Apr 13, 2011 20:01 GMT  ·  By
First Intel Pentium CPUs based on the Sandy Bridge architecture expected on May 22
   First Intel Pentium CPUs based on the Sandy Bridge architecture expected on May 22

Expected by many users interested in building a low-budget desktop system, the first Intel Pentium processors based on the company's latest Sandy Bridge architecture are supposed to launch on May 22.

The Pentium CPU family will be comprised out of three new SKUs, dubbed the G620, G840 and G850, and these could also be joined by the low-power Pentium G620T chip (35W TDP), but its launch date hasn't been confirmed yet.

All the chips will feature integrate graphics based on a cut-down version of the Intel HD 2000 GPU, and, except for the G620T, their TDP is rated at 65W.

Pricing will start at $64 and, for this much money, consumers will be able to get the Pentium G620 CPU that packs dual processing cores clocked at 2.6GHz as well as 3MB of Level 3 cache memory.

Right above the Pentium G620 comes the G840 that operates at 2.8GHz, and the 2.9GHz clocked G850, the first one being priced at $75 while the latter will be available for $85.

All of the Pentium chips come without Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost support, don't support AES or AVX instructions and Quick Sync has been disabled.

The GPU core is running at 850MHz and can reach up to 1.1GHz with the help of Intel's turbo graphics technology.

Just as their Core counterparts, the new Pentium chips are compatible with LGA 1155 motherboards and packs an integrated dual-channel memory controller.

According to a recently leaked Intel roadmap, starting with the third quarter of 2011, Intel is planning to release faster Pentium processors based on the Sandy Bridge architecture.

These will live on even after the introduction of the first Ivy Bridge CPUs, which is expected to take place in Q1 2012. (via Fudzilla)