What's New in Ivy Bridge CPUs and the Z77 Motherboard Platform?

Welcoming Intel’s Third Generation Core Processors

“Tick-tock” is the keyword Intel has used time and time again when introducing new microprocessors. Also known as Silicon Cadence, since 2007 it has become the strategy for their CPU business, where every “tick” is a shrink in manufacturing process technology used and every “tock” is a completely new microarchitecture. This is to avoid introducing a new microarchitecture and manufacturing process at the same time where we've seen the difficulties of managing expectations of such a complex overhaul.

With the “tock” that is Sandy Bridge, Intel introduced a completely new microarchitecture, the highlight of which must be the integration of the graphics processing unit onto a single monolithic die. Now, it’s time for the “tick” that is Ivy Bridge, which brings along all the goodness of Sandy Bridge with a few feature enhancements and primarily the 22nm process technology for lower power characteristics and a boost in performance capabilities per watt.

Considering the changing computing landscape, Intel is hoping to make a big impression in the graphics segment with Ivy Bridge. Graphics has been an area that Intel has been sorely weak in for the several years. Intel has for the longest time regarded integrated graphics with little interest and provided the bare minimum required to run Windows, leaving users who wanted more graphics performance to go out there and get a discrete graphics card themselves. However, the computing landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years. Apple’s iPhone and iPad brought about a boom in mobile computing, and with that, the convergence of both computing and graphics processing thereby highlighting the importance of SoCs (system on chip) where both tasks are handled by a single chip.

The need to stay relevant therefore led to Sandy Bridge, the first of Intel’s monolithic processors to integrate graphics processing elements onto a single chip. Sandy Bridge, as we detailed in our review, was a significant step forward for Intel, but graphics performance was still far from mind-blowing. With Ivy Bridge, Intel hasn’t neglected raw computing power of course; however, the highlight of the new chips has got to be the more beefy HD 4000 integrated GPU with DirectX 11 support. We'll detail more updates on the following page, but even with the new features, you should still expect baseline performance as it wasn't meant to eradicate discrete graphics.

In this article, we will highlight the key performance features of the new Ivy Bridge processor; touch on the new 7-series chipset that is optimized for the new processors; and round off with a brief guide showing you what you should be getting if you are thinking of hopping on to the Ivy Bridge bandwagon. Performance aspects of this new CPU are covered in a dedicated article. First, let's begin by talking a bit about the processor models that will be available at launch (24th April 2012).

 

How To Identify an Ivy Bridge Processor?

Before we head into details, how can you recognize an Ivy Bridge processor or a system equipped with it? Given that that it is now officially called the third-generation Core processor family, various systems and notebooks are still going to use the existing Core i7 / i5 / i3 logo stickers to inform which class of products they belong to. However, the dead giveaway is to notice the model number that follows the class identifier - all 37xx series CPU models (and lower) belong to the third-generation Core processor family (Ivy Bridge). This should be easy for anyone to notice, just like Sandy Bridge processors that followed the 27xx series CPU model naming nomenclature (and lower) since they were part of the second-generation Core family. Take note that 38xx and 39xx series belong to Sandy Bridge E processors; it would have been easier if they stuck with the 2xxx series naming though.

 

Ivy Bridge CPU SKUs Upon Launch

At launch time, Intel is going to have a handful of SKUs available. Of note, there will be two high-end Core i7 SKUs for the DIY market and three mid to high-end Core i5 SKUs - there's another four low-power SKUs which are geared more towards AIO and HTPC applications (which have the "S" and "T" suffixes). Of the five SKUs targeted at the usual DIY market, two will be designated with the “K” suffix, meaning that they will have unlocked CPU multipliers. 

Looking at the table below, the Ivy Bridge launch SKUs are comparable to the ones we got at the launch of Sandy Bridge in terms of clock speeds, features and price. The Core i7-3770K is comparable to the last-generation Core i7-2700K, while the Core i7-3770 is a good match for the Core i7-2600K. 

Like Sandy Bridge, only the Core i7 class of Ivy Bridge processors will have Hyper-Threading and a larger 8MB L3 cache. Also worth noting is that all of these launched today are all quad-core processors; dual-core processors (Core i3 class) will come at a later date, around late May to early June. Some basic characteristics of these lower class CPUs are 3MB of L3 cache, no Turbo Boost and no overclocking. We've a hunch that the dual-core models might go up against the AMD Trinity APU class of processors when the desktop editions become available.

