Intel Ivy Bridge Processor IPC and Overclocking @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

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Intel Ivy Bridge Processor IPC and Overclocking - The new Ivy Bridge processor has already been well covered across the Internet due to leaks of Intel parts into review sites' hands. So at this point there is little to tell in all honesty. But today we work to tell you what you most likely already know, Ivy Bridge looks to be a very solid product but offers little in the way of an upgrade from Sandy Bridge.
 
So, rather predictably, Ivy is meh over sandy

and quite frankly, while sandy is a real upgrade over x58 it is not an upgrade pusher for me

the Nehalem plugs away here until they do better...shame AMD isn't pushing them
 
Mildly disappointing but exactly what we were expecting. Any word on retail availability?
 
I've read three articles but I haven't caught when they are suppose to be available
 
So it looks like I will probably be sticking with x58 till Ivy-E (and hopefully real overclocking potential) or Haswell.
 
at least none of us Sandy Bridge users have to feel the need to upgrade. and now we wait for Haswell.
 
So I still have no pressing reason to update my 2+ year-old i7-860.
 
I wonder if I can hold out until Haswell. This is not very enticing. My OC'd Q9450 is really holding me back in some of my favorite games though.

I would be very interested in seeing air cooled temperatures and overclock results. I am curious how far IB can be pushed without expensive WC loops.
 
Good review. Yeah it doesn't look like a huge upgrade for SB users. I am however very interested in that better-than-ASUS UEFI on the Intel board. I can honestly say this is the first time I have ever been interested in an Intel branded board. I am planning to do a complete top to bottom system rebuild (not using the rig in my sig for various reasons, just too lazy to change it) and it'll be interesting to see what more mature BIOSes bring to the table as far as overclocking goes.
 
jojo69 said:
So, rather predictably, Ivy is meh over sandy

and quite frankly, while sandy is a real upgrade over x58 it is not an upgrade pusher for me

the Nehalem plugs away here until they do better...shame AMD isn't pushing them
Click to expand...

They might be. This is AMD's chance to make up ground lost with Bulldozer. If Piledriver can come out with a big jump in performance, they wont be faster than IB but maybe they'll be fast enough to be a viable alternative then with some nice pricing like a $130 Black Edition quad core or $160 six core, they could be competitive especially since it looks like Intel is sticking to its $250 minimum to overclock.
 
MacLeod said:
They might be. This is AMD's chance to make up ground lost with Bulldozer. If Piledriver can come out with a big jump in performance, they wont be faster than IB but maybe they'll be fast enough to be a viable alternative then with some nice pricing like a $130 Black Edition quad core or $160 six core, they could be competitive especially since it looks like Intel is sticking to its $250 minimum to overclock.
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After all the huge hype and major disappointment for BD I'm not holding my breath for Piledriver. It would be nice if they could hit near SB/IB numbers at a great price though.
 
Smashing Young Man said:
So I still have no pressing reason to update my 2+ year-old i7-860.
Click to expand...

same at 4Ghz on my 860 nothing really pushes it that i have

that said lower power use and lower temps would be nice but not new mobo and cpu nice ... eh maybe ill just get some new ram and better water setup
 
Bah, I know performance is basically a wash, but I just can't decide whether to build with the 2600k I got for $199 at Microcenter, or wait a week and get a 3570k. Decisions, decisions.
 
Looks like this will be a good CPU for my next rig. I'll likely be upgrading from my I7-920 main rig to something that also includes SATA-3, USB 3.0, and a more robust motherboard in general so making the jump from x58 isn't too bad in this case. Although I am not running into any problems with my current setup. Would just like a little more speed out of the attached components. So why not upgrade across the board and re-purpose the good 'ol 920 to server duty.

I do have to say though, that the i7-920 has been my favorite CPU of all time as far as longevity in my main rigs.

Thanks for the write-up Kyle!.
 
Very nice IGP improvements, along with lower power and slightly faster CPU.

And it looks like the 95w freak-out was just pure BS. Nice tick+ Intel :D
 
What was the purpose of this review? Why did it not test the GPU, as well as temperatures and power consumption?
 
