Intel has quietly introduced a new processor to the Core i7 family. The Core i7-930 offers a minor step up from the 920 -- both in specs and price. According to Intel's official price sheet, the 930 is priced at $294, while the 920 is $284. Newegg is currently selling the chips for a $6 difference at $294.99 and $288.99.
The i7-930 and 920 are seemingly identical apart from their clock frequencies. Each has four cores and eight threads, 8MB L3 cache, 4.8 GT/s QPI, a triple-channel memory controller, and a 130W TDP. The extra six bucks gets you a 2.80GHz clock speed with a 3.06GHz Turbo Boost, instead of 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz. Given the minor differences, Intel may phase out the i7-920 altogether, but that is currently unknown.
It's worth noting that the Core i7-860 is arguably a better buy than either 9xx chip. For $279.99 it offers a 2.80GHz base speed with a 3.46GHz Turbo Boost, a 95W TDP, and it runs on a cheaper platform (LGA1156 versus LGA1366).
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Online retail sales to reach nearly $250 billion in 2014
E-tailers can expect to see a rise in business over the coming years, according to data from Forrester Research. In a five-year forecast, the firm predicts that e-commerce sales in the US will grow by 10% annually through 2014. Web-based retail sales will reach nearly $250 billion in 2014, up from $155 billion last year. At that point, online transactions will represent 8% of all retail sales in the US, up from 6% in 2009.
Forrester expects a similar, albeit slightly faster growth rate for Western Europe, with online sales increasing by 11% yearly. The outfit believes Internet sales in the region will climb from $93 million (€68 million) in 2009 to $156 million (€114.5 million) in 2014.
Forrester's figures exclude autos, travel, and prescription drugs. Computers, consumer electronics, and apparel represented more than 44% ($67.7 billion) of online sales last year. Interestingly, while $155 billion worth of consumer goods were purchased online in 2009, $917 billion worth of retail sales were "Web-influenced." Online and "Web-influenced" offline sales together accounted for 42% of all retail sales and that will grow to 53% by 2014
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