The first Sandy bridge CPUs are ready

The factory giant delivered the first specimens.

More and more information is coming to light about Intel's next processor architecture, called Sandy Bridge. Most recently, the manufacturer announced the first official data about it at the IDF conference, and now it is said to have made and delivered the first working copies exclusively for testing.

The images represent a working sample. Built at 2,40 GHz, the dual-core model supports Hyper-Threading technology and has 3MB of L3-level cache. Based on these, we can state that this is an entry-level instance.

Unsurprisingly, the new generation will also need a new socket. The image below shows how Intel has made sure that current 1156-socket processors do not fit into the new socket marked LGA 1155.

The official launch of processors based on the Sandy Bridge architecture is scheduled for early 2011.