Core i7 3770K review with Z77

Posted by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 04/22/2012 01:00 PM [ 0 comment(s) ]

Ivy Bridge architecture

Ivy Bridge architecture

Ivy Bridge is all about transitioning towards a new, smaller fabrication process. Whereas Clarkdale (Core i5 661 etc.) processors had a 45nm GPU and a 32nm CPU core placed onto one chip package, Sandy Bridge (Core i7 2600 etc) architecture came together and merges these two parts on the die, all based on a 32nm fabrication node. That's the concept for IB as well, but now the new fabrication process for Ivy Bridge is 22nm.

IB Core i7 based processors will have four physical (execution) CPU cores each capable of one hyper-thread (making 4 physical cores and 8 logical cores hyper-threaded), they include integrated (4000 series) graphics and a memory controller. Like other 1st generation Nehalem derivatives, IB will feature Intel Turbo Boost which has been further developed and is now at revision 2.0.

For the Sandy Bridge generation there will of course be a distinction per processor segment (i3/i5/i7). What you get in terms of features and what you need to remember limitation wise:

Desktop Core i7 processors have four cores / eight hyper-threads / Up to 8 MB L3 cache
Desktop Core i5 processors have four cores / NO hyper-threading / Up to 6 MB L3 cache
Desktop Core i3 processors have two cores and are TBA

All models will come with the new revision Turbo mode though but only the Core i7 series will be capable of handling two independent software threads per core, hyper-threading. It's a feature we like very much as it really helps out on peak performance by allowing a processor to execute two different code streams at pretty much the same time.

Intel Core i5 2500K and Core i7 2600K

The Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors feature 8MB of Intel Smart Cache (L3 cache) and an Integrated Memory Controller (IMC) that supports two-channels of DDR3 memory at officially supported speeds of 1600MHz (but can do MUCh higher). Core i5 and i3 will have smaller L3 caches of 6MB.

I've created a nice table where you can observe all primary specifications and prices, have a good look, my focus here is today's tested 3770 series processor:

Series	Core i7	Core i7	Core i7	Core i7	Core i7
Processor	3770K	3770	3770T	3770S	2600K
Price	$313	$278	$278	$278	$317
TDP	77W	77W	45W	65W	95W
Cores / Threads	4/8	4/8	4/8	4/8	4/8
Frequency GHz	3.5	3.4	2.5	3.1	3.4
Max Turbo GHz	3.9	3.9	3.7	3.9	3.8
DDR3 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz
L3 Cache	8MB	8MB	6MB	8MB	8MB
Intel HD Graphics	4000	4000	4000	4000	3000
GPU Max freq	1150 MHz	1150 MHz	1150 MHz	1150 MHz	1350 MHz
Hyper-Threading	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AVX Extensions	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Socket	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1155

The T and S models all have a lower TDP and come with a lower base clock frequency. There will also be a Core i5 3550 and 3450 model released (and later on even more)

Series	Core i5	Core i5	Core i5	Core i5	Core i5
Processor	3570K	3550	3550S	3450	3450s
Price	$212	$194	$194	$174	$174
TDP	77W	77W	65W	77W	65W
Cores / Threads	4/4	4/4	4/4	4/4	4/4
Frequency GHz	3.4	3.3	3.0	3.1	2.8
Max Turbo GHz	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.5	3.5
DDR3 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz
L3 Cache	6MB	6MB	6MB	6MB	6MB
Intel HD Graphics	4000	2500	2500	2500	2500
GPU Max freq	1150 MHz	1150 MHz	1150 MHz	1100 MHz	1100 MHz
Hyper-Threading	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AVX Extensions	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Socket	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1155

So there will be plenty of choice. For the performance-mongers amongst us the 3770K and 3570K models will probably be the most interesting. These processors will run 5 GHz with proper air cooling. If you want them to.

But let's have a look at the die photos. First Sandy Bridge, then Ivy Bridge.

Intel Core i5 2500K and Core i7 2600K
Above, Sandy Bridge Architecture

Intel Core i7 3770K
Above, Ivy Bridge Architecture

As you can see it's a very similar architecture, SB is the building block for IB, definitely something that you can see is that the GPU area has increased quite a bit.

If you go a little deeper into the core then your first question will be, what about L1 and L2 caches? The Ivy Bridge cache memory consists of a 32KB L1 Data cache, 32KB Instruction cache (= 64KB L1) and then we spot a 256KB L2 cache per core. Then there's a nice L3 cache that is shared in-between the CPU cores which is 8MB in total for the Core i7 3770 processors and 6MB for the Core i5 3550. The L3 cache is where the magic happens, surrounding the segments inside the die, the L3 cache sits in the physical form of a ringbus. Thus the L3 cache can be used by the processor cores and also the graphics core.

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