Ivy Bridge desktop CPU lineup details

In the second quart 2012, Intel is going to introduce 22nm shrink of Sandy Bridge micro-architecture, codenamed Ivy Bridge. As we previously reported, initial launch will include Core i5 and Core i7 desktop microprocessors, along with Core i7 mobile models. Processor numbers and some details of desktop Core i5s and Core i7s were revealed this week by Zol.com.cn. According to published slides, there will be 3 mainstream, 2 unlocked, three mid-power and three low-power models.

Basic features of Ivy Bridge-based Core i7 microprocessors will not change. The i7 CPUs will still have 4 CPU cores with Hyper-Threading support, 8 MB level 3 cache, and incorporate Turbo Boost technology. The fastest processor from the family, Core i7-3770K, is clocked at 3.5 GHz, which is on a par with the top Sandy Bridge i7-2700K chip. This processor should come with unlocked clock multiplier. Locked Core i7-3770 model operates at the same 3.4 GHz frequency as second-generation i7-2600. Mid-power Core i7-3770S and low-power i7-3770T run at 3.1 GHz and 2.5 GHz respectively. As reported earlier, Ivy Bridge Core i7 family will be utilize 77, 65 and 45 Watt power envelopes, which in our opinion will correspond to suffix/"K", "S" and "T" processor numbers respectively.

Similar to Sandy Bridge Core i5 family, Ivi Bridge products from the same family will have 4 CPU cores, no Hyper-Threading and 6 MB L3 cache. The only exception to this is dual-core i5-3470T, that does support Hyper-Threading, and comes with 3 MB of last level cache. The fastest Core i5 models, i5-3550 and i5-3570K, have 3.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz clock speeds. The i5 family will have several "S" microprocessors with presumably 65 Watt TDP, and "T" models with 35 Watt and 45 Watt TDP.

Using basic specifications, we matched new Ivy Bridge lineup with current Sandy Bridge microprocessors. In some cases the match was exact, that is clocks speed, L3 cache size, and the number of cores and threads were identical. In other cases, Ivy Bridge processors offered 100 MHz and higher clock speed in comparison with existing Sandy Bridge chips. Only one model, Core i7-3770T, does not relate to any second-generation Core i7 processor:

Second-generation CPU	Third-generation CPU	Ivy Bridge improvements (besides microarchitecture)
Core i5-2400	Core i5-3450	None
Core i5-2400S	Core i5-3450S	300 MHz
Core i5-2500	Core i5-3550	None
Core i5-2500K	Core i5-3570K	100 MHz
Core i5-2500S	Core i5-3550S	300 MHz
Core i5-2390T	Core i5-3470T	200 MHz
Core i5-2500T	Core i5-3570T	None
Core i7-2700K	Core i7-3770K	None
Core i7-2600	Core i7-3770	None
Core i7-2600S	Core i7-3770S	300 MHz
N/A	Core i7-3770T

The table below contains a summary of preliminary specifications of Ivy Bridge CPUs:

Model	Cores	Threads	Frequency	L3 cache
Core i5-3450	4	4	3.1 GHz	6 MB
Core i5-3450S	4	4	2.8 GHz	6 MB
Core i5-3470T	2	4	2.9 GHz	3 MB
Core i5-3550	4	4	3.3 GHz	6 MB
Core i5-3550S	4	4	3 GHz	6 MB
Core i5-3570K	4	4	3.4 GHz	6 MB
Core i5-3570T	4	4	2.3 GHz	6 MB
Core i7-3770	4	8	3.4 GHz	8 MB
Core i7-3770K	4	8	3.5 GHz	8 MB
Core i7-3770S	4	8	3.1 GHz	8 MB
Core i7-3770T	4	8	2.5 GHz	8 MB