Ivy Bridge - what is it?

Hey there

i was browsing some forums on the manufacture of the clevo notebook i would like to customize and someone was saying something about ivy bridge processors. i searched a bit on the net, found out that they coming out march-april of 2012 but didnt really understand how powerful are they and if its worth waiting for them to come out and after setting up a laptop. if i was gonna set up a laptop i would go with the 2720 processors. are they gonna be that strong which they are worth the wait? or they will be equally expensive?

thank you
george!

 

Looking back the history they should be faster than the current platform around 15-20% on a clock-by-clock basis due to the improvements in the efficiency of the architecture.


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Ivy Bridge is the code name for Intel's next generation of CPU product line. It will take the existing Sandy Bridge generation (Core i3/i5/i7 with 4 digits in their model number... like the Intel Core i7-2720QM processor you mentioned).

The major benefit of this is that it will be produced on a more advanced manufacturing process (22nm) than current Sandy Bridge processors. This is a nice benefit, but it's nothing revolutionary.

Intel does this all the time with what they call a "tick-tock" release cycle. "Tick" = major architecture change. "Tock" = slight manufacturing process improvements to that architecture. Sandy Bridge was the "tick". Ivy Bridge is the "tock".

Nobody knows the details about exact performance, pricing, release date, etc of the Ivy Bridge parts, because the actual products haven't been announced yet. But processors in the "tock" portion of the release cycle typically see slight improvements in performance, heat, and power consumption. Historically, this has been about 20% improvement. So if that holds true, you can expect about 20% from Ivy Bridge.



2) So, should you wait? I always say "Buy what you need, when you need it". Because there is always something just a few months away around the corner... and if you wait for that, then you might as well wait for the next big thing.... and then the next big thing after that.

Buy the computer you are able to buy that fits your needs, not the computer you wish you could buy. And if you need a laptop today, you buy today. If you can afford to wait 8-12 months, then you wait.

 

thank you very much for your info you were more than helpful. may i show you what i would like to buy so u can tell me what you think?

 

Bring it on!

 

35W Quad core CPU that is the same speed as Sandy Bridge 45W Quad core. Yes please

 

i'm assuming the current sandy bridge line wont be compatible with ivy bridge? i.e. can i stick an ivy bridge chip in my sandy bridge precision?

 

I think there is some speculation about that. I believe i saw it mentioned somewhere that the socket would remain the same but don't quote me on that, it was probably a rumor. After all Intel has the habit of changing sockets with every CPU change.

 

the wiki article says they will be compatible, but i dont know if that only applies to the desktop chips

 

A good bet would bet that it only applies to desktops.

for now its all rumors, no solid evidence, nor pin account or layout

 

wasnt merom and penryn compatible? i forget

 

The whole Ivy/Sandy bridge compability have been a complete mess. Some say they use the same socket and should be compatible, other say that software support won`t exist and therefor they won`t work together.

I`m guessing a new chipset for notebooks that will force SB users to buy a new laptop

 

Even if the socket's compatible, the laptop manufacturers may not release a bios upgrade that allows you to use it.

 

You have it backwards. Sandy Bridge was the tock, Ivy will be the tick.

 

No you got it wrong. Sandy Bridge is the Tick and Ivy is the Tock. The Core-iX-XXX(Q or X)M had no Tock, only a Tick. Their "Tock" was the addition of CPU's that had 1 to 2 higher multipliers but the actual architecture was the exact same so Clarksfield and Arrandale had no proper Tock, only a Tick. Ivy Bridge is like Penryn as what Sandy Bridge is like to Merom. Ivy Bridge is a proper Tock.

 

Uh... no. Tick is die shrink.

 

thats because 'tock' is louder than 'tick' right? its an odd way of naming because 'tick' comes first lol.

what new features are ivy bridge going to bring exactly? please don't say 3d transistors, its a manufacuring aspect, not a product aspect.

 

Nothing much, just efficiency as per all die shrinks.

