Arctic showed of two nearly-identical CPU coolers, the Freezer i30 and Freezer A30. The two are identical till the point where the i30 is designed for Intel sockets only (LGA2011, LGA1155/1156), while the A30, for AMD sockets only (AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2). The two share a tower-type aluminum fin-stack heatsink design, capable of handling thermal loads of up to 320W.

The heatsink uses four 8 mm thick exposed-copper heat pipes that make direct contact with the CPU at the base, and pass through the heatsink, which is then ventilated by a 120 mm PWM-controlled fan with a fancy-looking frame. Rubber standoffs attach the fan to the heatsink dampening vibrations. The retention clips come attached to the heatsink out of the box. A 0.5g syringe of Arctic MX-4 compound is included, while the coolers' base don't come with the compound pre-applied.

MSI showed off its upcoming socket LGA1155 motherboards based on Intel's Z77 chipset, designed to accommodate next-generation "Ivy Bridge" Core processors out of the box. Like many other motherboard manufacturers with similar motherboards on display, MSI's Z77 motherboards lack the final designs of their typically fancy-looking heatsinks over the chipset and VRM, and make do with basic ones that get the job done, and more importantly, let visitors take a look at the components in use more closely. MSI displayed two motherboards, the mid-range Z77A-GD65, and premium Z77A-GD80.

The Z77A-GD80 is designed for gaming PCs with up to two graphics cards, with a strong CPU VRM. The CPU is powered by a 14-phase VRM, complete with SFC chokes, compact DrMOS, and server-grade capacitors. There are three long PCIe slots on the board, but it appears like only two of the three are wired to the CPU, the third one to the Z77 PCH. Those two slots are PCIe 3.0 capable. SATA ports include four 6 Gb/s capable ones. The USB 3.0 front-panel header is angled like the SATA ports. Other connectivity includes Intel Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, display connections that include DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI; 8-channel HD audio, GbE, and eSATA.

With Intel's third-generation Core processor family (codenamed: Ivy Bridge) on the horizon, the company is issuing product discontinuation notices to channel partners, and stopping production of as many as 25 desktop CPU models, spanning across various product lines. Intel notified partners to suspend supply of Core i5-661/660, Core i3-530, Pentium E5700 and Celeron E3500, it will cease production for these chips in the second quarter of 2012.

Moving on, production of several LGA1366, LGA1155 and LGA1156 Core i3/i5/i7 processors, including Core i7-960/950/930/870; Core i5-2300/680/670, and Pentium G960, will cease in Q2 2012. But before that, production of Core i7-875K, Core i7-860S, Core i5-760/750S/655K, and Celeron 450/430 will stop in Q1 2012. Apart from these, production of Core i7-880S/870S, Core Duo E7500/E7600, Pentium E6600/E550 and Celeron E3300 will stop in Q2 2012, sources revealed to industry observer DigiTimes.

With key enterprise architectures such as Sandy Bridge-EP awaiting launch, Intel has as many as 40 Xeon processor models to release in the first half of 2012, which it will likely launch in two rounds of 20 models, for each of the first two quarters of this year. In Q1, Intel will release six-core Xeon E5-1660 and E5-1650, and a yet to be named quad-core model; the three will be priced at US US$1,080, US$583 and US$294, respectively. In the same quarter, Intel will also launch 7 eight-core Xeon processor models, including the Xeon E5-2690four six-core processors including E5-2640, three quad-core processors including E5-2609 and dual-core processor E5-2637. Intel will also launch some low-power (energy-efficient) Xeon models, including Xeon E5-2450L and six-core E5-2430L priced at US$1,106 and US$662.

In the second quarter of 2012, Intel will launch the other 20 models. These include Xeon processors based on the Ivy Bridge silicon, and in the socket H2 (LGA1155) package. The Xeon E3-1290v2 is an example of such a chip. These high-grade Ivy Bridge chips will be priced in the range of US$189-884. Then on, 7 more E5 series models will be launched, including Xeon E5-2470, priced between US$192-1,440. Towards the end of the quarter, Intel will launch low-power eight-core and six-core Xeon processor models, including Xeon E5-2650L and E5-2630L, priced at priced at US$1,106 and US$662, respectively.

