Event Coverage

Intel @ Computex 2010

By Dr. Jimmy Tang - 2 Jun 2010

Sandy Bridge is alive and kicking

Sandy Bridge is alive and kicking

At the opening keynote at Computex Taipei 2010, David (Dadi) Perlmutter demonstrated for the first time, a live running machine based on the new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture. The new processor slated for release in 2011 will be the first integrated graphics processor fabricated on Intel's 32nm process technology. The single die silicon will come integrated with a powerful graphics processing unit which promises to do more for 3D gaming enthusiasts. However, they are not targeting high-end gaming as they still believe discrete graphics is the way to go, but for casual gamers that need decent 3D performance, Intel is confident that Sandy Bridge will do just that.

According to Intel, Sandy Bridge will contain up to 1.12 billion transistors. It's not as complex as their six-core Dunnington which had up to 1.9 billion transistors. Considering that it had to accomodate a graphics core, we're expecting the first Sandy Bridge processors to be a four-core part. 

In the Sandy Bridge demonstration, Intel showed how the processor was able to handle 3D graphics with full image settings compared to today's system with a Core i7 and a mainstream discrete graphics component. The demo did not contain any fast moving scenes, so it's hard to judge where it stands in terms of fps, but the image quality was good and it was difficult to tell between one from the other.

Intel also showed how much power was drawn from the Sandy Bridge platform and considering it was running 3D, power consumption looks impressive. Although no absolute numbers were shown, an average of 50% in power savings could be possible.

It's difficult to draw any conclusions now, so we'll let you be the judge of it with the video below.

 

 

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