Ivy Bridge is the codename for a line of processors based on the 22 nm manufacturing process
developed by Intel. The name is also applied more broadly to the 22 nm die shrink of the
Sandy Bridge microarchitecture based on FinFET tri-gate transistors, which is also used in
the Xeon and Core i7 Ivy Bridge-EX, Ivy Bridge-EP and Ivy Bridge-E microprocessors released
in 2013. Ivy Bridge processors are backwards compatible
with the Sandy Bridge platform, but such systems might require a firmware update. In
2011, Intel released the 7-series Panther Point chipsets with integrated USB 3.0 to
complement Ivy Bridge. Volume production of Ivy Bridge chips began
in the third quarter of 2011. Quad-core and dual-core-mobile models launched on 29 April
2012 and 31 May 2012 respectively. Core i3 desktop processors, as well as the first 22 nm
Pentium, were announced and available the first week of September, 2012.
Overview The Ivy Bridge CPU microarchitecture is a
shrink from Sandy Bridge and remains largely unchanged. Like its predecessor, Sandy Bridge,
Ivy Bridge was also primarily developed by the Intel's Israel branch. Notable improvements
include: 22 nm Tri-gate transistor technology.
A new random number generator and the RdRand instruction, codenamed Bull Mountain.
Ivy Bridge features and performance The mobile and desktop Ivy Bridge chips also
include significant changes over Sandy Bridge: F16C.
RdRand instruction. PCI Express 3.0 support.
Max CPU multiplier of 63. RAM support up to 2800 MT/s in 200 MHz increments.
The built-in GPU has 6 or 16 execution units, compared to Sandy Bridge's 6 or 12.
Intel HD Graphics with DirectX 11, OpenGL 3.1, and OpenCL 1.1 support. OpenGL 4.0 is
supported with 10.18.10.3621 WHQL drivers and later drivers.
DDR3L and Configurable TDP for mobile processors. Multiple 4K video playback.
Intel Quick Sync Video version 2. Up to three displays are supported.
A 14- to 19-stage instruction pipeline, depending on the micro-operation cache hit or miss.
Benchmark comparisons Compared to its predecessor, Sandy Bridge:
3% to 6% increase in CPU performance when compared clock for clock
25% to 68% increase in integrated GPU performance. Thermal performance and heat issues when overclocking
Ivy Bridge's temperatures are reportedly 10 °C higher compared to Sandy Bridge when a CPU
is overclocked, even at default voltage setting. Impress PC Watch, a Japanese website, performed
experiments that confirmed earlier speculations that this is because Intel used a poor quality
thermal interface material between the chip and the heat spreader, instead of the fluxless
solder of previous generations. The mobile Ivy Bridge processors are not affected by
this issue because they do not use a heat spreader between the chip and cooling system.
Enthusiast reports describe the TIM used by Intel as low-quality, and not up to par for
a "premium" CPU, with some speculation that this is by design to encourage sales of prior
processors. Further analyses caution that the processor can be damaged or void its warranty
if home users attempt to remedy the matter. The TIM has much lower thermal conductivity,
causing heat to trap on the die. Experiments replacing this with a higher quality TIM or
other heat removal methods showed a substantial temperature drop, and improvements to the
voltages and clocking sustainable by Ivy Bridge chips.
Intel claims that the smaller die of Ivy Bridge and the related increase in thermal density
is expected to result in higher temperatures when the CPU is overclocked; Intel also stated
that this is as expected and will likely not improve in future revisions.
Models and steppings All Ivy Bridge processors with one, two, or
four cores report the same CPUID model 0x000306A9, and are built in four different configurations
differing in the number of cores, L3 cache and GPU execution units.
Ivy Bridge-E features Ivy Bridge-E is the follow-up to Sandy Bridge-E,
using the same CPU core as the Ivy Bridge processor, but in LGA 2011, LGA 1356 and FCLGA
2011 packages for workstations and servers. Dual memory controllers for Ivy Bridge-EP
and Ivy Bridge-EX Up to 12 CPU cores and 30 MB of L3 cache
for Ivy Bridge-EP Up to 15 CPU cores and 37.5 MB L3 cache for
Ivy Bridge-EX Thermal design power between 50 W and 155 W
Support for up to eight DIMMs of DDR3-1866 memory per socket
No integrated GPU Ivy Bridge-EP introduced new hardware support
for interrupt virtualization, branded as APICv. Models and steppings
The Ivy Bridge-E family is made in three different versions, by number of cores, and for three
market segments: the basic Ivy Bridge-E is a single-socket processor sold as Core i7-49xx
and is only available in the six-core S1 stepping, with some versions limited to four active
cores. Ivy Bridge-EN is the model for single- and
dual-socket servers using LGA 1356 with up to 10 cores, while Ivy Bridge-EP scales up
to four LGA 2011 sockets and up to 12 cores per chip.