Derangel said:
After all the huge hype and major disappointment for BD I'm not holding my breath for Piledriver. It would be nice if they could hit near SB/IB numbers at a great price though.
Click to expand...

Not going to happen with Piledriver. If they can up the IPC 10-15% while lowering power consumption that will be a win in my book...but like you I'm not holding my breath!
 
Derangel said:
Good review. Yeah it doesn't look like a huge upgrade for SB users. I am however very interested in that better-than-ASUS UEFI on the Intel board. I can honestly say this is the first time I have ever been interested in an Intel branded board. I am planning to do a complete top to bottom system rebuild (not using the rig in my sig for various reasons, just too lazy to change it) and it'll be interesting to see what more mature BIOSes bring to the table as far as overclocking goes.
Click to expand...

Hope they release an E0 Stepping for 3770K that will have much better room for overlocking with less voltage and temprature. Otherwise we all have to wait for Broadwell
 
Mr. Pedantic said:
What was the purpose of this review? Why did it not test the GPU, as well as temperatures and power consumption?
Click to expand...

Anand has a good review of the IGP, including comparisons with the 2600K...of course AMD IGP still trounces it...
 
From the other reviews I've read it seems like IVB hits ~4.5ghz on average with good air cooling and operates warmer at equal frequencies when compared to SB, which isn't surprising given what we've been hearing from people with these chips and OEMs.

First of all, hats off. You guys are clever bastards ;) Opting to do an IPC / OC review before an official review // gaming review is brilliant considering I haven't seen anyone yet compare the IPC. Thanks for that =)

I'm unimpressed by the IPC gains, though. Single digit gains, and more accurate single digit gains <7% seem to be what we're seeing. That coming from a die-shrink isn't impressive. I was expecting gains more centered around that 7% mark rather than some of those 2-4's.

Looks these are ultrabook chips indeed.
 
bpizzle1 said:
Bah, I know performance is basically a wash, but I just can't decide whether to build with the 2600k I got for $199 at Microcenter, or wait a week and get a 3570k. Decisions, decisions.
Click to expand...

I just purchased an i5 2500k and after reading this review, I couldn't be happier with my purchase. This should hold for at least 2 more generations.
 
Phenom II X3... upgrade to SB or IB? That's my debate now. I like Z77 but not sure on CPU to pair with it.
 
Looks like I never to give my 2500K a big hug when I get home, it is still hanging in there :D
 
I might wait another round, looks like my upgrade/investment in 2010 is still holding ground.
 
Why clock them both at 4gig and set the memory at the same speed on both and then run tests?

Is it just me or is that just a bland way to test, I would think it would be max stable on both and max memory speeds and then compare.Let them slug it out maxed out.

Thank you for the review.
 
The thing is that if you are building today, you can get a 2600k at MC for $200. I can not justify spending an extra +$117 for 4-7% better IPC.
 
xsmokex said:
Why clock them both at 4gig and set the memory at the same speed on both and then run tests?

Is it just me or is that just a bland way to test, I would think it would be max stable on both and max memory speeds and then compare.Let them slug it out maxed out.

Thank you for the review.
Click to expand...

That's the point of an IPC review -- clocking at equal speeds and equal memory allows for you to see the instructions per cycle. Doing this across a wide range of workloads shows a more accurate picture.

That's why I said the [H] guys were clever. It's going to be a question that everyone will ask, particularly given that IB doesn't overclock as well so for many enthusiasts the IPC difference will be the key measure in seeing the difference between SB and IB. If the IPC gain isn't significant, which it doesn't seem to be, the extra couple hundred mhz on Sandy will offset the IB IPC advantage and now the two chips are on an even keel for most of us enthusiasts.
 
xsmokex said:
Why clock them both at 4gig and set the memory at the same speed on both and then run tests?

Is it just me or is that just a bland way to test, I would think it would be max stable on both and max memory speeds and then compare.Let them slug it out maxed out.

Thank you for the review.
Click to expand...

