Intel Core i3 530 Processor

Intel unleashed a new dual-core processor series in the

market, armed with high clock frequencies and an integrated graphics unit for a

good 2D experience on that monitor of yours. And sure, it can even handle a

little gaming as well. Obviously we are talking about the Clarksdale series

processors, a derivative of Nehalem family of processors.

The Intel Clarkdale processor lineup includes the 32 nm

fabrication node Core i3 530 and 540 models, as well as the Core i5 650, 660,

661, and 670, which will be featured with Hyper-Threading, 4MB of L3 cache and

support for dual-channel DDR3-1333 memory.

The Intel Core i3 processor performed well in benchmarks.

In 3DMark06, it scored 3151 and 3DMark vantage performance score was 12499. It

lagged behind Core i5 and Core i7 significantly in these scores but given its

lower price, the scores were worth it. In memory read and write tests, Core

i3performed almost half of Core i7. Clarkdale based processors have two physical

(execution) CPU cores, each capable of two (hyper) threads and include

integrated graphics and a memory controller.

Bottomline: It offers pretty good

performance,efficient power consumption. Its temperature under load is very

respectable even with a stock cooler.

* Test Bed: Intel Core i3 530 processor, Intel H55

reference motherboard, 2Gb (1800MHz) Patriot DDR3 RAM