-chip 1-by-16 or 2-by-8 PCIe 2.0 graphics controller, Hyper-Threading on most parts, and Turbo Boost to pump up a core's clock speed when other cores aren't being used. The processors are also the first of Intel's parts to pop into the new LGA 1156 socket.
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P55 is, on paper at least, an impressive part. It supports up to eight PCIe 2.0 x1 and 14 USB 2.0 ports, and six SATA 3Gb/s ports can be set up in RAID 0/1/5/10 configs. ... Intel lists the TDPs of each of the parts as 95 watts - respectable but not exactly earth-shaking. What is a bit of a surprise is the last-but-not-least of the Lynnfields, the Xeon L3426 ($284, £174), with a TDP of a mere 45 watts.

Charlie Demerjian likes the 45 watt part, but criticizes the naming scheme:

The L3426 uses only a mere 45 watts, and to make up for the low ... 1.86 GHz ... clock, has twice the number of 'turbo' bins available to it as the next one in line. 10 bins is not a typo, cool this one well, and it should fly. All turbo bins are 133MHz.
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Bloomfield uses an LGA-1366 socket and only works with the X58 chipset. Lynnfield uses LGA-1156 along with the P55 chipset. The two are not compatible, even though both are called core i7. Core i7 8xx and i5 7xx all work with the P55 chipset, but not the X58. Why would Intel do this? ... [It] adds to market confusion, user hardship, and general pain for retailers. This is a marketing move that should never have been proposed, much less implemented. The whole scheme will likely last for about six months until a new market niche forces Intel to abandon what minimal scraps of order the line had previously, just like it has done for the last 23 awful naming schemes. Why can't Intel just simplify the lineup in a sensible way? AMD seems to have no problem with this concept.

Speaking of new sockets and chipsets, here's Kyle Bennett:

Lynnfield processors will use a new LGA 1156 socket, so of course new motherboards will be required. These motherboards, as you will see in our reviews, will be extremely feature rich at the $230 pricing levels. Given that we will likely see sub-$200 Core i5-750 processors, this of course will lessen the effects of cost being a barrier to entry.
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The "northbridge" is gone! With the IMC / Integrated Memory Controller now being on the processor die and Intel moving the PCIe controller onto the processor die as well, there is little need for discrete northbridge. Less silicon on the motherboard obviously frees up some room in designing the motherboard as well as making the motherboard less expensive to produce. ... With the IMC and PCIe controller on-die, we now have those tremendously hot Intel northbridges gone! Integration into the processor dies gives us a much more efficient setup in terms of performance and energy usage.

Chris Angelini has an in-depth review:

If you would have considered a Core 2 Quad or Phenom II X4 previously, the lone Core i5 will be of interest to you. If you were previously pondering a Core i7 for LGA 1366, the Core i7-860 and -870 are now vying for your attention with price points disturbingly similar to the i7-920 and -950, respectively. How’re you supposed to choose between CPUs when architecture, functionality, and pricing are all so similar?
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When the Phenom II X4 965 BE debuted in August, I hinted that you should wait until today before taking a leap. Now you see why. With i5-750 selling at $199, AMD has no choice but to compress its price list. At the very least, it’ll likely slash the prices on its high-end Phenom IIs. If you held off, great deals are quite likely in your future.

Nebojsa Novakovic confuses mass- and count-nouns: [You pedant -Ed.]

Less DRAM channels but lower latency, a bit less speed and less power draw than their bigger current cousins in the LGA1366 socket, but otherwise it's all about same.
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Some journos got the meaning a bit skewed, and I couldn't miss registering a very funny point brought up by a fellow fast-talking Asian hack a few hours ago during the Intel press talk. That poor fellow asked something like, in a heavy accent far worse than even my own. "So, this Turbo Boost means you want to boost sales faster in a poor market?" ... The friendly regional PR guy facing me almost looked like he wanted to throw himself off the stage in despair.

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 24 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him as @richi on Twitter or richij on FriendFeed, pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itblogwatch@richij.com.