A year after it first launched Nehalem processors, Intel is now starting to push the powerful processors into the consumer desktop market. The company this week launched its Nehalem-based Core i5-750, a quad-core processor aimed at desktop PCs. The Nehalem processors will give desktop users a significant power boost in areas such as multimedia performance.<\/p>\n
The first Nehalem processors released by Intel were the Core i7 processors which were launched last November and aimed at high-end users.<\/p>\n
The Core i5-750 runs at 2.66GHz and has 8MB of cache. Despite its power the Core i5 draws just 95 watts of power, making it very efficient.<\/p>\n
The Nehalem architecture was a significant change upgrade for Intel and the fact that it already being targeted at the middle consumer market is surprising as Intel usually takes at least a year before it moves its high-end chips into the mainstream.<\/p>\n
Memory boost<\/strong><\/p>\n Notable in Nehalem is that it integrates a memory controller onto the chip to provide a faster access for memory. Current mainstream chips have a memory controller on the chipset.<\/p>\n The chip is being manufactured using the 45-nanometer process, Intel’s current process. In the next couple of weeks Intel is expected to announce details of its new 32 nanometer process which it is expected to use in manufacturing from the end of this year.<\/p>\n Intel has also launched two new quad-core Core i7 chips. The new high-end processors are the Core i7-870, which runs at 2.93GHz, and the Core i7-860, which runs at 2.8GHz. Both of these have 8MB caches.<\/p>\n