Intel Core i3-530

I was impressed by the performance of the new DELL Inspiron 580 desktop with Intel's Core i3-530 2.93GHz CPU and DDR3 memory. It seems to be a quantum step up from the Pentium-based version.

It benchmarks better too; PCmark Vantage 6178 versus 4224 for the older processor. It is just a pity that the price premium is too high. However, I can't wait to try the Intel Core i5-650 which has a faster clock speed with Turbo Boost as well taking it from 3.2GHz to 3.46GHz. So the writing is on the wall for me to upgrade my gaming PC with a new motherboard, CPU and DDR3 memory. Might as well get a new DX11 graphics card too!