There are in fact three die "flavors" for the Ivy Bridge-EP, meaning that they are manufactured
and organized differently, according to the number of cores an Ivy Bridge-EP CPU includes:
The largest is an up-to-12-core die organized as three four-core columns with up 30 MB
L3 cache in two banks between the cores; these cores are linked by three rings of interconnects.
The intermediate is an up-to-10-core die organized as two five-core columns with up to 25 MB
L3 cache in a single bank between the cores; the cores are linked by two rings of interconnects.
The smallest is an up-to-six-core die organized as two three-core columns with up to 15 MB
L3 cache in a single bank between the cores; the cores are linked by two rings of interconnects.
Ivy Bridge-EX has up to 15 cores and scales to 8 sockets. The 15-core die is organized
into three columns of five cores, with three interconnect rings connecting two columns
per ring; each five-core column has a separate L3 cache. The processor is supposed to have
a new "Run Sure" technology, speculated by the odd number of cores to involve keeping
one in reserve.
List of Ivy Bridge processors Processors featuring Intel's HD 4000 graphics
are set in bold. Other processors feature HD 2500 graphics unless indicated by N/A.
Desktop processors List of announced desktop processors, as follows:
Requires a compatible motherboard. Suffixes to denote:
K – Unlocked S – Performance-optimized lifestyle
T – Power-optimized lifestyle P – No on-die video chipset
X – Extreme performance Server processors
Additional high-end server processors based on the Ivy Bridge architecture, code named
Ivytown, were announced September 10, 2013 at the Intel Developer Forum, after the usual
one year interval between consumer and server product releases.
The Ivy Bridge-EP processor line announced in September 2013 has up to 12 cores and 30 MB
third level cache, with rumors of Ivy Bridge-EX up to 15 cores and an increased third level
cache of up to 37.5 MB, although an early leaked lineup of Ivy Bridge-E included processors
with a maximum of 6 cores. Both Core-i7 and Xeon versions are produced:
the Xeon versions marketed as Xeon E5-1400 V2 act as drop-in replacements for the existing
Sandy Bridge-EN based Xeon E5, Xeon E5-2600 V2 versions act as drop-in replacements for
the existing Sandy Bridge-EP based Xeon E5, while Core-i7 versions designated i7-4820K,
i7-4930K and i7-4960X were released on 10 September 2013, remaining compatible with
the X79 and LGA 2011 hardware. For the intermediate LGA 1356 socket, Intel
launched the Xeon E5-2400 V2 series in January 2014. These have up to 10 cores.
A new Ivy Bridge-EX line marketed as Xeon E7 V2 had no corresponding predecessor using
the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture but instead followed the older Westmere-EX processors.
Requires a compatible motherboard. Mobile processors
Suffixes to denote: M – Mobile processor
Q – Quad-core U – Ultra-low power
X – "Extreme" Y – Extreme ultra-low power
Roadmap Intel demonstrated the Haswell architecture
in September 2011, which began release in 2013 as the successor to Sandy Bridge and
Ivy Bridge. See also
List of Intel CPU microarchitectures
References
External links "Intel Core i7-3770K Review: A Small Step
Up For Ivy Bridge". Tom's Hardware. 23 April 2012.
"Video Animation: Mark Bohr Gets Small: 22 nm Explained". Video presentation. Intel. Retrieved
11 November 2011. David Kanter. "Intel's Ivy Bridge Graphics
Architecture". realworldtech.com. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
"Roundup: Intel Core i5 Processors with Ivy Bridge Microarchitecture". X-bit labs. 19
September 2012. "Roundup: Intel Core i3 Processors with Ivy
Bridge Microarchitecture". X-bit labs. 25 September 2012.
"Intel 3.5 GHz LGA 1155 Core i7 3770K Processor Price in India". Price India Review. Retrieved
5 January 2013.