Here a roundup of today's Intel Core i5 661 reviews



Intel Core i5 661 Review: Now With Built-In Graphics

Intel is getting into high gear with their Core processor family early on the new year, as they are set to release 6 new desktop processors and 11 mobile processors this month. Along for the ride will be 3 new chipsets for desktop PCs and 4 oriented towards mobility.

Today we will be looking at the Core i5 661, one of four new Core i5 processors. The other models include the Core i5 650, 660 and 670. Based on this naming scheme the Core i5 661 doesn't seem to fit quite right. Furthermore, Intel will charge $196 for both the 660 and 661 processors, but we'll break it down for you so you can gain complete understanding of the new processor line-up being announced today.

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Intel Core i5-661 Review

"*Clarkdale *provides good performance and excellent power efficiency. As a HTPC, even the cheapest Pentium G6950 will handle high-definition content perfectly fine, but moving up to the Core i3-530 gets you HyperThreading, which will help in more processor intensive situations, while the 733 MHz IGP will keep games running smoother."

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Intel Westmere 32nm & Clarkdale Core i5-661

While the Westmere 32nm core represents new technology, it is still very much based on Nehalem architecture. So far in the Nehalem family we have seen the original 45nm Bloomfield part, represented by Core i7 LGA 1366 processors. Then we saw the 45nm Lynnfield cores launch for both Core i7 and Core i5 LGA 1156 processors. Now we are seeing 32nm Westmere cores launch for Core i3 and Core i5 LGA 1156 parts.

Today we have a Core i5-661 processor that is codenamed "Clarkdale." The Clarkdale name has been designated to the new Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processor families that have an Intel 45nm graphics package with the 32nm Westmere execution core, giving us a Clarkdale processor.

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Intel 32nm Clarkdale Core i5 661 CPU with integrated GPU

In 2009 Intel seemed to be on a serious roll, almost unstoppable as they answered every one of AMD’s offerings. Even when AMD dropped their prices to create a better price/performance option, Intel simply launched the 1156 Lynnfield. Even the least powerful of these (the Core i5 750) was more than the equal of much higher priced AMD CPUs. But Intel, as we mentioned, was (and still is) on a roll. They were not content to sit back and enjoy their success.

Instead they moved to capture another market. Following on the heels of the Lynnfield that brought the most of the functions of the Northbridge into the CPU, they pushed out Clarkdale. This new CPU not only puts a GPU on the same packaging as the CPU, but also is the first CPU from Intel to be created on the 32nm process. Will Clarkdale and the Core i5 661 start 2010 off with a bang for Intel? Let’s read on to find out.

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Intel Core i5 and Core i3 Mobile Processors Unveiled

Today we've got a look at Intel's new line of Core i5 Mobile processors, code named Arrandale. Like Pinetrail for netbooks, Intel's new Arrandale processor combines both an integrated memory controller (DDR3) and GPU (graphics processor) on the same package as the main processor. Though it's not a monolithic device but is built upon multi-chip module packaging, it does allow these primary functional blocks to coexist in a single chip
footprint or socket. Targeted more to the mainstream market, Intel's Core i5 Mobile processor should by all rights offer the "trifecta" of technology innovation - higher performance, lower power and a better cost model. Let's have a look...

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Intel's 32nm Clarkdale - Nehalem for Everyone @ Techgage.com

To help kick 2010 off right, Intel has filled out the rest of its current-gen processor line-up with the help of Westmere. We're taking a look at the desktop variant here, which brings a lot to the table compared to the previous generation. For those who've been holding out for that next affordable PC upgrade, the wait has been worth it.

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Intel Core i5 661 Review @ OCC

Overclocking the processor on the Intel board was a pretty easy since the only options available to manually adjust the performance was the bclock speed. Even so, this processor was able to run up to a 3.85GHz clock speed by increasing the bclock speed to 153Mhz with a 25 clock multiplier. This gave me only about a 400Mhz increase over the 3.46Ghz speeds I was seeing when using Intel's Turbo Boost option.

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Intel Core i5-661 Clarkdale Review

robably the worst-kept secretive CPU launch in a long time for Intel (after all, they pretty much spilled the beans last week, when they announced their CES lineup) happens tonight. Intel has shrunk the CPU to 32nm, sort of. I say that, because what they did was move many of the components over to a second 45nm package on the CPU, including the PCI-E controller and memory controller. Of course, that package also houses a graphics processor.

Intel only sent out a single CPU to represent the Clarkdale launch - the Core i5 661, which is the middle-of-the-pack for the new dual-core Core i5's, but with an overclocked graphics processor. Also being announced today is a pair of Core i3's in the $120-150 price range.

I better stop now before things get more confusing. Trust me, it will make much more sense if you just read the full article, where we put the Core i5 661 against ten other processors in the $100-200 price range.

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Intel Core i5-661 Clarkdale Processor Review @ Legit Reviews

As far as the media performance if the Intel Core i5-600 line, it is going to be tough to beat. If you are looking to build a HTPC to playback your favorite movies and expect it to last a few years, I can't say that I would recommend anything else. Until AMD gets their ATI Radeon HD 5000 series graphics technology onto a motherboard, there is nothing else on the market that is this plug in and play easy. Out of the box HD audio bit-streaming, HDMI & DVI outputs, and the lowest power consumption we have seen in quite some time. Don't forget that it offers Flash acceleration, as well as Silverlight support. This is a very effective package for a great HTPC...

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The Clarkdale Review: Intel's Core i5 661, i3 540 & i3 530

I swear this is the longest it’s taken for an Intel architecture to penetrate the market. We first met Nehalem on November 3rd, 2008. It came to us as a high end quad-core processor and took a full year to make it to more affordable motherboards in the form of Lynnfield. Even with P55 motherboard prices down at the magical $99 marker, Intel relinquished control of the $100 - $200 CPU market without a Nehalem to compete down there. Instead we were left with a choice between Penryn, the update to Intel’s 2006 Conroe architecture, or Phenom II, AMD’s low-cost Nehalem competitor. The choice was simple.

From $100 to $200, your best bet has been AMD. Either through aggressive pricing on quad-core CPUs or the L3-cache-less Athlon II line, AMD controls the $100 - $200 market. Today we meet Intel's first 32nm CPUs, codename Clarkdale, designed to specifically target that $100 - $200 market.

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Intel Westmere 32nm Launch & Clarkdale Core i5-661 CPU Review @ Hardware Canuck

In recent years, Intel used Nehalem architecture to push both a high end platform with their Bloomfield-based CPUs and their newly released Lynnfield generation of LGA1156 chips. Today they reveal their more moderately-priced Westmere series with the introduction of the Clarkdale Desktop and Arrandale mobile CPUs. In this review we will be looking at the Clarkdale Core i5 661.

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