To provide an apples to apples comparison.
 
Smashing Young Man said:
So I still have no pressing reason to update my 2+ year-old i7-860.
Click to expand...

Same here.
Just not enough of an improvement over my air cooled 3.5Ghz i860 to justify the cost of a new cpu/motherboard. The only application that pushed my current rig is HD video editing/compression.
 
fps4ever said:
Anand has a good review of the IGP, including comparisons with the 2600K...of course AMD IGP still trounces it...
Click to expand...

That's my point, though. Reading the [H] review, I get the sound impression that Ivy is no good for, well, anything really.

Whereas reading the Anandtech review, I get the impression that there are some minor but useful IPC improvements, reasonably large IGP improvements, and similarly impressive Quick-Sync improvements, with lower power consumption. It's still not as good as Fusion with IGP performance, but it's getting there. All in all, it's impressive for a tick.

I can't really say that [H] did a crap review, it delivers exactly what the title says it does - IPC and overclocking comparisons with SNB. But given what everyone else has done, I think [H] has really dropped the ball here.
 
azuldenial said:
I might wait another round, looks like my upgrade/investment in 2010 is still holding ground.
Click to expand...

Like most "tick" CPUs, IB is not for those looking to crossgrade within the same socket, but more to pick up those that didn't upgrade with the preceding "tock" (those that passed up Sandy Bridge). The vast majority of those that passed up Sandy Bridge don't drive desktops, but portables (laptops, notebooks, netbooks). IB is about (primarily) this category (Ultrabooks, tablets, slates) - what desktops it does go in are targeted at those still running first-generation Core i-series, if not earlier.

That does, naturally, mean there is still significant overlap between IB and SB (as there was between Northwood and Prescott in S478, and between Prescott and Core in LGA775).

Ivy Bridge (even in the [H] review) is more efficient at lower OCs (and at stock) than Sandy Bridge - however, the taller you overclock, the heat walls the IPC earlier than SB. Also, the TDP is identical to that of SB (i5-2500k and i7-2600k both have a TDP of 95W today) - where in Ned did we start thinking that a CPU in the same socket would have a lower TDP, especially after a die-shrink and adding additional features?
 
Mr. Pedantic said:
That's my point, though. Reading the [H] review, I get the sound impression that Ivy is no good for, well, anything really.

Whereas reading the Anandtech review, I get the impression that there are some minor but useful IPC improvements, reasonably large IGP improvements, and similarly impressive Quick-Sync improvements, with lower power consumption. It's still not as good as Fusion with IGP performance, but it's getting there. All in all, it's impressive for a tick.

I can't really say that [H] did a crap review, it delivers exactly what the title says it does - IPC and overclocking comparisons with SNB. But given what everyone else has done, I think [H] has really dropped the ball here.
Click to expand...

Yup, if I was getting a new setup and was keeping it at stock or mild OC then IB is a no brainer! The limited testing [H] did does did not due it justice, but at the same time nothing they said is untrue either.
 
fps4ever said:
Anand has a good review of the IGP, including comparisons with the 2600K...of course AMD IGP still trounces it...
Click to expand...

On the desktop AMD IGP still wins, but that's because they have the power to spare. But when AMD has to rein-in the power with the mobile version of Llano, performance falls drastically.

On the mobile end of things, they trade blows (with HD 4000 winning in more games):

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5772/mobile-ivy-bridge-and-asus-n56vm-preview/6

ivy20bridge20hd20400020vs20lla.png


This is why I say good job Intel: you've matched and almost beaten AMD IGP on the notebook.
 
So here I am with my i920 X58 setup and I've got the serious upgrade bug!!! But I just can't pull the trigger. If anything, I'd go X79, put a 'low-end' SB-E in there and hope the IB-E's, when they come out, are tip top and OC well.

I've got my waterloop and rig spec'd out! Everything is tight; but I just can't see spending the money on this for SB or IB. If I do, it's clearly because I just have the bug for a new build!

Maybe it's time for new 120hz monitor or discrete raid controller.


Lancer VI
 
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