Core i7 Ivy Bridge chips have four cores, turbo and eight hypertreaded cores, Core i5 has four cores and four threads, while Ivy Bridge based Core i3 desktop is a dual-core with four threads.

Of course the quantity of cache memory also makes the difference and Intel has finalized plans for its Core i3 desktop Ivy Bridge specification.

Core i3 3240 is the top notch part and is a dual-core with four threads, it has a quite nice 3.4GHz core clock, no turbo support of course 3MB cache. This looks like a decent processor and it falls under the 55W TDP envelope. Its GPU is a 2500-series affair clocked at a now standard 650MHz normal clock and 1050MHz on turbo.

It is scheduled to launch in Q3 2012 along with two others, the Core i3 3225 and Core i3 3220, obviously slower versions. It seems that 22nm Ivy Bridge-based Core i3 3240 will be selling for $138 at launch.