Increased Performance & Efficiency

Ivy Bridge represents Intel’s third generation Core processor family and architecturally, it is highly similar to its predecessor. Ivy Bridge is still a monolithic die that features an integrated graphics processing unit, but built using a 22nm manufacturing process that employs Intel's recently introduced 3D Tri-gate transistors. Typically with a shrink in manufacturing process technology, one can expect slightly boosted performance and better power efficiency, and in this respect Ivy Bridge is no different.

Speaking of manufacturing process, a quad-core Ivy Bridge processor will pack 1.4 billion transistors on a die size that's only 160mm². A comparable quad-core Sandy Bridge processor, on the other hand, has 995 million transistors and a die size of 216mm².

However, as with previous “tick” cycles and since architecturally Ivy Bridge doesn’t differ much from its Sandy Bridge, performance improvements are expected to be modest. In our tests, we found that depending on what application you are running, you can expect an average of about 10% boost in performance.

On the performance front, Intel has introduced a number of features that will please enthusiasts. To begin, Intel has raised the maximum CPU multiplier for unlocked Ivy Bridge processors - from 59 to 63. This suggests an even higher level of overclockability. Also, unlocked Ivy Bridge processors will also allow users to adjust the CPU multiplier in real-time from within Windows - a convenient feature but probably limited in use since safely booting into the OS is a necessary stress test for any overclock. Lastly and unfortunately, base clock overclocking will remain the same as Sandy Bridge with only limited adjustments of +/- 10MHz allowed due to the platform and chip design. The memory controller in Ivy Bridge has also been improved and will be able to support faster memory up to DDR3-2667MHz DDR to better overclock the system - up from DDR3-2133MHz. Official memory support would however be DDR3-1600MHz.

You can read up more on performance matters in a separate dedicated Ivy Bridge performance article where we've covered in detail how the top processor variant fared - the Core i7-3770K. On a related note to performance, the new Ivy Bridge processors also support several updated instruction sets introduced on the SB-E processors but not present on the original Sandy Bridge series such as AES, AVX, SSE 4.1 and SSE4.2 among others.

As for power efficiency, thanks to all-new Tri-gate (3D) transistors technology, Intel claims that at any level of performance, the new chips will consume less up to 50% less power. Briefly, these transistors employ a single gate stacked on top of two vertical gates (hence 3D), and allows for up to three times the surface area for electrons to travel. This reduces leakage and allows for up to 37% faster transfer speeds and considerably lower power consumption. Other efficiency improvements include power gating on memory and graphics controllers for lower idle power and also support for low voltage DDR3 memory on mobile variants of Ivy Bridge.

A Focus on Graphics

In recent years, there is an increasing focus on the importance of GPUs. Previously, GPUs used to be the domain of gamers alone, nowadays however, the responsibility of the GPU is becoming increasingly varied. Now, they are called on to accelerate HD video, user interfaces and now even certain applications, and that has led to a radical change in Intel’s strategy as they seek to improve on their own graphics offering.

With Ivy Bridge, the GPU section of the chip will be upgraded with the new third-generation Intel HD Graphics engine - the HD 4000 and HD 2500 integrated GPUs. Headlining the new features of the HD 4000 and HD 2500 GPUs are the inclusion of DirectX 11, DirectCompute and hardware tessellation support. The new integrated GPUs will also support OpenCL 1.1 and OpenGL 3.1.

The more powerful new HD 4000 GPU will be offered on the higher-end SKUs and it will have 16 execution units (EUs) - four more than the older HD 3000. While that might not sound like much, these EUs are much more efficient that its predecessor. A single EU on Ivy Bridge can perform two MADs (multiply + add operation) per clock, twice that of the EU on Sandy Bridge. In raw computing terms, the HD 4000 will have more than twice the compute power of the HD 3000 and this is why Ivy Bridge is expected to dramatically improve graphics performance just as we've found out. Also, since each EU is now more efficient, even the HD 2500, which has the same number of EUs as the older HD 2000, is expected to offer noticeably more graphics performance.

Intel Core i7 processor will feature the HD 4000 GPU, while Core i5 / i3 processor series would feature a mix of both HD 4000 and HD 2500 GPU variants depending on the processor model and target user group. For example, as listed on the previous page, Core i5-3550 and 3450 are equipped with the Intel HD 2500 GPU while the higher speed versions come with the HD 4000 GPU.

