Intel officially brings Core i7 CPUs to laptops

Intel is officially bringing the Core i7 series to laptop territory, at last, with the launch of its long-awaited Clarksfield mobile processors at IDF. These Nehalem-derived parts along with the new Intel PM55 Express Chipset form the basis of 'Calpella', Intel's next major laptop platform and sixth in the Centrino series.

Debuting today are three mobile Core i7s: two mainstream parts and an Extreme-branded gamer-centric part. Like Lynnfield, the new mobile processors support dual-channel DDR3-1333 memory, have 16 lanes of PCI Express 2.0 connectivity right on the CPU die, and bring Turbo Boost functionality to the table. All three mobile Core i7s are quad core parts and have Hyper-Threading enabled for a total of eight simultaneous threads. Here's a rundown of the new chips and their respective specs:

Processor Model	Cores / Threads	Clock Speed	L3 Cache	TDP	Price
Core i7-920XM	4/8	2.00 GHz to 3.20 GHz	8 MB	55 W	$1,054
Core i7-820QM	4/8	1.73 GHz to 3.06 GHz	8 MB	45 W	$546
Core i7-720QM	4/8	1.60 GHz to 3.06 GHz	6 MB	45 W	$364

Several computer vendors including Asus, Dell, HP and Toshiba have already begun shipping laptops based on the new Core i7 mobile processor. Offerings range from a modestly priced Dell Studio 15 at $999 to higher-end gaming machines that can cost you upwards of $4,000 depending on configuration.