Ivy Bridge i7

Jan 18, 2012 by Ivy Fan

First generation Core Ivy Bridge i7 processor will be issued as successor of 1366 socket (November 2008, first series of Core i7 processors that were named like that) and 1155/1156 socket and their Core i7 series of processors, as a high performance CPUs and platforms that sill exist and persist until today.

Code name of Ivy Bridge i7

Code name of that processor was Bloomfiled and it was made in 45 nm. After that came 45 nm Lynnfield for the 1156 socket and its platform and Gulftown again for the 1366 but a smaller production process of a 32 nm which brought us a first sixcore and twelve threaded Core i7 processor. We are assuming that there will be a Ivy Bridge i7 as well within that specs. Of course, after that came Sandy Bridge with its 1155 socket and a new architecture on a 32nm chip. Last but not least there came the Sandy-Bridge extreme with its 2011 socket, the proper successor to the 1366 high-end enthusiast segment.

 

Development of Intel processors

Apart from the architecture and production changes of Ivy Bridge i7, nothing significantly didn’t happen until know or might we say until the 3D tri-gate were presented. So, what are we talking about here specifically? The Tri-Gate technology gets its name from transistors using conducting channels that are formed on all three sides. On a traditional chip with two-dimensional transistors, the gate runs just across the top. But on the vertical line, transistors can be summed up closer to each other. This provides enough extra control to allow more transistor current to flow when the transistor is on, almost zero when it is off, and gives the transistor the ability to switch quickly between the two states. This maximizes both power usage and performance. As Intel said the Tri-Gate was implemented because it would not have been possible to continue Moore’s law at 22nm production process and below without a major transistor redesign. With Tri-Gate transistors, Intel claims to have extended Moore’s law for another, at least, two years. Intel is estimating that Tri-Gate transistors are roughly 40 percent faster than ones used in the current 32nm process and will effect an power consumption/reduction of more than 50 percent, but with a add of 2 to 3 percent to the cost of a finished wafer. That isn’t so bad when you look at it. The most interesting thing is that Tri-Gate is not that all new as you might think it is. Intel research scientists first invented the Tri-Gate in 2002, but it’s taken them until now to get chips using it ready for high-volume production. We can easily say that this is going to be the major “thing” that will set back all of the Core Ivy Bridge i7 until now.

New generations of core processors

Ivy Bridge and its 3rd Generation of Core Ivy Bridge i7 processor will be a proper tap on every ones shoulder. As we look back at the performance of all these processors and compare it, you can see that from generation to generation, there is a constant rise performance wise and we expect nothing less from Ivy Bridge too. 3rd Generation Core i5 Ivy Bridge processors that were tested showed a CPU performance boost of between 11% and 13% comparing it to the Sandy Bridge generation. The differences between Core i5 and Core Ivy Bridge i7 processors leveled off since the beginning. All of the Core i5 processors didn’t have Hyper-Threading support, only “naked” cores, with some lesser cache size and even know a weaker integrated GPU. Although Clarkdale brought up the first integrated GPU in a CPU only within Core i5 processors at first, at the start of the next generation it all went down (stronger GPUs) towards Core i7 path, and now to the Ivy Bridge i7 too.