Chinese brand Weibu Wibtech is ready with a high-end socket LGA1155 motherboard based on the Intel Z77 "Panther Point" chipset, called the "Hacker Z77". The board is designed to support next-generation Core processors based on the 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" silicon out of the box, while retaining support for existing Sandy Bridge processors in the LGA1155 package. The CPU is powered by a 16-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3 memory. Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical x8/x8 when both are populated), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI.

Storage connectivity includes a total of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and four SATA 3 Gb/s internal ports. Display outputs include one each of DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub. All USB ports on the rear panel are USB 3.0, some of which are wired to the Z77 PCH, some from additional controllers. Apart from the six USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel, there are four USB 3.0 ports available via front-panel headers. There are a few other USB 2.0 headers. Networking capabilities include wired gigabit Ethernet, WiFi b/g/n, and Bluetooth. Other connectivity includes 8+2 channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, Firewire, and a strange unidentified connector (a button?), which definitely doesn't look like mini-DP/Thunderbolt. The board is said to have a boat-load of features for overclockers to play with. It is not known at this point of Wibtech will sell this board apart from its typical market of mainland China, Hong Kong, etc.

"Visibly Smart" was the tagline with which Intel brought its 2nd Generation Core processor family codenamed "Sandy Bridge" into the market. What every Sandy Bridge chip in the LGA1155 package launched thus far has in common is its integrated graphics controller. Apparently, Intel is planning to launch three new Core i5 quad-core processors, which lack that integrated graphics. The processors very much will work on H61, H67, and Z68 chipset-based motherboards, only you can't use the integrated graphics, making them functionally-identical to first-generation LGA1156 Core i5 quad-core chips.

The Core i5-2550K, which has been talked about for the past few weeks, is one of these three models that will lack iGPU. This chip is geared for overclocking, as it features an unlocked base clock multiplier. The other two models are the Core i5-2450P, and Core i5-2380P. Intel is perhaps counting on the "P" marker to intuitively denote lack of iGPU, like with P67 chipset. Clocked at 3.10 GHz with a Turbo Boost speed of 3.40 GHz, the Core i5-2380P is clocked identically to the Core i5-2400, except of course it lacks the iGPU. The Core i5-2450P, on the other hand is a little unique, with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz and 3.50 GHz Turbo Boost speed. Pricing and availability are not known, though it is expected that some of these chips will be priced lower than existing models with iGPU.

Japanese company ASKTech introduced its latest ultra-compact, fan-less mini-ITX case, the NT-TX3000BK. Measuring 295 (W) x 270 (D) x 76 (H) mm, this case is designed for your living room shelf. It can hold mini-ITX motherboards that feature Intel LGA775 or LGA1155/LGA1156 sockets, specifically these sockets, because its bundled ZENO (zero-noise) fan-less CPU cooler. The sides of the case double up as a heatsink. Due to power supply limitations it only supports CPUs with TDP under 65W.

The ZENO cooler consists of a base with retention module, from it, two sets of heat pipes arise, that lead to the two sides of the case, where heat is dissipated to the air passively. The location of the base can be adjusted, as also the points where the heat pipes make contact with the sides of the case, so you don't have to worry about where the CPU socket of the board is located.

Intel started its "Sandy Bridge" LGA1155 family with two processors geared for overclocking, the Core i7-2600K, at a $320 price-point, and Core i5-2500K at around $210. Both are extremely successful products, among the two the Core i5-2500K struck a price-performance sweet-spot, while the Core i7-2600K became the ideal chip to build high-end gaming PCs with. Around the time when AMD was releasing its AMD FX processor family, Intel released the new Core i7-2700K. This chip didn't necessarily replace the i7-2600K, but took a price point slightly higher than it. According to a CPU World report, Intel is readying a new sweet-spot processor geared for overclocking, the Core i5-2550K.

