Intel Core i7- 3820 Will Reportedly Launch on February 13

The 13th of February will mark the arrival of Intel’s first and most probably only quad-core processor based on the high-performance Sandy Bridge-E architecture, the Core i7-3820, according to a recent report published on the Web.

Contrary to its older brothers, the Core i7-3930K and 3960X, Intel’s upcoming quad-core processor is based on a new Sandy Bridge-E die that packs “only” 1.27 billion transistors, compared to the 2.27 billion transistors found in Intel’s six-core parts.

Together with the reduction in transistor count, the chip also has a smaller die that measures 294 square millimeters, making it roughly two thirds the size of the Core i7-3960X and i7-3930K (these chips measure 435mm2).

Moving on to its specs, the four cores installed in Intel’s CPU have a base frequency of 3.6GHz, which can be increased up to 3.9GHz thanks to the Turbo Boost technology, and the chip also includes 10MB of Level 3 cache memory.

Despite the smaller L3 cache, the i7-3820 still retains the integrated quad-channel memory controller of its older brothers, and also sports a built-in 40-lane PCI Express 3.0 controller. 

The TDP of the processor is set at the same 130W as that of the six-core Intel parts, but this time it comes without an unlocked multiplier, so overclocking will be limited.

The suggested retail price is $285, according to Fudzilla, which is definitely much better than the $583 Intel charges for the Core i7-3930K, or the $999 price tag of the i7-3960X, but you also get two less cores.

Until Intel officially launches the i7-3820, you can take a look at the CPU’s performance in two reviews published by Tom’s Hardware and AnandTech. Making a long story short, both of these reviews show the i7-3820 slightly surpassing the Core i7-2600K.

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