Intel is rolling out its first crop of the new “Ivy Bridge” chips today. Intel says they will deliver about 20% more processor performance using 20% less average power.
Most of the 13 new processors coming today will be destined for desktop computers. Some of the chips will arrive in high performance notebooks such as the new Sony Vaio E 14P. But we won’t see dual core processors for ultrabooks until later this spring. AnandTech has an Ivy Bridge Review of the Core i7 3770K.
On a PCMark07 standard benchmark, the Ivy-bridge N56V notebook far outperformed quad-core Sandy Bridge notebooks. Its score of 3,709 was 33 percent higher than the HP Envy 15, and 61 percent faster than the mainstream laptop average, although that includes many notebooks with much less powerful processors without discrete graphics.
The first systems with Ivy Bridge CPUs won’t be available to order until at least April 29, says C/Net. And those are just going to be the very high-end quad-core Core i7 versions. The more mainstream dual-core Core i5 and Core i3 parts should start appearing sometime around the end of May.
While Ivy Bridge may deliver a 5 – 15% increase in CPU performance over Sandy Bridge at a similar price point, Ivy’s GPU processor graphics provides the real performance gain, reports AnandTech. With Ivy Bridge, discrete GPUs below the $50 – $60 mark don’t make sense Intel’s HD 4000 will likely beat them out. The discrete market above $100 remains fairly safe however, says AnandTech. You will still have a better gaming experience with a budget graphics card, says C/Net.
Some of the major changes:
- DirectX 11 Support
- More execution units (16 vs 12) for GT2 graphics (Intel HD 4000)
- 2x MADs per clock
- EUs can now co-issue more operations
- GPU specific on-die L3 cache
- Faster QuickSync performance
- Lower power consumption due to 22nm
Intel shrinks its chips every two years, pushing the boundaries of physics in pursuit of ever-faster, more efficient processors.
It’s a radical design — developed in Oregon — that adds a third dimension to the 22 nm transistors. The “Tri-Gate” chip, code-named Ivy Bridge, is the product of a decade of work and lots of sleepless nights.
With its new Ivy Bridge CPUs, Intel has introduced two new graphics cores, the Intel HD 4000, and a lower-end HD 2500 core. With the HD 4000, Intel finally has an on-board graphics processor with some 3D processing muscle. It’s performance in affordable, mainstream laptops remains to be seen.
