Intel officially announced today the 3rd Generation Intel Core processors, codenamed Ivy Bridge. The new chips for PCs are based on the last year’s “Sandy Bridge” architecture, but they bring a die shrink from 32nm to 22nm and new Tri-gate technology, both aimed at better performance and power efficiency, as well as new Intel HD 4000 series on-die graphics for smoother 3D gaming than on the previous HD 3000.
Regarding laptop-use mobile processors, the first released Ivy Bridge CPU models are all quad-core i7 parts: the i7-3920XM, 3820QM, 3720QM, 3615QM, i7-3612QM, and i7-3610QM. The first laptops with these chips are expected to hit the market by the end of this month and these will be gaming and higher-performance notebooks.
You can check out their specs in the charts below:
In addition, Intel will roll out 3rd Generation dual-core i7 and i5 processors in the coming months. The CPUs with U in their name are aimed at use in ultrabooks.
Early benchmarks of a Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU and the Intel HD 4000 IGP showed in deed that the Ivy Bridge delivers considerable CPU and graphics performance boost.
The new processors will come in pair with the Intel 7-series chipset, which adds native support for USB 3.0, as well as faster PCIe 3.0, and Thunderbolt I/O technology. The platform also provides security enhancements.
Source: Intel