With Ivy Bridge, Intel is also natively supporting up to three displays for the first time. So apart from the main display, you can also have either an additional two digital displays or one analog and one digital display. However, support for this will invariably depend largely on the manufacturer's motherboard/notebook design.

One aspect of the Intel HD 4000 graphic engine that we've reported in the past but wasn't quite addressed in the official launch of the Ivy Bridge is its support for 4K video resolutions. Given that this information is from Intel's own Developer's Forum, we believe the HD 4000 might support this resolution natively but wasn't mentioned since displays with such resolution support are few and far between, and are priced well out of personal and even many businesses' budget. However it has been noted that Kirk Skaugen, VP and GM of Intel's PC Client Group has mentioned support for "Retina" display resolutions when OEMs choose to support that. Since there's no fixed display resolution defined for "Retina" displays and it differs from each product group, it's not yet very telling as to Intel's real intentions, but it does seem to suggest something higher than the official 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution support. Apple's new product refreshes in the months ahead might shed some light on this.

PCI Express 3.0

Also new for Ivy Bridge processors is the support for PCI Express 3.0. There’s 16 PCIe lanes from the CPU which are rated at PCIe 3.0 speeds, the significance of which is that PCIe 3.0 lanes have twice the bandwidth of that of PCIe 2.0 ones. However, this is enabled only if you are using it with a 7-series chipset motherboard. This means to fully take advantage of the new processors, you have to pair it with a 7-series chipset motherboard (assuming you also have a PCIe 3.0 compliant graphics card). This requirement is not dictated by the chipset, but rather the new motherboards which would support the higher speed signalling components and switches to support PCIe 3.0 transfer speeds. As such the new general rule of thumb is get a new 7-series chipset motherboard just to have your bases covered.

Just to set some basics right, PCIe 2.0 support 5GT/s (gigatransfers per second) signalling per PCIe lane. PCIe 3.0 ups the ante with its 8GT/s support. However, because PCI 3.0 employs far more efficient encoding schemes (scrambling via binary polynomial with 128b/130b encoding vs. the 8b/10b encoding schemes of PCIe 2.0), it is able to reduce transfer/communication overheads from 20% to just 1.5%. The combination of increase signaling speed with far reduced overheads enables PCIe 3.0 to actually support double the bandwidth per lane than PCIe 2.0 (1GB/s vs. 500MB/s).

PCIe 3.0 is probably one that would make itself most useful when tackling multi-GPU setups, which we'll find out in due time if it really made a difference. In our preview of ECS’ high-end Z77H2-AX board, we saw that 16 PCIe lanes is sometimes not even enough for the most demanding users as that particular board has an additional PLX PXE 8747 switching chip that increase the number of PCIe lanes to a whopping 32! This would come in handy to run two-way or three-way SLI/CrossFire configurations more effectively as there is more bandwidth available than just the basic PEG support from the CPU.

Intel OS Guard & Secure Key - Added Security

With Ivy Bridge, Intel is also hoping to make PCs more secure and safe for use. Intel OS Guard or SMEP (Supervisor Mode Execution Protection) provides a disable bit that serves as an enforcement mechanism whereby the OS can indicate a requirement that it does not intend to execute from user mode pages while in supervisor mode and thus the CPU enforces this requirement. What this means is that SMEP helps prevent certain malware attacks from executing from user mode pages while tricking the OS to be in supervisor mode which would allow access critical and sensitive areas that only the OS should only have access to. Intel OS Guard is enabled by a supporting OS and does not require any additional software. The next iteration of Windows will support this feature. Other major Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Red Hat and SuSE have also plans to support Intel OS Guard.

On the other hand, Intel Secure Key is software dependent and is supported so long as the software is optimized for it. In a nutshell, Intel Secure Key provides random numbers that can be used for encryption of data or electronic transactions. These are not just plain random numbers, but random numbers generated using a variety of cryptographic standards to ensure robustness. Intel plans to implement Intel Secure Key on all client and server processors and future Intel SoCs.

