Four major problems with Ivy Bridge

Into the March, AMD in the field of graphics card should be the first to release the latest Radeon HD7000 series graphics card in the graphics field; NVIDIA Kepler architecture graphics are exposed with frequent content and users are strongly concerned about. In the field of mainboards and processors, Asustek, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock, and Biostar have preliminarily exposed the Z77/H77 motherboards during the recently held Cebit, Germany. Foreign and Chinese Taiwanese media have also pre-empted benchmark performance of the Core i7 3770K processor. . The new upgrade season is coming soon.

Less than 1: IVB does not need to change the motherboard old and new platform mixed sale If you have just upgraded from P55 to P67 last year, then you will remember the practice of Intel's change interface, before and after the two generations of products incompatible issues, so many The user is upset. Fortunately, the Intel 7 series motherboards continue the LGA1155 interface, which means that the 7 series chips will be fully compatible with the 6 series chips, so that you no longer struggle with the platform upgrade.

6 Series Chipsets Can Support Ivy Bridge

Intel 7 series chipset codenamed Panther Point, using a mature FDI + DMI bus design, and will still use LGA1155 interface, the same bus design and the same processor socket has become a basic prerequisite for compatibility between the two generations of products.

Update BIOS, 6 Series Motherboards Can Support IVB

Compatibility is mutually exclusive. In addition to Intel 7 series motherboards that are well compatible with existing SNB processors, existing Intel 6 series motherboards can also support future Ivy Bridge processors by upgrading the BIOS. The advantage of doing so is that after the new products are on the market, users can buy 6 series motherboards with more affordable prices to help manufacturers clean up the 6 series chips inventory. Existing users of the 6 series motherboards can also directly use the provincial Ivy Brige (IVB, the same below) processor to reduce motherboard expenses.

22nm Ivy Bridge processor will be the most dazzling star misfortune index in 2012: ★★★★

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Compatible is a double-edged sword. For users, compatibility can reduce the start of upgrading the platform and make them more cost-effective. On the other hand, compatibility limits vendors' aggressive efforts to optimize product architecture. At the same time, due to AMD's lack of strength in the high-end market, Intel slowed product updates. Behind the compatibility, in addition to the native USB 3.0 and 22nm processes, we do not see much more IVB surprises.

Standard USB 3.0 Intel is somewhat less than OUT: 2: Standard USB 3.0 Intel somewhat out of Intel In the latest 7 series motherboard will provide native USB3.0, native number reached 4. The USB3.0 interface provides 5 Gbps of bandwidth, which is theoretically 10 times that of the 480 Mbps interface of the USB 2.0 interface. At the same time, USB3.0 provides greater current support, connecting the mobile hard disk no longer requires auxiliary power supply, while charging the phone is also faster.

Finally no need for third-party chips in 2010, USB3.0 interface was first introduced by the high-end motherboard, after two years, USB3.0 interface has been rapidly popularized. USB3.0 mobile hard disk, USB3.0 optical drive, USB3.0 chassis to support the front expansion in the number and price have made a substantial adjustment, it is not an exaggeration to say that in the 3000 yuan or more installed interval, USB3.0 has Become the standard configuration.

Gigabyte G1 based on the Z77 chip. Sniper3 motherboard Intel "Thunderbolt" (thunderbolt) interface does not appear in the 7 series motherboard Intel officially released Light Peak technology in March, and named "Thunderbolt" (thunderbolt) interface. Thunderbolt connection technology integrates PCI Express data transmission technology and DisplayPort display technology, in which PCI Express is used for data transmission, it can be very convenient for any type of device expansion; DisplayPort is used for display, can synchronously transmit 1080p and even ultra-high definition video and up to eight sounds. Audio. Whether it is technology or market, the Thunderbolt interface is obviously not mature enough. Therefore, in the 7 series, we did not see the Thunderbolt interface.

Sadness Index: ★★★★☆

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Intel is the creator of new technologies, but it is definitely not a powerful promoter of new technologies. This point we can fully understand the speed of USB3.0 promotion. The USB3.0 specification has long been nothing new, and as early as six months ago, AMD provided native USB 3.0 support on the A75 motherboard. Have to say, Intel really OUT this time. However, native USB3.0 still has advantages. First of all, it can help motherboard manufacturers reduce manufacturing costs, while further promoting the popularity of USB3.0.

Support DirectX11 nuclear display is still not less than 3: support for DirectX11 Intel nuclear display is still not finished talking about the motherboard, let's talk about the processor. The Ivy Bridge processor continues the DMI+FDI bus design, which also makes Ivy Bridge compatible with the Sandy Bridge platform. Although not yet officially released, foreign media and Chinese Taiwanese media have already got the Core i7 3770K processor. After the performance test, we found that the GPU part is the focus of IvyBridge promotion.

The core graphics of Core i7 3770K is upgraded from HD3000 to HD4000, increasing the number of processing units and numerous new features, including full support for Microsoft DirectX 11, the second generation of fast transcoding units, OpenCL, multi-screen, wireless display technologies, and more. In addition, technologies such as Intru3D and AVX are also fully retained without any reduction. Therefore, the upgrade of the HD4000 is quite comprehensive.

Core i7 3770K processor in the further enhancement of graphics performance, in the 3DMark11 P mode performance of 5431, still with the mainstream high-end graphics card has a clear gap. Its performance can only meet the hardware requirements of high-definition playback and mainstream online games. If users want to experience large-scale stand-alone games, they obviously still need to purchase a separate graphics card.

