Intel Ivy Bridge CPU Pricing Unveiled

In the second quarter of 2012, Intel is expected to launch its first desktop processors based on the Ivy Bridge architecture and a recent leak has revealed the pricing of some of the upcoming Core i7 and i5 parts based on this 22nm design.

The specifications of most of the CPUs listed were unveiled a short while ago and these feature similar features as their Sandy Bridge counterparts, but come with slightly higher base and/or Turbo Boost frequencies.

The integrated graphics cores have also suffered a series of changes which make them significantly more powerful that the current HD 2000 and HD 3000, while also receiving support for DirectX 11.

However, despite these improvements, it seems like Intel will keep Ivy Bridge prices identical with those of SNB.

As CPU-World reports, the most expensive of these new chips will be the multiplier-unlocked Core i7-3770K.

This 3.5GHz CPU with 8MB of L3 cache, Hyper-Threading and up to 3.9 GHz Turbo Boost speed will be priced at $332 (255 EUR), which makes it just as expensive as the current Core i7-2700K, the processor that it’s meant to replace.

Intel will also use this pricing policy for the rest of the Core i7 line, including its energy efficient “S” and “T” models.

As far as the Core i5 processor lineup is concerned, six of the seven processor listed will retail for the same prices as their Sandy Bridge predecessors, the only exception being the Core i5-3570K that will be priced at $225 (173 EUR) compared to the $216 of the i5-2500K it replaces.  

A full price list compiled by CPU-World is included in this article, together with the name and pricing of the parts they will succeed.

Intel is expected to launch its quad-core Ivy Bridge processors in the Core i5 and i7 lineups in April of 2012, while the dual-core parts will arrive one month later.