Check out these processors for a serious desktop upgrade.

We hope you’re ready to kick off 2011 with a brand new, blazing fast processor--because ready or not, Intel’s Sandy Bridge is on our doorstep . The 2011 family of 32nm Core i7, i5 and i3 processors integrate the CPU, memory controller and dedicated graphics processing onto a single chip. What does that mean for you? Better graphics and media processing out of an Intel chip than we’ve seen in the past.Intel’s really pushing Sandy Bridge’s graphics potential, and the new integrated systems come in two flavors: HD Graphics 2000 and HD Graphics 3000. Obviously, the higher end processors boast the faster graphics performance, but HD Graphics 2000 still shows impressive gains over previous Intel offerings. AnandTech found the HD 2000 beat out last year’s Core chips by about 30% , and HD Graphics 3000 showed a 70% improvement over the integrated graphics power of Intel’s Clarkdale chips. You’re essentially getting the performance of a $40-50 GPU with a Sandy Bridge processor equipped with HD Graphics 3000.And Intel’s not done taking the fight to GPUs just yet: the Quick Sync technology debuting with Sandy Bridge promises to deliver radically improved HD video transcoding that can handle 5 parallel 1080p video streams. HD video playback should be a dream on Sandy Bridge--there’s added support for 3D Blu-Ray over HDMI 1.4, 1080p wireless playback over WiDi, and Clear Video technology for excellent picture quality. In short, Intel’s pulling out all the stops to really deliver quality graphics and video processing this generation.A new chip launch means a new Intel naming convention, and you’ll want to understand what those names mean if you plan on upgrading to a 2011 Core processor. The Core i3, i5 and i7 labels haven’t gone anywhere, and each processor is now granted a four-number SKU beginning with a “2” to indicate that Sandy Bridge is the second generation of Intel Core processors. The three numbers that follow the “2” indicate the individual processor SKU, and a letter designating the processor classification rounds out the name. “M” stands for Mobile, “K” indicates a fully overclockable chip (some Sandy Bridge chips come locked and can’t be overclocked) and the “T” and “S” chips are low-power options aimed at OEMs. As AnandTech explains , Sandy Bridge isn’t so much about a new level of extreme performance as it is steady improvements at better price points than we had for last year’s offerings. The “K” series processors allow for full overclocking and cost only about $10-20 more than the base chips. For a desktop upgrade, the $216 i5 2500K and $317 i7 2600K are mighty attractive processors.Has Intel managed to awaken that upgrade urge within you? Sandy Bridge includes some excellent improvements in desktop performance and serious upgrades in integrated graphics processing--what do you think about the new family of Core 2011 processors?