70% of users choose to install the game In fact, Intel Core Graphics is not positioned in the game users (this is Intel's own very clear). The function of the core video card is to use Lucid Virtu to display the switching basis, and the user can select an appropriate video solution according to the performance. When playing games, you can use a discrete video card; when you watch videos or select core video cards for your office, balance between performance and power consumption.

Another advantage of Core Graphics is its excellent video encoding capabilities. With its excellent architecture and support for hardware encoding, Core Graphics has performed even better in video transcoding and has surpassed domestic discrete graphics. With this, core video cards are more attractive to video users.

Sadness Index: ★★★☆

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Although the discrete graphics card is still a must-have for high-end game installations, the integrated platform still holds half of the total (even exceeding). With continuous efforts, Intel Core Graphics is showing even better performance. In the face of the old rival AMD, limited by the graphics technology (AMD acquired ATi), the core graphics still have a slight gap between the performance and the APU. However, both have an essential product in the product positioning and sales concept. Intel focuses on energy-saving and video coding. AMD positions users for introductory games. The difference in positioning allows the two platforms to reduce conflict zones as much as possible.

Upgrading 22nm IVB overclocking or under-impact 4: Upgrading 22nm IVB overclocking or being affected As the creator of Moore's Law, Intel has strictly followed the law of doubling the performance of transistors to double every 18 months. In 2010, Intel took the lead in demonstrating the Core i3 530 processor built on a 32nm process. After 18 months, the Intel 22nm manufacturing process came to an end.

The Ivy Bridge processor uses a 22nm manufacturing process and uses a new 3D transistor manufacturing. This resulted in a significant drop in power consumption for the same performance, with the TDP of the 3770K being only 77W and the 2600K being 95W.

More advanced manufacturing processes allow the Intel Ivy Bridge to have even more robust performance. According to the test, Ivy Bridge can achieve a 10% increase in co-frequency performance relative to Sandy Bridge. Secondly, Ivy Bridge brings a more powerful memory controller. The current memory frequency will be a cloud for Ivy Bridge. In the future, overclocking players will jump at the DDR3-2800MHz memory frequency on the Ivy Bridge platform. Finally, Ivy Bridge brings a PCI-E 3.0 specification with higher bandwidth, which will avoid bandwidth bottlenecks for multiple players.

The advantages brought by 22nm are obvious, but there are also different sounds. Users are worried that the temperature of the CPU is closely related to the contact area between the core and the top cover. The improvement of the manufacturing process will reduce the core area of ​​the CPU, which will reduce the contact area between the CPU core and the top cover. CPU temperature control will instead Not as good as the current SNB.

However, at present, the Ivy Bridge processor is still in a highly confidential state, and the official version of the product is still in an obsession with overclocking performance. However, according to the revealed test results, the benchmark performance of Core i7 3770K compared to Core i7 2600K processor is improved by about 10%.

Sadness Index: ★★★

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As a new generation of platforms, the performance of the Ivy Bridge platform is only 10% higher than that of the Core i7 2600K. This also includes the main frequency gap of 0.1G. This means that the Core i7 2600K processor does not have the need to upgrade the Core i7 3770K, and with the price adjustment of the Core i7 2600k, the SNB platform will undoubtedly have superior price/performance advantages. In this case, Intel can only promote the sales speed of Ivy Bridge only by adjusting the product structure (SNB is discontinued).

Conclusion: IVB upgrade procurement guide SNB-E entry every rival Although Ivy Bridge has many shortcomings from our expectations, but with new products, new specifications, and Intel's mature product marketing strategy, Intel Ivy Bridge platform to replace SNB has been nailed thing. The purpose of retaining compatibility is nothing more than helping motherboard manufacturers reduce inventory pressure while extending the platform life cycle.

After the listing of IVB, SNB will gradually launch the market in the form of price cuts and out of stock. Relatively embarrassing, Core i7 3820 processor in the performance is weaker than the Core i7 3770K processor, does not have overclocking characteristics, while the overall power consumption is higher than the Core i7 3770Kd case, it is more embarrassing. SNB-E welcomes home rivals, but also with the Core i7 3930K and 3960X monopoly enthusiast market.

H61 is still in the entry market. H61 is still the entry point. It is difficult to say goodbye. Ivy Bridge upgrade is mainly concentrated in the high-end market. In addition to the H67/P67 products that have been out of stock in the previous period, the Z68 board will also gradually withdraw from the market. In the low-end segment, the H61 will stay on the market until the release of Lynx Point (8-segment motherboard with Haswell) in the first quarter of 2013.

AMD FM2 APU is worth looking forward to in the second quarter of 2012 is also worth looking forward to is the AMD FM2 platform. Directly on the first anniversary of the listing, Llano APU finished with an outstanding performance and sold 30 million units. After the heavy losses, AMD APU can use the FM2 platform to integrate the market, and it is worthy of our attention. (FM2 and FM1 are completely incompatible, which may cause a relatively heavy blow to motherboard manufacturers.)

Is Ivy Bridge worth upgrading?

If you already have an X58, Z68, or P55 platform, then you don't have to upgrade at all. The cost of updating the platform is far from updating the graphics card. Solid-state drives are practical and effective. If you are a user of LGA 775 or AMD platform, upgrading Ivy Bridge will be the most direct way to upgrade. Of course, if you want to upgrade, but also watch the product prices, at a reasonable time to buy, no doubt can help users save money bags.