Intel is reportedly preparing to launch the upcoming 22nm Ivy Bridge series of processors on or around April 8. The company is expected to release a total of 25 Ivy Bridge chips during this time frame, according to PC makers in Taiwan as reported by DigiTimes.

17 of the CPUs set for launch are desktop models while the remaining eight will be designated for notebook and ultrabook use. Desktop parts include quad-core Core i7-3770K, 3770, 3770S, 3770T, and Core i5-3570, 3550 and 3450 models with prices ranging from $184 to $332. The Core i5-3470T should be available in May for $184. Desktop chipsets on the agenda include Z77 ($48), H77 ($43), Z75 ($40) and B75 ($37), with Q77 ($44) and Q75 ($40) coming on May 13, the sources said.

Notebook processors Core i7-3920Qm, 3820QM and 3720QM will be ready in April for $1,096, $568 and $378, respectively. Other models including Core i5-3520M, 3360M, 3320M and ultrabook-specific Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U will be unveiled at a later date. Accompanying notebook chipsets HM77 ($48), UM77 ($48), HM76 ($43) and HM75 ($40) are coming in April. QS77 ($53) and QM77 ($48) are expected in May.

Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors were originally rumored for a March 2012 release, according to a tip from motherboard manufacturers but it seems that Intel (or board makers) weren’t able to meet that deadline. The chips are expected to offer a 20 percent overall performance boost over comparable Sandy Bridge CPUs on the processing side. A reworked internal GPU will produce 30 to 60 percent better overall graphics performance with DirectX 11 and OpenCL 1.1 support.a

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Intel 'Ivy Bridge' desktop chip prices leak

We already have a pretty good idea of what the initial Ivy Bridge lineup is going to look like when Intel releases its next chip refresh in the first half of 2012. Now, the folks at CPU World are spilling the beans on yet another piece of the puzzle: pricing. For the most part it looks like Intel will maintain similar pricing to their current Sandy Bridge products. The Core i7-3770K, for example, will replace the Core i7-2700K at the same $332.

This will be the fastest and most expensive Ivy Bridge part at launch. Three remaining SKUs from the Core i7 family -- i7-3770, i7-3770S and i7-3770T -- will be priced at $294 in 1K quantities. Further down the ladder the unlocked-multiplier Core i5 3570K is priced at $225 while the i5-3500 and the energy-efficient i5-3570T and i5-3550S models are all priced at $205. Lastly, the Core i5-3450, i5-3450S, and i5-3470T are listed for $184.

Ivy Bridge i5 processors will continue on from Sandy Bridge offering four physical cores, 6MB of L3 cache and no hyper-threading, except for the i5 3470T which is a dual core unit with two hyper-threaded cores. Their Core i7 siblings are also running four physical cores, but can handle eight simultaneous threads and have 2MB more cache available. The table below contains a summary of the upcoming chips' specs and prices:

Model	Cores	Threads	Frequency	Turbo Frequency	L3 cache	TDP	Price	Sandy Bridge CPU / price
Core i5-3450	4	4	3.1 GHz	3.5 GHz	6 MB	77 Watt	$184	i5-2400 / $184
Core i5-3450S	4	4	2.8 GHz	3.5 GHz	6 MB	65 Watt	$184	i5-2400S / $184
Core i5-3470T	2	4	2.9 GHz	3.6 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt	$184	i5-2390T / $184
Core i5-3550	4	4	3.3 GHz	3.7 GHz	6 MB	77 Watt	$205	i5-2500 / $205
Core i5-3550S	4	4	3 GHz	3.7 GHz	6 MB	65 Watt	$205	i5-2500S / $205
Core i5-3570K	4	4	3.4 GHz	3.8 GHz	6 MB	77 Watt	$225	i5-2500K / $216
Core i5-3570T	4	4	2.3 GHz	3.3 GHz	6 MB	45 Watt	$205	i5-2500T / $205
Core i7-3770	4	8	3.4 GHz	3.9 GHz	8 MB	77 Watt	$294	i7-2600 / $294
Core i7-3770K	4	8	3.5 GHz	3.9 GHz	8 MB	77 Watt	$332	i7-2700K / $332
Core i7-3770S	4	8	3.1 GHz	3.9 GHz	8 MB	65 Watt	$294	i7-2600S / $294
Core i7-3770T	4	8	2.5 GHz	3.7 GHz	8 MB	45 Watt	$294	N/A