New Chip, New Chipset - Welcome the 7-series

Following in the footsteps of Sandy Bridge, the launch of Ivy Bridge will also see Intel introducing the new 7-series chipset, codenamed Panther Point. The new 7-series chipset is an incremental update to the Z68 chipset from last year and uses the same 65nm manufacturing process technology and supports LGA 1155 package processors just like Sandy Bridge. Intel will be introducing three new chipsets targeted at consumers, and they are the Z77, Z75 and H75. The three chipsets have highly similar features, but are a little different.

Mainly, the Z77 and Z75 will both support CPU performance tuning (basically overlclocking, which the H77 doesn't), hence making it the choice for tweakers. Meanwhile, between the Z77 and Z75, the former will support RAID and Intel Smart Response Technology (using a small SSD as a cache to boost system performance of a primarily hard drive driven machine) while the Z75 doesn't support these extra frills. The H77 chipset supports RAID and Intel SRT technology, but only supports GPU tuning and a single PEG slot support.

The Z77 chipset is targeted at enthusiasts and that’s the one we’ll be taking a closer look at later, while the Z75 and H77 will cater to more mainstream users. Further on this page, we touch upon a few platform aspects of the 7-series motherboards right after the chipset comparison table.

CPU / Platform Compatibility

To begin, let’s talk a bit about compatibility. Because of similar power and VRM requirements as the older processor, the new Ivy Bridge processors can essentially work off most mainstream 6-series motherboards, with the  exception of the Q65, Q67 and B65.  Users who are considering an Ivy Bridge processor and a 6-series motherboard combo (we understand Z68 motherboards are going cheap now), it’s best to make sure that the motherboard has been flashed first, if not, get the shop you are buying from to flash it for you first. Those who are holding on to your existing 6-series motherboards can also rejoice since you only require a firmware flash to support the new Ivy Bridge processor (with some reduced feature support such as no PCIe 3.0).

Sandy Bridge processors on the other hand are fully compatible with either the full series of 6-series and the new 7-series motherboards.

USB 3.0 Integrated

The headline feature in the 7-series motherboards is the integration of a USB 3.0 controller into the chipset. The controller supports up to four USB 3.0 ports, which should suffice for entry to mid-range boards, and will go some way to cut costs (making boards more affordable for users) and also free up real-estate for manufacturers. For higher-end boards which typically feature six USB 3.0 ports or more, an additional third party controller will still be required.

No Native Thunderbolt Support

Thunderbolt is the latest interface for connecting peripherals to a computer. Developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple, it is a super high-speed interface capable of up to 20Gbps of data throughput (considering bidirectional transfers), which is many times faster than USB 3.0 and FireWire 800. Furthermore, apart from data, ThunderBolt also supports video, audio and even power, thereby reducing the need for separate video and audio cables.

However, despite obvious benefits of ThunderBolt, the new 7-series does not natively support ThunderBolt. However, motherboard manufacturers can choose to implement it at the expense of four PCIe lanes via the chipset or CPU. Intel says this is entirely up to manufacturers, but they do expect boards to sport ThunderBolt ports, but these will be enabled by third-party controllers. With limited Thunderbolt hardware available at this point of time, we've not yet seen 7-series boards implementing this features and we expect such designs to be available later in the year. After all with no chipset-level implementation currently, it is as good as you personally buying your own add-on Thunderbolt PCIe card to support any Thunderbolt enabled device.

Some Initial Thoughts on the 7-series Chipset

Overall, the 7-series chipset marks a minor improvement over its predecessor. Native support for USB 3.0 is much welcomed, but we are a bit miffed that PCIe 3.0 speeds are enabled only with Ivy Bridge processors as the additional PCIe lanes from the chipset are only PCIe 2.0 compliant. Also, the new 7-series chipset continues to support only two SATA 6Gbps ports and four SATA 3Gbps ports, which is disappointing considering AMD’s 990FX chipset already offers up to six SATA 6Gbps ports on its own. Lastly, not incorporating native support for ThunderBolt technology into the chipset is yet another shortcoming of expectations for the new 7-series chipset. Considering the numerous benefits of this new technology and how psyched Intel were about it, we are both surprised and disappointed that Intel didn't take the opportunity to make the push for ThunderBolt to be incorporated on all new Ivy Bridge machines from the chipset level.