With a retail channel part number BX80623I52550K and OEM part number CM806230121300, the Core i5-2550K was added to the MDDS database. It will carry the S-spec code SR0QH. The exact clock speed of this chip is not known, but CPU World expects it to be 3.40 GHz. Based on the Sandy Bridge LGA1155 package, the Core i5-2550K will feature four cores, 256 KB L2 cache per core, 6 MB shared L3 cache, integrated dual-channel DDR3 IMC, , integrated PCI-Express 2.0 root complex, and TDP of 95W. We expect this not to necessarily displace the i5-2500K, but occupy a price-point slightly above it. Let's say, $239-$249, just to heat things up for the AMD FX-8150.

Zalman took its first dip into water cooling after a while, with the CNPS20LQ, a self-contained (closed loop) CPU cooler. Designed and made originally by Asetek, a well-established brand name in OEM water cooling solutions, the CNPS20LQ uses a single-fan (dual-fan capable) radiator design. Its radiator measures 120 (W) x 158 (L) x 25 (H) mm. The radiator houses a small reservoir. The block houses a pump, which draws power from standard 4-pin CPU power header, and supports PWM control. The two are connected by flexible tubing. The block features a copper base with pre-applied thermal interface material. The CNPS20LQ supports all current socket types, including Intel LGA2011, LGA1155/1156, LGA1366, LGA775; AMD AM3+, FM1, and AM3/AM2+/AM2. It is priced at €69.90.

Sapphire is working on two new entry-level motherboards for AMD FM1 and Intel LGA1155 platforms. The FM1 board, called the Pure White A55, is a budget micro-ATX board based on the AMD A55 FCH; while the LGA1155 board is the Pure Platinum H61P, an ATX board based on the Intel H61 chipset. The Pure White A55 uses a simple 5+1 phase VRM to power the AMD A-Series APU or Athlon II FM1 CPU. The FM1 socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3 memory. The "Memory Free" feature stabilizes memory clock speeds, voltages, and timings if wrong settings make the system fail POST, at the push of a button.

Expansion slots of the Pure White A55 include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16, two PCIe 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. All six SATA 3 Gb/s ports of the A55 FCH are assigned as internal ports. Display outputs include HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub. Other connectivity features include 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The board uses redundant BIOS on separate ROM chips, that protect it against bad BIOS updates. The Pure Platinum H61P uses a 6 phase VRM to power the LGA1155 processor. The socket is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory.

An increasing number of people within the industry have access to Intel Ivy Bridge engineering samples. Some of them are generous enough to share performance details with the public. One such kind soul posted 3DMark, Fritz Chess, and Cinebench test results. An Intel Core i7-3770 sample was the test candidate, this chip has all components and features available to Ivy Bridge LGA1155 enabled, including HyperThreading, a faster uncore, and the full 8 MB L3 cache. The chip was put through 3DMark 06 (to test its CPU and iGPU performance), Cinebench 11.5 (both single-thread and multi-threaded), and Fritz Chess Benchmark (again, both single and multiple threads).More screenshots follow.

Russian website Overclockers.ru claims to have a complete picture of what Intel's upcoming 22 nm Core "Ivy Bridge" desktop (2012 Core Processor Family) looks like. The site compiled model names, extensions, clock speeds, Turbo Boost speeds, L3 cache sizes, and TDP ratings of as many as 18 models, most of which are quad-core.

The table reflects that most clock speeds are similar to today's Sandy Bridge LGA1155 processor models, some have Turbo Boost speeds as high as 3.90 GHz. Since Ivy Bridge silicon is an optical shrink of Sandy Bridge LGA1155, from 32 nm to 22 nm, and since Intel is using a more energy-efficient transistor design, there are significant improvements in TDP ratings.

Intel started shipping the new Pentium 350, a model designed specifically for low-cost servers, micro-servers, and home servers; a segment Intel originally planned to address with some of its Atom dual-core chips. The Pentium 350 is an offshoot from entry-level desktop and notebook platforms the Pentium brand is currently in charge of, it is designed with durability and energy-efficiency required by servers in mind.

