Intel Releases Six New Haswell-based Entry Level Processors

Intel today added 8 new Pentium and Core i3 desktop microprocessors for socket 1150 platform to the official price list. New SKUs for mainstream desktop PCs are Pentium G3250, G3460, Core i3-4160 and i3-4370. Intel also released Pentium G3250T, G3450T, Core i3-4160T and i3-4360T low-power models. 

All processors boast 100 MHz higher clock speeds compared to their predecessors, which results in up to 3% - 4% better performance. The introduction prices of new CPUs are identical to introduction prices of previously released Pentiums and Core i3s. Additionally, the price of existing Core i3-4360 SKU was lowered by 7%, from $149 to $138, and the price of the Pentium G3450 was slashed by 13% from $86 to $75.

New Pentium products are produced on 22nm manufacturing process, and they come with 2 CPU cores, running at 2.8 GHz - 3.5 GHz depending on SKU. The Pentiums have 3 MB of L3 cache, integrated HD graphics, and they support only basic technologies and extensions, like VT-x Virtualization and SSE4. The Pentium G3250 and G3460 have 53 Watt TDP, whereas the G3250T and G3450T are rated at 35 Watt. The official prices of Pentiums range from $64 to $85, and price-wise they are comparable to AMD A6-6400K and A8-5500 APUs.

Core i3 microprocessors add support for Hyper-threading feature, that allows them to execute twice as many threads at once. The i3s are generally clocked higher than the Pentiums, and they have GPU upgraded to HD 4400 on the i3-41xx series, and to HD 4600 on the i3-43xx series. The CPUs also support more advanced AES and AVX/AVX2 instructions. Low power Core i3-4160T and i3-4360T run at 3.1 GHz and 3.2 GHz, and have 35 Watt TDP. Standard power Core i3-4160 and i3-4370 operate at 3.6 GHz and 3.8 GHz, and they fit into 54 Watt thermal envelope. All Core i3 models have the GPU clocked at 1.15 GHz, and they support DDR3-1600 memory. Core i3-4160 and i3-4160T have the official price of $117. The Core i3-4360T and i3-4370 are more expensive, and they are priced at $138 and $149.

Specifications of new Pentium and Core i3 products are provided below: