They're here! That is, Intel's
Sandy Bridge
mobile and desktop processors herein known as the 2nd Generation Core
processor family or more simply as Intel Core 2011 processors to us.
After
months of teasing and
on-stage demos,
Chipzilla is finally unleashing the details of its new Core i3, i5, and
i7 processors, and considering there are 29 new CPUs in total as well
as new integrated graphics options (now known as processor graphics)
there's quite a bit to digest. Hit the break for our rundown of the new
platform and a look at some of Intel's newest performance and
graphics-focused features.
What's new here?
It was just a year ago that Intel released its
first generation Core processors,
so what exactly makes this platform different? Well, a few things. For
those that haven't followed the Sandy Bridge saga, the new family of
processors are all based on Intel's
32nm microarchitecture
and are the first to put both the processor, memory controller, and
graphics on the same die. What's that mean for you? In short, it means
the package is smaller and all the parts get to take advantage of each
other better -- for instance, by
dynamically clocking both the CPU cores and graphics
to match whatever workload you throw at it, and giving them up to 1MB
of shared cache. Speaking of those graphics, while they may still not be
on par with a discrete video card,
they're more powerful than ever before. According to Intel, the new HD
2000 and 3000 processor graphics provide 2x the performance of
Capella-based systems, and that actually holds up with what we've seen
in early benchmarks
(so long, GMA 4500). What's more, Intel's improved its Turbo Boost and
Hyper-threading technologies such that the new chips enable higher
levels of CPU performance as well -- up to a 60 percent improvement with
quad-core mobile CPUs. Additionally, the new integrated chips reduce
power consumption and can actually
completely turn off an idle optical drive, enabling what Intel's calling "incredible battery life."
The processor details
That new architecture means new CPUs, and Intel's introducing a total of
29 new processors, which include different varieties of mobile and
desktop Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 models. The chart above gives you a
pretty good breakdown of the versions and Intel's provided a more
detailed breakdown of each of these, including clock speeds and TDP
here.
You will note that there's a slightly different naming convention now
-- there's the processor name followed by four numbers, rather than the
previous three. As we had heard, the quad-core i7 CPUs will be the first
to ship in systems -- they should be hitting this week -- while the
dual-core versions won't be shipping until February. Not to worry, the
ultra-low voltage (ULV) versions for ultraportable laptops are coming
and will be introduced in the second half of the year. There's even a
set of specially-marked overclockable 'K' series processors for the
tweakers in your family, which lets them individually set the clockspeed
ratios for each individual core -- though they'll also need a premium
P67 Express motherboard.
New features
That's the brunt of the technical stuff (if you are looking for more on
that, hit some of the links in more coverage), but Intel's trying harder
than ever to explain the speeds and feeds with new consumer friendly
features. Most of them have to do with the enhanced graphics -- here's a
short rundown of the main ones we expect to hear quite a bit about at
CES and at Intel's CES presser.
- Intel Quick Sync Video - The title of this one
isn't exactly the most self explanatory, but Intel's promising way
faster video transcoding with it's new integrated Quick Sync feature,
which does encoding in hardware -- it says it will be 17x faster than
older generations of integrated graphics. Intel's partnered with media
software companies like CyberLink, Corel, and ArcSoft to enable this
hardware-accelerated H.264 and MPEG-2 video conversion.
- Intel InTru 3D / Clear Video HD - 3D Blu-ray
playback over HDMI 1.4? Not a problem for Intel's Core 2011 platform.
This doesn't mean Intel's providing the 3D technology for laptops or
desktops, but it's promising that you can play stereoscopic 3D and HD
content on your TV using HDMI.
- WiDi 2.0 - Our biggest complaints about the
original WiDi was the lack of support for 1080p. Well, Intel's finally
enabled streaming of full HD with its latest processors. There's still
lag and you will need to pick up a new TV receiver, most likely a new
one from Netgear, to take advantage of the new full HD abilities. We've
got more details on this and Intel's new Insider video content service here.
Now what?
What's next? A boatload of laptops and desktops powered by these new
processors, that's what! Oh yes, Intel says that over 500 systems will
be based on the new platform. We've already seen a few leak out, but you
can bet on most of the major computer manufacturers announcing new
systems at CES 2011 (
Lenovo's taken the first step!),
so stay tuned for tons of announcements. Until we flood you with those,
enjoy studying up on all the new processors in the gallery above.
