Arrandale

Arrandale was a family of Intel mobile processors released in January 2010. These processors were based on the 32nm Westmere microarchitecture and featured a multi-chip module (MCM) design, integrating a CPU and a GPU (graphics processing unit) onto a single package.

Arrandale processors were marketed under the Core i3, Core i5, and Pentium brand names. They were designed primarily for laptops and mobile devices.

Key features of the Arrandale family included:

• Westmere Microarchitecture: Improvements over the previous Nehalem architecture, including enhanced branch prediction and improved power efficiency.

• Integrated GPU: Arrandale incorporated an integrated Intel HD Graphics GPU on the same package as the CPU. This provided basic graphics capabilities without the need for a separate discrete graphics card, contributing to lower power consumption and smaller form factors.

• Dual-Core CPU: Arrandale processors typically featured two CPU cores.

• Hyper-Threading: Many Arrandale models supported Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology, allowing each core to handle two threads concurrently, effectively doubling the number of virtual cores available to the operating system.

• Turbo Boost (Core i5 only): Certain Core i5 Arrandale processors included Turbo Boost technology, which allowed the processor to dynamically increase its clock speed under load, improving performance when needed.

• Integrated Memory Controller: The Arrandale processors featured an integrated memory controller, supporting DDR3 memory.

Arrandale was succeeded by the Sandy Bridge family of processors in 2011.