Intel announces Anniversary Edition Pentium CPU
Intel has launched a special 20th anniversary edition of its Pentium CPU, designed specifically for gamers and PC builders looking for the best performance on a budget
Intel’s Computex announcements may have focused on Devil’s Canyon, but gamers and PC builders looking for a performance bargain have also been catered for; the company announced a special Anniversary edition Pentium CPU to celebrate 20 years of the Pentium brand.
According to Intel, customers have been asking for a less expensive CPU which can handle games, but is also unlocked in order to squeeze out extra performance with a more efficient heatsink or water cooling system. The Anniversary Edition Pentium is exactly that; the new processor will arrive with two cores running at 3.2GHz, but will be fully multiplier unlocked in order to support overclocking.
Like the more expensive Devil’s Canyon CPUs, the Anniversary Edition Pentium chips use the LGA 1160 socket and will be compatible with both existing 8-series and the upcoming 9-series Intel chipset motherboards, meaning there should be a board for everyone regardless of budget.
It will include 3MB of Intel Smart Cache and support 2 channel DDR3-1333 memory. It will also include Intel HD Graphics, meaning you could stick one in a mini ITX machine and do away with a dedicated graphics card. However, with its overclocking potential, we would imagine most customers will be pairing it with a mid-range graphics card for 1080p gaming without breaking the bank.
We’ve yet to learn Intel’s plans regarding pricing, but we would expect the Anniversary Edition Pentium to arrive for significantly less cash than an unlocked Core i5 or Core i7 CPU. It could also prove a serious headache for AMD, which is currently dominating the entry-level and low-end PC market with its Athlon and FX chips.
The new processors are due to go on sale around the world from the middle of June onwards.