The New Intel Celeron Processor (But Why?) James White May 12, 2011 As a computer enthusiasts, I tend to think of the Celeron name as what you stamp on CPUs no one wants to own. While I can’t say the general public would have the same opinion, I just don’t see the viability of a new Celeron processor based on Sandy Bridge. The new Celeron G440, G530, and G540 are expected to be released soon into the sub-$100 price segment for the LGA 1155 socket motherboards. The G440 supports 2MB of L2 cache, no HyperThreading, no turbo boost, runs at 1.6 Ghz single-core, and a built in GPU running at 650 Mhz (1 Ghz turbo mode) at 35W TDP. The G500 series is dual-core, 850 Mhz (1 Ghz turbo boost) for the GPU, and 2.4 Ghz and 2.5 Ghz clock speeds respectively. If these chips expect to compete against AMD in a market segment that is all about price/performance, then I wish them luck. The Sempron is a 45W TDP chip, single-core clocked at 2.8 Ghz and priced at mere $44. There is also an entire arsenal of dual-core, triple-core, and Quad-core processors from AMD in the sub $100 market segment. Consider an AMD 630 quad-core (2.8 Ghz) and a micro-ATX board with 880G (AMD HD 4250 IGP) will only cost you $140, then the G500 series will have to be below $80 to compete as the lowest priced LGA 1155 board is $60. Even then we are putting a 2.5 Ghz dual-core against a 2.8 Ghz quad-core with no hyperthreading to back it up. I believe this was a move to finally finish phasing out the LGA 775 socket by introducing processors for the newest socket in the sub $100 segment, a market Intel has largely ignored for over 2 years. These Sandy Bridge Celerons will end the last refuge of LGA 775 as not even price point can protect them. While I am glad to see Intel address this market, I think the name Celeron should have died with the name Pentium. Source: CPU World via techPowerUp.com Share This With The World!
