Intel introduces Core i5-680 and Pentium E5500

Last weekend Intel's price list was updated with two new processors - Core i5-680 and Pentium E5500.

Core i5-680 is the fastest microprocessor in the i5-6xx lineup. The processor operates at impressive 3.6 GHz, and, like other 6xx members, has two cores, HyperThreading enabled, 256 KB per core L2 cache, and 4 MB shared L3 cache. The i5-680 is priced at $294, or $10 higher than the i5-670 CPU. There were no price reductions for other Core i5-6xx processors. Basic information and current prices for i5-6xx line of microprocessors are presented in the table below.

Model number	Cores	Threads	Frequency	L3 cache	Price
i5-650	2	4	3.20 GHz	4 MB	$176
i5-660	2	4	3.33 GHz	4 MB	$196
i5-661	2	4	3.33 GHz	4 MB	$196
i5-670	2	4	3.46 GHz	4 MB	$284
i5-680	2	4	3.60 GHz	4 MB	$294

The E5500 is the next in series of Pentium E5x00 microprocessors with 800 MHz Front Side Bus and 2 MB L2 cache. It's the fastest Pentium with 800 MHz FSB, but not the fastest processor in Pentium Dial-Core family overall. Performance of the new processor should be a few percent slower than performance of Pentium E6300 due to slower FSB. The E5500 is priced at $75, or $1 more expensive than more powerful E6300 and E6500 models. Specifications and current prices for socket 775 Pentium dual-core processors are listed in the table below.

Model number	Cores	Frequency	FSB	L2 cache	Price
E5300	2	2.60	800	2 MB	$64
E5400	2	2.70	800	2 MB	$64
E5500	2	2.80	800	2 MB	$75
E6300	2	2.80	1066	2 MB	$74
E6500	2	2.93	1066	2 MB	$74
E6600	2	3.06	1066	2 MB	$84