Available in the LGA1155 package, Pentium 350 is a dual-core processor based on the 32 nm Sandy Bridge dual-core silicon. It is clocked at 1.20 GHz, and features 3 MB of shared L3 cache apart from 256 KB L2 cache per core. Thanks to its low clock speed, the chip's TDP is rated at just 15W, making it ideal for home and small business servers. It will naturally benefit from the high IPC of Sandy Bridge architecture. The chip features Intel64 instruction set, its integrated memory controller supports up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1066/DDR3-1333 MHz memory.

Earlier this week, Intel launched the fastest desktop processors under its Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" platform, with is partners, motherboard, memory and cooler vendors. Less than a week into its shelf life, Sandy Bridge-E already has a successor taking shape at Intel, slated for the fourth quarter of 2012, but that's far from being the most interesting part of this news. According to a new internal slide scored by a source at XFastest, Ivy Bridge-E will be compatible with today's Intel X79 platform, and LGA2011 socket.

Suddenly, Sandy Bridge-E makes for a sweeter deal because its platform longevity (for upgrades) is at least two years. Ivy Bridge-E, like Ivy Bridge LGA1155, will be built on the 22 nanometer silicon fabrication process. We don't expect Ivy Bridge-E to be much more than an optical shrink of today's Sandy Bridge-E silicon, but the shrink could leave scope for enabling some of its components otherwise locked out for the Core processor family. Sandy Bridge-E silicon physically holds 8 cores and 20 MB of L3 cache, but the fastest Core processor based on it has just 6 of those cores, and 15 MB of L3 enabled. The source at XFastest says that while Ivy Bridge-E is slated for Q4 2012, the LGA1155 Ivy Bridge will launch across Q1 and Q2 of 2012 (March~April).

Chinese company JEHE is launching its latest compact mini-ITX motherboard in Europe under the Giada brand, the MI-Z68. As the name suggests, it is based on Intel Z68 chipset, and supports Core i3/i5/i7 processors in the LGA1155 package. There is no TDP restriction, as the board features a full-fledged CPU VRM that draws power from a 4-pin 12V connector apart from a 20-pin ATX connector (any of today's PSUs with 24-pin connector will support it). The board uses a 4+1 phase CPU VRM, with single phase memory. There are two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel memory. The lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x16.

There's impressive storage connectivity, this includes two mSATA 3 Gb/s (on on either side of the slot), two SATA 6 Gb/s (blue), and two SATA 3 Gb/s (black). There are just two USB 3.0 ports, both on the rear panel, and driven by a Renesas-made controller. 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, one gigabit Ethernet connection (driven by Realtek-made PHY), display outputs that include DVI and HDMI, a number of USB 2.0 ports and PS/2 keyboard, make for the rest of the rear panel. The Giada MI-Z68 will be priced at €88.

Here are the first slides detailing Haswell, Intel's next generation processor architecture that succeeds Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge. Intel follows a "tick-tock" product development model. Every year, Intel's product lineup sees either of the two. A "tock" brings in a new x86 architecture, a "tick" miniaturizes it to a newer silicon fabrication process. For example, Sandy Bridge is Intel's latest architecture, and is based on the 32 nm fab process. Ivy Bridge is a miniaturization of Sandy Bridge to 22 nm. Likewise, Haswell will be a brand new architecture, it will use the 22 nm fab process cemented by Ivy Bridge.

If all goes well with Intel's 22 nm process, Haswell is scheduled for Q2 2013. 2012 (Q2 onwards) will be led by Ivy Bridge. But then here's a "shocker": Haswell's desktop version will use a brand new socket, LGA1150, and will be incompatible with LGA1155. This is because of drastic changes in the pin map of the package. Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge share the LGA1155 socket, and will hence, have kept the socket alive for over 2 years. A major change with the component arrangement in the platform that is affecting Haswell's pin map is that Haswell will have a higher bandwidth chipset bus, rearranged PCIe pins (with FDI pins), rearranged power pins, and miscellaneous pins. It does away with a separate power domain for the integrated graphics controller.

