Specifications of Sandy Bridge mobile CPUs

As you may know, earlier this week Intel took the wraps off the Sandy Bridge micro-architecture, and disclosed details on many Sandy Bridge CPUs, aimed at desktop and mobile markets. In our yesterday's article we provided a summary of all 2nd generation desktop Core models, that will be shipped this and next month. In this article we're going to explore Intel's mobile offerings. Detailed specifications of mobile Sandy Bridge microprocessors were available on Intel's webiste for two days now, although none of the processors are available yet. The first 2nd generation chips from Core i7 family will be officially launched in a few days, on January 9. It will be followed by release of dual-core mobile parts on February 20.

January's launch of mobile CPUs won't have as many models as the desktop launch, and it will include only pricey quad-core Core i7s. Granted, the i7 microprocessors will come with all of the good stuff available in Sandy Bridge micro-architecture:

• 4 CPU cores with ability to simultaneously execute two threads per each core,
• Turbo Boost technology 2.0, that will compensate for lower core frequency of quad-core models,
• large 6MB or 8 MB level 3 cache,
• dual-channel DDR3 memory controller with memory support up to DDR3-1600,
• SSE4, AES and AVX extensions to instruction set,
• Improved graphics controller with an array of extra new features, like Quick Sync Video, and others.

With the introduction of new mobile CPUs, that differ from each other by frequency and the size of L3 cache, Intel will also make available one unlocked Extreme Edition model. The processor, Core i7-2920XM, will be clocked 200 MHz faster than the i7-2820QM, and will be almost twice as expensive as the 2820QM. In addition to consumer market models, Intel will introduce Core i7-2710QE and i7-2715QE microprocessors for embedded market. The following models will be available on January 9:

Processor	Cores	Threads	Frequency	L3 cache	TDP	Price
Core i7-2710QE	4	8	2.1 GHz	6 MB	45 Watt
Core i7-2715QE	4	8	2.1 GHz	6 MB	45 Watt
Core i7-2720QM	4	8	2.2 GHz	6 MB	45 Watt	$378
Core i7-2820QM	4	8	2.3 GHz	8 MB	45 Watt	$568
Core i7-2920XM	4	8	2.5 GHz	8 MB	55 Watt	$1096

More mobile microprocessors will follow in February. This time Intel will release dual-core models from Core i5 and Core i7 families. Dual-core Core i7 microprocessors will have smaller size of L3 cache, but will preserve all features of the quad-core siblings. Core i5s will have even smaller L3 cache, lower clock frequency, and won't support DDR3-1600. Beside standard-power Core i5-25x0 and Core i7-25x0 processors, this release will also include low-power 25x9 Core i5s with 25 Watt Thermal Design Power, ultra low power core i5-25x7 and i7-26x7 CPUs with 17 Watt TDP, and embedded Core i5-2510E and i5-2515E models. The following processors will be launched on February 20:

Processor	Cores	Threads	Frequency	L3 cache	TDP	Price
Core i5-2510E	2	4	2.5 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt
Core i5-2515E	2	4	2.5 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt
Core i5-2520M	2	4	2.5 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt	$225
Core i5-2537M	2	4	1.4 GHz	3 MB	17 Watt	$250
Core i5-2540M	2	4	2.6 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt	$266
Core i7-2617M	2	4	1.5 GHz	4 MB	17 Watt	$289
Core i7-2620M	2	4	2.7 GHz	4 MB	35 Watt	$346
Core i7-2629M	2	4	2.1 GHz	4 MB	25 Watt	$311
Core i7-2649M	2	4	2.3 GHz	4 MB	25 Watt	$346
Core i7-2657M	2	4	1.6 GHz	4 MB	17 Watt	$317

Three Sandy Bridge microprocessors, presented in the table below, were spotted in upcoming notebooks. One of these models, Core i3-2310M, is the only known Sandy Bridge CPU from Core i3 family. We suspect that this processor will lack a few advanced technologies, such as Turbo Boost, AES instructions, Trusted Execution technology, and VT-d Virtualization. Unfortunately, these models are not listed on Intel website, and their pricing is not known.

Processor	Cores	Threads	Frequency	L3 cache	TDP
Core i3-2310M	2	4	2.1 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt
Core i5-2410M	2	4	2.3 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt
Core i7-2630QM	4	8	2 GHz	6 MB	45 Watt