Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Other excellent alternatives among the Intel-based boards we looked at
include the ASRock H55M Pro, the ASUS P7H55-M, and the GIGABYTE GA-
H55M-UD2H. If you intend to use an AMD processor, consider an ASRock
880GM-series board, an ASUS M4A785T-series board, or a GIGABYTE GA-
880GM-series board.
Processor
Intel Core i5-661
(
http://www.intel.com
)
Intel Core i3-550
When Intel introduced the Core i5-6xx series processors in January 2010, our
first impression was that they were superb mainstream processors, but signifi-
cantly overpriced. At $200, the Core i5-66x processors were not competitive
with the less costly AMD Phenom II x4 quad-core models, let alone the $200
Phenom II x6 1055T hex-core processor.
Priced at $150 or so, the dual-core, quad-thread Core i5-6xx series processors
might well have knocked AMD out of the mainstream processor market. But
$200 was simply too high a price. That's nothing new for Intel, which often
prices new processor models well behind AMD on the price/performance
curve. Unfortunately for AMD, Intel traditionally also reduces processor prices
significantly as production ramps up. Because these new Intel models are pro-
duced with a 32-nanometer process, die sizes (and production costs) are ac-
cordingly much lower than those of AMD's older-technology processors. That
gives Intel lots of headroom to reduce prices and put the squeeze on AMD,
making this series of processors one to watch.
Then, in late May 2010, Intel introduced the fastest model to date of its Core
i3 series, the $150 Core i3-550, which is only slightly slower than the Core i5-
6xx series processors and offers significantly more bang for the buck. With the
Core i3-550 selling for $150, it made no sense at all to pay $200 for the Core i5-
661. However, if one thing is always true about processor pricing, it's that both
Intel and AMD will adjust their prices to whatever level is required to maximize
their profits while staying competitive both with each other and within their
own product lines. By the time this topic is available in bookstores, we expect
the Core i3-550 to sell in the $125 range and the Core i5-660/661 in the $150
range, which will make either of them a good choice.
On that basis, we actually installed an Intel Core i5-661 processor in our main-
stream system. We chose the Core i5-661 in particular rather than another
Core i5 model because we think the -661 has the best combination of features
for a general-purpose mainstream system. In particular, the -661 has the best
integrated video performance of any current Core i5 model. (Conversely, if we
had been building a mainstream corporate system, we'd probably have cho-
sen the Core i5-660, which gives up some video performance but has security
and management features that the -661 lacks.)
There are obviously alternatives to the Core i5-661. For the same price, you can
buy the Core i5-750, which is based on the older 45-nanometer process but has
twice as many cores as the -661 (although each of those cores is single-threaded,
versus dual-threaded in the -661) and twice as much L3 cache (although the -750