'Main" change might actually be how far they take their IGP now that AMD's come out with APUs. But that's irrelevant to a great deal of "enthusiasts" here.

 

Nothing major. Ivy Bridge is mostly a die-shrink.

The progression on desktops was:
Nehalem --> Sandy Bridge --> Ivy Bridge

Nehalem was a major re-architecture (the Core iX architecture)... the "tick". So maybe we all have it wrong, and this cycle went: tick-tock-tock?

 

No, that's not how it went.

Desktops are the same way (why wouldn't it be?)

Nehalem: tock (45nm) -> Westmere: tick (32nm) -> Sandy Bridge: tock (32nm) -> Ivy Bridge: tick (22nm)

http://download.intel.com/pressroom/kits/32nm/westmere/32nm_WSM_Press.pdf

All the high end hexacore i7s were Westmeres. As well as low end dual cores.

 

All I know is Intel failed to get their naming schemes right and I don't care about that (not that ever since Core was introduced that their naming schemes were pretty shoddy anyway). The proof of the matter is that Ivy Bridge is going to be a die-shrink revision of Sandy Bridge.

The new question is about a definite answer on the Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge upgradability. So far it sounds pretty limited.

 

As others already mentioned, IB will be a die shrink of SB which means slightly higher clock speeds, better heat management and slightly lower power consumption (architecture remains the same).

So, performance-wise, I think IB will be 5 to 10% faster.
Take 2630QM, reduce it's manuf. process and increase it's clock speed by 5 to 10%, and you get Ivy Bridge version of the same cpu (for what should be the same price tag, but I suspect Intel will gauge users on this).

 

not to mention the new tri gate transistors, leading to better power consumption coupled with the die shrink its going to be one sweet chip

 

Either way, if your going to wait an entire time for a ivy bridge, what a waste, sandy bridge i7s are awesome, I love mine and its not like i need anything else, really? WHAT DO YOU POSSIBLY HAVE THAT COULD FULLY REQUIRE ALL THE CPU? really? why not, get a top line now, and in 2-3 years get another upgrade. this is the best now, next year wont be obsolete. you'll have more pepp than most for years to come. and there coming around cheap. or you can wait, hop on the band wagon and pay 2x as much for 15-20% performance increase? or get half off now that sales are going on and enjoy your pc and stop worrying that you dont have the newest thing out.

i personally cannot wait for like 10 years, holographic tv's and wicked like that, any idea when quantam mechanics are going to be in the playing field?

 

I can pretty much run my cpu at 100%, its actually not hard, when you are dealing with VMs and coding.

Or video editing.

Dont make up your uses for whatever people do with those.

 

Meh... tri-gate is a decade old innovation. AMD has been using it in it's own cpu's in some form for quite a while.
At this point it's nothing more than a gimmick.

 

No. The idea (FinFETs) is a decade old, but nobody has put it in a commercial processor yet and nobody except Intel is planning to do so any time soon.

 

i'm going to have to ask you what you're compiling, considering that compilation that is IO bottlenecked

 

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2630QM (2.00GHz) 6MB Cache [or the 2720 i7 processor]

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
AMD 6990 (when it will be available) (17.3" Vortex II)

Memory - Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

2nd Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 320 SERIES SSD, SATA 3 Gb/s (upto 270MB/sR | 130MB/sW)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Surround 5.1 PRO (£65)

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0

this is my laptop setup i think it will hold me for the next 4-5 years max, what do you think?

 

large programs, several gb. I do have a SSD it may not be the fastest around the block, but its enough. its the F120 (controller SF1200)

 

^^If there's no money to be made in doing it then that would IMO be likely.

Maybe with the newer lines of laptops released at the same time as Ivy there could possibly be support for both if chipset supports it.

As for socket change, SNB-E is soon to be released to the public with 2011 socket.

Ivy currently works for 1155 socket SNB desktop.

IIRC notebook Ivy might have more GPU cores (not CPU cores), if that is important to you.

 

business notebooks have longer life cycles, so i was hoping that dell precisions and maybe the thinkpads might just have a minor refresh