Intel started the trend of improving integrated graphics with their second generation LGA1155 socket Core i3, i5 & i7 line of processors. Depending on the model, these processors sport integrated HD2000 or HD3000 graphics right on the processor die, which nowadays give acceptable performance for low-end gaming and can play Full HD 1080p video perfectly. This trend is increasing with the upcoming Ivy Bridge processors, which will be able to support a massive 4096 x 4096 pixel display, as we reported here. AMD now also have equivalent products with their Llano-based A-series processors. So, where does this leave discrete graphics cards? Well, the low end market is certainly seeing reduced sales, as there really isn't enough of a performance difference nowadays to always warrant an upgrade from an IGP. As integrated graphics improve further, one can see how this will hurt sales of higher end graphics cards too. The problem is that the bulk of the profit comes not from the top-end powerhouse graphics cards, but from the low to mid-end cards which allow these companies to remain in business, so cannibalizing sales of these products to integrated graphics could make high-end graphics cards a much more niche product and crucially, much more expensive with to boot.

The high-end CPU-Cooler from the newcomer PHANTEKS is available immediately at Caseking.de. This cooler with the name "TC14PE" already managed to receive numerous awards for its excellent performance. PHANTEKS employs multiple features to achieve such extraordinary results: a patented surface at the nano-level, twin tower design and two high-performance 140 mm fans. For the perfect looks to go with the installed hardware, the cooler is available in blue, orange red or silver.

The young company PHANTEKS has invested more than two years into the development of the TC14PE CPU coolers, as their goal was not simply to produce a good CPU cooler, but to lead the performance charts. Instead of focusing on the best heat dissipation of an open test bench, PHANTEKS has made sure that the TC14PE performs best in its intended setting - a closed system.

Intel released its latest performance-segment processor, the Core i7-2700K. The i7-2700K is a quad-core chip in the LGA1155 package, based on the 32 nm "Sandy Bridge" silicon. It is clocked at 3.50 GHz, and features an unlocked base clock ratio multiplier, which makes overclocking possible. It features AVX instruction set, AES native acceleration, HyperThreading (which enables 8 logical CPUs), 256 KB L2 cache per core, and 8 MB of shared L3 cache.

Apart from these, it packs a dual-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller, PCI-Express root complex, and Intel HD 3000 series integrated graphics. The TDP remains consistent with many other Core i5 and Core i7 "Sandy Bridge" chips, at 95W. An interesting development here is that the pricing of Core i7-2700K didn't turn out to be what Amazon and MWave were charging for their pre-orders (around US $380), the retail price of this chip is merely $15 higher than that of the Core i7-2600K, at $332.

Intel's next generation "Ivy Bridge" Core processors slated for 2012 will mark the beginning of Intel's transition to the brand new 22 nanometer fab process. It looks like Ivy Bridge will significantly benefit from this transition, since Intel will raise the bar in terms of energy-efficiency. Even the fastest P1 (performance 1) tier quad-core chips will have TDP rated as low as 77W, down from the 95W Core i7 2600K, for example, has.

The punters at Intel marketing have sliced the market down to finer segments, to better address it. The market is sliced in terms of price-segments (vertical), and in terms of target users (horizontal). The two markers are independent of each other, yet they complement each other in pin-pointing areas of the market Intel can address. Ivy Bridge LGA1155 is restricted to P1 (performance tier 1) segment on the top, with higher tiers, along with HEDT (high-end desktop) being reserved for Sandy Bridge-E LGA2011, and future "Ivy Bridge-E". Horizontally, Intel will have "K" quad-core parts for Enthusiast, standard (locked) quad-core vPro for the Standard, "T" quad-core for Performance-optimized lifestyle, and "S" for Power-optimized lifestyle. Chaotic as it looks, the table below lays out the lineup perfectly.

Gigabyte rolled out its latest budget socket LGA1155 motherboard in the micro-ATX form-factor, the GA-H61M-USB3-B3 rev. 2.0. This new board adds to the slim feature-set of Intel H61 with third-party SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 controllers. The CPU is powered by a 6-phase VRD12 compliant VRM, it is wired to just two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3-1333 MHz memory. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16, a legacy PCI, and two PCI-Express 2.0 x1.

