Since late last twelvemonth Ivy Bridge seems to exist the architecture everyone is waiting for. Although Intel is only anticipating a 10–15% processing performance bump when compared to Sandy Bridge, the big news comes in the form of improved graphics and efficiency, thanks to the movement to a 22nm design process using new 3D transistor engineering we recently explained in detail here.

Today the company is unveiling its full new line of Core i7 and Cadre i5 processors, accompanying chipsets and Centrino wireless options. Ivy Span is a 'tick' release, but Intel is calling information technology a tick+ due to the more significant overhaul the graphics side of things is getting. The new fries are set to provide twenty–50% amend GPU functioning over Sandy Bridge, the kind of jump we'd normally expect from a tock release.

To be fair, Intel has gotten by with lackluster GPU performance from their integrated chipsets for years. When they moved the GPU on-die they continued to peddle the same subpar performance, and to this solar day they lag way behind, but that's not to say things haven't changed dramatically for the better. Features and performance have scaled to the signal that integrated graphics are capable of playing loftier-definition content, handling more than a unmarried screen, multiple inputs, offering wireless display technology, among others.

Intel is preparing another big graphics performance bump when the Haswell compages hits the market next year. But in the meantime, for the same coin consumers should be looking at faster performance and even better efficiency with the Ivy Bridge compages.

For a while it appeared the motility to the new manufacturing process would cause a delay of several months, but the company was able to reduce that to a few weeks. As you know, Ivy Bridge's companion chipset release remained on track. The new vii-serial chipsets are backwards uniform with Sandy Span processors, so information technology's been possible to purchase a Z77 motherboard and actually use information technology for a few weeks at present.

Having already discussed the new Tri-Gate transistors in great item, the new 7-series chipsets, and some of the motherboards that employ them, we are going to focus primarily on the Core i7-3770K processor in this review.

third Gen Intel Core Lineup

The Ivy Bridge lineup is comprised of several desktop and mobile Core i7 and Cadre i5 processors that will effectively supercede most of the current offerings under those series. Cadre i3 variants will make it to market on the second one-half of the year.

The new Cadre i7 desktop processors include the Cadre i7-3770K, i7-3770, i7-3770T and i7-3770S -- all selling for $278 except for the i7-3770K that sells for a slight premium at $313. If y'all ask united states, it'south a little fleck similar the unnecessary multiple flavors of Windows Vista/7, but that'south the way Intel is going virtually their CPUs these days. The Core i7-3770K and i7-3770 are identical in about every fashion, with a few central exceptions. The K version comes with an unlocked multiplier and is 100MHz faster out of the box. The Intel vPro/TXT/VT-d/SIPP technologies have also been removed from the K series.

The Core i7-3770S and i7-3770T are members of the depression power serial (second nautical chart beneath) and equally such the TDP has been reduced from 77w downward to 65w and 45w, respectively. A determining factor in achieving this lower consumption is a lower CPU base of operations frequency, reduced from 3.50GHz to just three.10GHz for the i7-3770S and 2.50GHz for the i7-3770T.

All Ivy Bridge Core i7 desktop processors feature 4 cores with 8 concurrent threads when using Hyper-Threading. The Core i7 3770K operates at 3.50GHz with a Turbo Boost frequency of iii.90GHz, while the not-K version features the same Turbo Heave frequency with a base clock of iii.4GHz. They are designed to piece of work with DDR3-1333 memory and feature an 8MB L3 cache.

Then at that place is the new Core i5 series which features the i5-3570K, i5-3550, i5-3470 and i5-3450 processors ($194 for the Thou version, $174 for the rest). At that place are as well the Cadre i5-3570T, i5-3550S, i5-3470T, i5-3470S and Core i5-3450S low ability models, we know, it gets very confusing, so let'south talk nearly the standard processors beginning.

All standard Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors carry a 77W TDP and feature four cores and four concurrent threads. The but Core i5 processor to differ from this configuration is the i5-3470T which features two cores with Hyper-Threading for four threads.

The Core i5 range is clocked aggressively: the i5-3570K and i5-3570 operate at 3.40GHz with a Turbo Boost frequency of 3.80GHz. The i5-3550 operates at iii.30GHz with a Turbo Boost speed of 3.70GHz, the i5-3470 has a base clock of 3.20GHz and tin reach three.60GHz when using Turbo Boost.

Finally the Core i5-3450 has a base clock of 3.10GHz and a Turbo Boost frequency of 3.50GHz. All Cadre i5 processors characteristic a 6MB L3 enshroud with the exception of the i5-3470T which has been downgraded to 3MB.

All Core i5 processors utilize the Intel Hd Graphics 2500 engine with the exception of the i5-3570K which uses the HD Graphics 4000 engine.

The low-power Core i5 range is equally disruptive. The five models available at launch are different though many of them occupy the same cost range. The Core i5 3470T is essentially a Core i3 processor with Turbo Boost added. This processor operates at 2.90GHz with a Turbo Boost speed of three.50GHz. However like the Core i3 processors, the i5 3470T features only 2 cores with Hyper-Threading support and a smaller 3MB L3 enshroud, information technology is said to cost $174.

And so there is the Core i5-3570T and i5-3550S (both $194). The i5-3570T features a thermal pattern rating of 45w and works at two.30GHz with a Turbo Boost frequency of three.30GHz. The i5-3550S is actually faster, working at a base clock of 3.0GHz with a Turbo Boost frequency of iii.37GHz. As you would look the i5 3550S has a higher TDP rating of 65w.

Finally we have the Core i5-3470S and i5-3450S processors (both $174) which characteristic a TDP rating of 65w. The Cadre i5-3470S has a base of operations clock of ii.90GHz with a Turbo Boost frequency of 3.60GHz, while the i5-3450S works at ii.80GHz with a Turbo Heave of 3.50GHz. Like the Cadre i7-3770K and i5-3570K, the i5-3450S also misses out on Intel vPro/TXT/VT-d/SIPP technologies.