The Intel DZ77GA-70K (Intel Z77) Motherboard

For those of you who have been following developments of the new Ivy Bridge processors and 7-series motherboards closely, you would know that we have already previewed a handful of Z77 motherboards in the past few weeks. For those who have yet to check out our previews, here's the list of boards:

• ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe
• ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene
• ECS Z77H2-AX
• MSI Z77A-GD65

Today, we'll be taking a look at how a reference Z77 motherboards looks like and it comes in the form of the Intel DZ77GA-70K. The motherboard comes from Intel's "Extreme" lineup, which means it was designed with enthusiasts in mind. Aesthetically, it doesn’t look much different from any 6-series board. And like most Intel reference boards, it looks more simple and less decorated than those from its partners. Of note, the heatsinks are more compact and less dominant.

Here’s a quick look at the Intel reference board.

Closing Thoughts

As we can see, Ivy Bridge and the new 7-series chipset are mostly incremental updates. On the processor front, Intel is obviously taking graphics more seriously now, because Intel has bestowed Ivy Bridge with a substantial GPU upgrade (relatively speaking). Not only does the new HD 4000 and HD 2500 GPUs possess more execution units (EU), each EU is also more efficient, and we should therefore see a notable increase in graphics performance. That aside, it is also evident that Intel remains committed to offering efficient computing solutions, as can be seen with the implementation of their all-new Tri-gate transistors and support for low-voltage DDR memory. And with the new 7-series chipset based platforms, we finally have integrated USB 3.0 and PCIe 3.0 support.

However, it’s not all rosy for Ivy Bridge because despite the beefed up GPU, AMD’s Llano APU’s Redwood-class integrated GPUs are still competitive. Furthermore, with AMD set to release their Trinity APUs later next month with even better computing and graphics processing, the Intel HD Graphics 4000 could yet find itself comprehensively outclassed (at least from a graphics performance standpoint). That said, Intel should likely still boast superior CPU performance, but really, it just goes to show how much catching up Intel needs to do in the graphics department. Elsewhere, while PCIe 3.0 is supported, that feature is enabled only when paired with an Ivy Bridge processor. And finally, we are disappointed that the 7-series chipset still supports only two SATA 6Gbps ports and does not include native support for ThunderBolt technology.

What’s Right For Me?

Having covered in some depth the what Ivy Bridge and the new 7-series chipset offers, now let’s take a look at the SKUs that will be available at launch. Now the 7-series chipset based motherboards have been made available earlier this month and should already be available in stores now - reason being they are backward compatible with Sandy Bridge processors and don’t need Ivy Bridge ones to run.

The Ivy Bridge processors, on the other hand, are only available from today. At launch, Intel will only be making quad-core SKUs available, in both standard and low-power variants - the low-power ones are mostly geared towards AIO, OEM applications and users with certain stringent requirements (not shown below). The five main SKUs that consumers are going to want are the following:

And this is our recommendation processor and motherboard combination:

Judging from their clock speeds and price, the five SKUs that are available are pretty high-end parts, but for enthusiasts who want to get their hands down and dirty and tweak their systems for maximum performance, the two unlocked processors (marked by the ‘K’ suffix) are the obvious ones to get. The raised limit on the CPU multiplier coupled with the support for faster memory should see enthusiasts reaching new and higher levels of performance. For those who can forgo Hyper-Threading, the more affordable Core i5-3570K processor looks to be a good pick.

For those of us who have no wish of overclocking our processors, the Core i7-3770 is the one to go for if you want the utmost performance and if the budget allows. For more mainstream users, the two more affordable Core i5-3450 and Core i5-3550 are good choices but still not ideal. This is because while they have substantial CPU performance, they lack the more powerful Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU; this means discrete graphics is almost definitely a must if you want to indulge in any semblance of gaming.

As for choice of chipsets, enthusiasts and those seeking ultimate performance should opt only for the Z77. For those who can forgo support for RAID and Intel's Smart Response technology, the Z75 is a choice pick. The H77 is ideal for mainstream and casual users who would like to capitalize on RAID and better system response with Intel SRT, but see no reason for overclocking tweaks or having muli-GPU support.

Before we end, Intel has said that more mainstream dual-core Ivy Bridge processors are in the pipeline and should be early in early June. Also, be sure to check out Part Two and Part Three of our Ivy Bridge special as we break down its performance and give our final verdict on Intel’s latest processors. Intel has also been preparing supplementary materials like this rather amusing video giving you a fly-by view of the Ivy Bridge processor's die up-close to relate various features, so check it out if you've time.

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