Intel is set to release the first 32nm desktop CPUs on 3rd January 2010. Releasing first are the Clarkdale CPUs – part of the Westmere, or 32nm Nehalem die shrinks. A total of four models are expected, Core i5 650, 660 and 670, clocking in at 3.2, 3.33 and 3.46 GHz respectively. They will be priced at the $176, $196 and $284 respectively.

The other Clarkdale CPUs are the Core i3 530 and 540 covering $123-$150. The Core i3 CPUs will not feature Turbo mode. A budget Pentium G6950 is also expected at $84, without turbo, HT and 1MB less L3 cache.

Although Fudzilla clearly dates clearly dates the Core i5 Clarkdales at January 3rd, there is no mention of the Core i3 and Pentium models.

All Clarkdale CPUs come with an IGP on die, and fit into the LGA1156 socket that currently powers Lynnfield CPUs. The branding is quite a mess – further complicated by Core i5 7xx series, which are quad core Lynnfields. One might have suggested a simpler Core i7 for Bloomfield, Core i5 for Lynnfield and Core i3 for Clarkdale, but Intel did not want to differentiate them this way.

A further model, Core i5 661 is also expected. The only difference between this and the 660 is that the IGP will be clocked higher.

Once the Core i5/i3 Clarkdale CPUs hit market, it will effectively phase out the entire Core 2 range. AMD will pitch their quad cores against Clarkdale dual core/quad thread CPUs. That will be an interesting battle. Though Intel dominates the >$200 CPU market, AMD do have the better price/performance ratio in the mainstream <$200 segment. We can expect Clarkdale to fill in. It will be interesting to see how two highly-clocked cores of the powerful Westmere architecture go against four of AMD’s aging K10-based cores. One thing is certain – Clarkdales will consume far less power, and will be cheaper for Intel to manufacture. Unfortunately for AMD, we are still a long, long way away from the next-generation Bulldozer architecture.