The recently-released, lightweight, transistor-size Core i3-530 is one of Intel’s new, affordable 32nm Westmere CPUs for the desktop, based on the exceedingly progressive Clarkdale processor design. The launch price of the new Intel Core i3-530 CPU is approximately £80, excluding VAT.

Boasting a substantially low power drain and a prolonged battery life, the i3-530 can easily slot into the recognizable LGA 1156 socket. Similar to all the other Westmere CPUs, the i3-530 comprises two physical processor cores, thereby enabling it to present four cores to the OS by way of Hyper-Threading.

The i3-530’s decent core clock speed of 2.93GHz, scoring 1.58 in some tested benchmarks, puts its performance on the same level as the Core 2 Quad Q8400. However, the new CPU lacks the Turbo Mode, which provides an additional boost to single-threaded applications. Moreover, the CPU has a lowered down 3MB cache, and its officially supported memory speed is merely 1066 MHz.

Supporting the on-chip Intel HD Graphics engine, the i3-530 essentially focuses on media playback instead of gaming, and features DTS-HD 7.1 audio, Dolby True HD, Blu-ray decoding hardware, and visual enhancements.

Nonetheless, despite the 1,024 x 768 with Low detail settings, the i3-530 provides DirectX 10 support, with tests revealing that it can even play Crysis at a nearly-acceptable 23fps.