The Ivy Bridge Preview: Core i7 3770K Tested
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 6, 2012 8:16 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
- Intel
- Core i7
- Ivy Bridge
The Lineup
Intel will initially launch quad-core SKUs on the desktop. Ivy Bridge will be branded as Intel's 3rd generation Core microarchitecture and use model numbers below 3800. The 3800 - 3900 series are reserved for Sandy Bridge E for the time being, while the 2000 series refers to last year's Sandy Bridge parts. Just like we saw with Sandy Bridge, Ivy will be available in fully unlocked (K-series), partially unlocked (any part with Turbo support) and fully locked (anything without Turbo support) SKUs.
What we know about the lineup today is summarized in the table below:
Processor | Core Clock | Cores / Threads | L3 Cache | Max Turbo | Intel HD Graphics | TDP | Price |
Intel Core i7 3960X | 3.3GHz | 6 / 12 | 15MB | 3.9GHz | N/A | 130W | $990 |
Intel Core i7 3930K | 3.2GHz | 6 / 12 | 12MB | 3.8GHz | N/A | 130W | $555 |
Intel Core i7 3820 | 3.6GHz | 4 / 8 | 10MB | 3.9GHz | N/A | 130W | $285 |
Intel Core i7 3770K | 3.5GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.9GHz | 4000 | 77W | $332 est |
Intel Core i7 3770 | 3.4GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.9GHz | 4000 | 77W | $294 est |
Intel Core i5 3570K | 3.4GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.8GHz | 4000 | 77W | TBD |
Intel Core i5 3570 | 3.4GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.8GHz | 2500 | 77W | TBD |
Intel Core i5 3550 | 3.3GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.7GHz | 2500 | 77W | TBD |
Intel Core i5 3470 | 3.2GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.6GHz | 2500 | 77W | TBD |
Intel Core i5 3450 | 3.1GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.5GHz | 2500 | 77W | TBD |
Intel Core i5 3330 | 3.0GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.2GHz | 2500 | 77W | TBD |
Intel Core i7 2700K | 3.5GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.9GHz | 3000 | 95W | $332 |
Intel Core i7 2600K | 3.4GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.8GHz | 3000 | 95W | $317 |
Intel Core i7 2600 | 3.4GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.8GHz | 2000 | 95W | $294 |
Intel Core i5 2500K | 3.3GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.7GHz | 3000 | 95W | $216 |
Intel Core i5 2500 | 3.3GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.7GHz | 2000 | 95W | $205 |
Unlike the initial Sandy Bridge launch, both fully and partially unlocked Ivy Bridge parts will ship with Intel HD 4000 graphics - although that's still reserved for the high-end on the desktop. I am also seeing movement towards removing core-count restrictions on turbo frequencies. Today max turbo is defined in most cases by the highest frequency you can reach with only one core active. I would not be surprised to see Intel eventually move to a setup where max turbo can be reached regardless of number of active cores and just base it on current power consumption and thermal conditions.
Chipset Support
Ivy Bridge uses the same LGA-1155 socket as Sandy Bridge. Provided there's BIOS/UEFI support from your board maker, you can use Ivy Bridge CPUs in older 6-series motherboards. Doing so won't give you access to some of the newer 7-series chipset features like PCIe Gen 3 (some 6-series boards are claiming 3.0 support), native USB 3.0 (many 6-series boards have 3rd party USB 3.0 controllers) and Intel's Rapid Start Technology.
Chipset Comparison | ||||||||
Z77 | Z75 | H77 | Z68 | P67 | H67 | |||
CPU Support |
IVB LGA-1155 |
IVB LGA-1155 |
IVB LGA-1155 |
SNB/IVB LGA-1155 |
SNB/IVB LGA-1155 |
SNB/IVB LGA-1155 |
||
CPU Overclocking | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
CPU PCIe Config |
1 x16 or 2 x8 or 1 x8 + 2 x4 PCIe 3.0 |
1 x16 or 2 x8 PCIe 3.0 |
1 x16 PCIe 3.0 |
1 x16 or 2 x8 or 1 x8 + 2 x4 PCIe 3.0 |
1 x16 or 2 x8 PCIe 3.0 |
1 x16 PCIe 3.0 | ||
Processor Graphics Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ||
Intel SRT (SSD caching) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | ||
RAID Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
USB 2.0 Ports (3.0) | 14 (4) | 14 (4) | 14 (4) | 14 | 14 | 14 | ||
SATA Total (Max Number of 6Gbps Ports) | 6 (2) | 6 (2) | 6 (2) | 6 (2) | 6 (2) | 6 (2) | ||
PCIe Lanes | 8 (5GT/s) | 8 (5GT/s) | 8 (5GT/s) | 8 (5GT/s) | 8 (5GT/s) | 8 (5GT/s) |
The big change this year is that all 7-series chipsets support processor graphics, while last year Intel had the silly P vs. H split until Z68 arrived and simplified everything.
195 Comments
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Zoomer - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
It would have been interesting to see. Personally, I don't care for IGP, as they sit disabled anyway. Right now, it seems like it's a 7% clock for clock perf increase, which is very poor for one process node. Knowing where the clocks can be will let everyone know exactly how much faster the CPU can be over SB.NeBlackCat - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
For me, the most interesting things about IVB are improved multi-monitor support, and power savings not just at stock, but also undervolted (stock clock) and overclocked.Because I want to know if I'm finally going to get that laptop or mini-itx system that can drive several monitors while remaining cool and sipping power, even under load.
Not covered at all. Shame.
beck2050 - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Intel marches on. Their domination of 80+% of all CPU markets will continue.silverblue - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
PC and especially server market, sure, but not smartphone/tablet. Not yet, anyway.fvbounty - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Should have a had SB 2700K to run clock for clock against the 3770K and see if there's much difference!ellarpc - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Agreed! I was just about to post that same comment. It doesn't make much sense to compare it to a lower clocked SB product. Well unless you wanted to make the IB look better. Now I'm going to sift through anand's past reviews to see what kind of gains the 2700 has over the 2600.ellarpc - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Doesn't look like Anand has a 2700k for testingueharaf - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
I was thinking that the difference in gpu perfomance between HD3000 and HD4000 about 20% to 40% increase perfomance, will remain in the ivy-bridge mobile chips!!! I hope soo!!!lilmoe - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Great review. You guys know your stuff. I've been waiting for a review like this since IvyBridge was announced.However, I'll still "cling to my Core 2" since it does the job now, and I'll postpone my upgrade till next year. You make it seem like Haswell is a good reason to wait. I bought the system in early 2010, and I usually upgrade every 2-4 years. 3 years sounds just right. I'll be investing in SSDs since you talked me into it though, it seems a better upgrade at the moment.
Breach1337 - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Did Intel specifically ask not to include overclocking tests in ES previews?