All four of the chipset's SATA 3 Gb/s ports are internal (H61 lacks SATA 6 Gb/s). An additional Marvell 88SE9172 controller gives out two SATA 6 Gb/s ports with RAID 0/1/0+1 support. An Etron EJ168 controller gives out two USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel. Gigabyte used a cost-effective Atheros AR8151 to handle gigabit Ethernet, while squeezing in the high-grade Realtek ALC889 HD audio codec to handle 6-channel audio. Display connectivity includes DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub. A number of USB 2.0 ports, and serial COM port (via header) make for the rest of the connectivity. The board is driven by dual AwardBIOS, with HybridEFI technology that lets it boot from >2 TB volumes. Pricing is unknown.

ASUS unveiled a trio of socket LGA1155 motherboards based on the Intel Z68 chipset, which feature PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (electrical x8/x8 when both are populated). The new motherboards are PCI-Express Gen 3.0 specifications compliant, complete with switches and electrical components. Leading the pack is the P8Z68 DELUXE/Gen3 in the $250-segement, followed by the P8Z68-V PRO/Gen3 in the $200-segment, and the P8Z68-V/Gen3 in the sub-$200 segment.

All three feature 16-phase Digi+ CPU VRM, an Intel-made gigabit Ethernet controller, and Lucid Virtu support. All three feature the same expansion slot loadout, with two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x16/NC or x8/x8), one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical 2.0 x4), and two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI wired to an ASMedia-made bridge chip.

Intel released two new Desktop Board Extreme Series motherboards based on the Z68 chipset, supporting Core processors in the LGA1155 package, the DZ68ZV and DZ68BC. The DZ68ZV uses the same exact PCB as the DP67BG, replacing the P67 PCH with Z68 (they're pin-compatible). It lacks display connectivity. The only plus here is support for Intel Smart Response Technology. It uses a 8-phase active-swiching/load-balancing digital PWM power circuitry for the CPU, and quite a few overclocking features. Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16, three PCIe x1, and two PCI. Storage connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gb/s four SATA 3 Gb/s and one eSATA 3 Gb/s. Then there's 8-channel HD audio, USB 3.0, and Intel GbE controller.

The DZ68BC is a completely new design that is tailored for the Z68 chipset, complete with overclocking features, as well as display connectivity. The CPU is powered by an 8-phase digital PWM VRM, makes use of improved VRM cooling, expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16, three PCI and two PCIe x1, storage connectors consist of four SATA 6 Gb/s, four SATA 3 Gb/s, and two eSATA. There's 8-channel HD audio, Intel GbE connections, display IO that includes DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI, USB 3.0, and possibly FireWire. Lucid Virtu comes bundled, that provides active switching between the integrated and discrete GPUs.

In a possible bid to counter the upcoming AMD FX eight-core processors, Intel is reportedly reorganizing its Unlocked Core i7 processor series in the LGA1155 package. Currently there's only one Unlocked Core i7 LGA1155 processor model, the Core i7-2600K, and that is holding on to a US $320 price-point. It will be joined by the Core i7-2700K in the near future.

According to sources, this won't quite be a case of i7-2700K displacing the i7-2600K from its $320 price point, but that the new chip will occupy a slightly higher price point than the $320 the i7-2600K commands. According to the sources VR-Zone spoke with, the new i7-2700K could "end up somewhere close to US$340-350." It would then give Intel the flexibility to play with the price of the i7-2600K as the situation demands (letting the i7-2600K keep its $310~$320 price, or send it down below $300). Intel's Core i7-2700K is expected to launch on October 24, close to two weeks after AMD launches its first AMD FX processors.

A slip-up by Intel revealed its next high-performance socket LGA1155 processor, the Core i7-2700K. The box part product code of the new chip was disclosed in the latest material deceleration datasheet (MDS) document, as BX80623I72700K, carrying the spec code SR0DG. From the given product code, one can deduce the SKU as Core i7-2700K. No other specifications were given out, but given that Core i5 2000 and Core i7 2000 quad-core models are spaced out in steps of 100 MHz, one can only guess that the i7-2700K carries a clock speed of 3.50 GHz, with 3.90 GHz Turbo Boost. In all likelihood, the release of this new chip could be timed to coincide with AMD FX 8150, displacing the Core i7-2600K from its existing price-point, and making the 2600K compete with the FX-8150 at a more competitive price.