PC builder slips on Wednesday may have locked down release timing for Intel’s Ivy Bridge roster. About 25 processors should be available on or near April 8, Digitimes said, 17 of which would be for desktops. The desktops would range from the Core i5-3450 through to the Core i7-3770 and would have a narrow initial price spread of between $184 to $332.
Notebook processors would be a cross-section of what might be a larger range. Three Core i5 processors, likely starting off at 2.6GHz, would be part of the mix along with three quad Core i7s peaking in the known 2.9GHz model. Both of the low-voltage processors destined for the MacBook Air and ultrabooks, the 1.8GHz Core i5-3427U and 2GHz Core i7-3667U, would also be available. Only the quad-core chips have tentative prices of $378, $568, and $1,096, with an implication that the other chips might not be ready immediately.
Desktops and notebooks alike would be accompanied by four system chipsets each on launch, at prices of between $37 to $48 depending on the feature support. Each would get two more supporting platforms around May 13.
Ivy Bridge is Intel’s first 22-nanometer processor architecture and is primarily meant to allow for faster speeds and better battery life on portables.
