Intel Discontinuing Some Clarkdale, Lynnfield, and Sandy Bridge Desktop CPUs

Intel has announced via several Product Change Notifications that it will be discontinuing a total of 19 Clarkdale, Lynnfield, and Sandy Bridge desktop CPUs across sockets 1366, 1156, and 1155. OEMs may no longer order the chips from Intel after December 7, 2012, and boxed CPUs will only be available while supplies last.

The complete list includes the Pentium G6950, G6960, G620, G620T, and G840; the Core i3 540 and 2100T; the Core i5 650, 660, 670, 680, and 2300; and the Core i7 860, 870, 930, 950, 960, 980, and 990X. Many of these processors have been around for over two years now, and with Sandy Bridge and Sandy Bridge E products available at almost all conceivable price points (and with Ivy Bridge just around the corner), the discontinuation of these processors is unsurprising. 

More surprising is the cutting of several Sandy Bridge Pentium models, which were released only a few months ago. However, the models in question have already been replaced by slightly faster models (the G630, G630T, and G860, with the G850 apparently still available), and high competition in this market segment from both Intel's own Sandy Bridge Celerons and AMD's offerings is bound to lead to faster turnover.

Source: CPU World