We always make a lot of noise about $999 CPUs, but this time we decided to reverse the tactics.

Intel made quite a mess by branding Clarkdale 32nm CPU Core i3 and Core i5 in Desktops, while in Notebooks even Core i7 is ok for 32nm Arrandale CPUs.

The slowest of them all will end up branded as Pentium G6950 and this dual-core will have only two threads enabled. It runs on 2.8GHz and has 3MB memory, while LGA 1156 is the socket of choice for it. When it launches it will sell of $87.

The slowest Core i3 530 works at 2.93GHz has two cores and four threads in hyperthreding, 4MB cache and will sell for $113 when it launches on January 3rd.

The faster iteration is Core i3 540  that shares the same spec but 130MHz boost will cost you additional $20 or $133 total.