 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge CPU Performance Review April 23, 2012 Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf |
|
 |
|
| |
Summary: *tick* *tock *tick* *tock* *tick*
Hear that? It's the sound of the largest computer chip manufacturer in the world churning out new processors to power your gaming rig. This week, Intel is launching their next generation of Core CPUs, code-named Ivy Bridge. Like last year's Sandy Bridge chips, they're low-power, quad-core powerhouses that also feature integrated graphics processors. Want to find out more? Maybe check out a whole bunch of performance benchmarks on both the CPU and graphics sides of things? Well you can, in today's review!
 Introduction | Page:: ( 1 / 19 ) |
Intel goes 22nm with ‘Ivy Bridge’ 3rd-generation Core processors
[image]
| <% print_image("01"); %> | <% print_image("02"); %> | <% print_image("03"); %> |
Spring time has arrived, and that can only mean one thing: Ivy Bridge is here! Okay, so it also means fighting the temptation to turn on the air conditioning for even slightly elevated temperatures because you’re used to the cold (especially if you happen to be running benchmarks all day), but in any case, 3rd-generation Core processors are launching this very day. As the latest “tick” of Intel’s tick-tock product road map, the Ivy Bridge line represents a huge step forward in CPU technology as they are the first CPUs to use a 22nm manufacturing process. There are a plethora of production issues with such a die shrink on Intel’s side of things, but for end users like us, it mostly means less heat and less power consumption, which is always good.
Backward-compatibility is still there, however, as these new chips are based on the existing LGA 1155 socket that was introduced last year for Sandy Bridge. Ivy Bridge also features graphics capabilities built right into the chip alongside the CPU bits, but of course those have received an upgrade, as well. Every model being released this week is a quad-core, but the Core i7s use hyper-threading to bring the thread count up to 8. The particular SKU I have here is the Core i7-3770K, the -K signifying that this chip is fully unlocked and open for overclocking. We’ll get into more detail on the Ivy Bridge family of chips on the next page, but for now, here’s a quick look at how the 3770 fits into the existing line-up of Core i7 processors:
| Intel 2nd- and 3rd-generation Core Processors | |||||||
| High-end 'i7' line only | |||||||
| CPU Model | Fab process | Code name | Clock Speed | Max Turbo | Cores / Threads | Max TDP | Graphics |
| i7-3770K | 22-nm | Ivy Bridge | 3.5 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 4 / 8 | 77 W | HD 4000 |
| i7-3770 | 22-nm | Ivy Bridge | 3.4 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 4 / 8 | 77 W | HD 4000 |
| i7-3960X | 32-nm | Sandy Bridge-E | 3.3 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 6 / 12 | 130 W | N/A |
| i7-3930K | 32-nm | Sandy Bridge-E | 3.2 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 6 / 12 | 130 W | N/A |
| i7-3820 | 32-nm | Sandy Bridge-E | 3.6 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 4 / 8 | 130 W | N/A |
| i7-2700K | 32-nm | Sandy Bridge | 3.5 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 4 / 8 | 95 W | HD 3000 |
| i7-2600K | 32-nm | Sandy Bridge | 3.4 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 4 / 8 | 95 W | HD 3000 |
| i7-2600 | 32-nm | Sandy Bridge | 3.4 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 4 / 8 | 95 W | HD 2000 |
| |||||||
| A closer look at Ivy Bridge | Page:: ( 2 / 19 ) |
[image]
| <% print_image("04"); %> | <% print_image("05"); %> | <% print_image("06"); %> |
Not only is the 3rd-generation Core family the first batch of microprocessors pressed using Intel’s new 22 nanometer fab process, they’re the first 22nm chips on the market, period. This shrinkage allows them to offer ever-higher CPU performance with even lower power consumption compared to Sandy Bridge, plus a bevy of new features and other enhancements designed around the 7 Series chipsets (such as native support for PCI-Express 3.0). The linchpin of this generational shift in Ivy Bridge is the redesigned processor architecture that shares cache memory across the four CPU cores and built-in graphics hardware. In total there are 1.4 billion transistors crammed into a space of 160 square millimeters -- take a look:
Another innovation that makes this possible is the use of what are called tri-gate or 3-D transistors. I don’t pretend to fully understand how they work, but the bottom line is that they allow for higher performance and less power consumption using the same amount of space by increasing the surface area compared to traditional 2-D (flat) transistors. It’s just another way they’ve discovered to help get around the proverbial glass ceiling that has threatened to limit silicon-based processor performance for years. All Intel processors going forward will make use of this new technology, which has been in the works since 2002.
Other things you might consider if you’re pondering an upgrade from Sandy Bridge include enhanced overclocking capabilities and improved integrated graphics. Ivy Bridge supports a maximum clock ratio of 63 compared to 57 (if you really want to get past 6GHz) and memory speeds of up to DDR3-2667, whereas before the limit was 2133. Even better, though, is what they call dynamic overclocking support, which allows you to change the ratio -- and thus the CPU clock speed -- on the fly without requiring a reboot. The integrated graphics in Ivy Bridge have been upgraded considerably compared to those present on last year’s Sandy Bridge, even more so than the HD 4000 moniker might suggest. Along with introducing support for DirectX 11, OpenGL 3.1, and OpenCL 1.1, it offers up to twice the computing power over HD 3000 thanks in part to an increased number of execution units (16 compared to 12).
All told, there are 15 models of Ivy Bridge CPUs launching this week, including nine for desktops and six for mobile applications. Most of them feature the brand new Intel HD 4000 IGP, promising double the performance of the HD 3000 variant, which was the best Sandy Bridge had to offer in that regard. They’re all quad-core for now, but with Hyper-Threading that still means 8 threads in all cases except the three Core i5 desktop variants. Base memory supported is DDR3-1600, and like Sandy Bridge, it's still used in a dual-channel configuration. Since these are the mainstream offerings, we’re almost definitely going to see an ‘Ivy Bridge-E’ style launch later this year where they will introduce the high end parts (including hexa-cores) for the LGA 2011 platform. Like Sandy Bridge-E, those will offer bleeding edge CPU performance without the integrated graphics weighing them down.
With that said, here are all the details on the full line-up of 3rd-generation Intel Core processors as it stands today:
| Intel Ivy Bridge CPU Family Line-up | |||||||
| As of April 23rd, 2012 | |||||||
| CPU Model | Clock Speed | Turbo Speed | Cores/Threads | L3 Cache | Max TDP | HD Graphics | Price |
| i7-3770K | 3.5 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 4 / 8 | 8 MB | 77 W | 4000 | $313 |
| i7-3770 | 3.4 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 4 / 8 | 8 MB | 77 W | 4000 | $278 |
| i7-3770T | 2.5 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 4 / 8 | 8 MB | 45 W | 4000 | $278 |
| i7-3770S | 3.1 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 4 / 8 | 8 MB | 65 W | 4000 | $278 |
| i5-3570K | 3.4 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 4 / 4 | 6 MB | 77 W | 2500 | $212 |
| i5-3550 | 3.3 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 4 / 4 | 6 MB | 77 W | 2500 | $194 |
| i5-3450 | 3.1 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 4 / 4 | 6 MB | 77 W | 2500 | $174 |
| i5-3550S | 3.0 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 4 / 4 | 6 MB | 65 W | 2500 | $194 |
| i5-3450S | 2.8 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 4 / 4 | 6 MB | 65 W | 2500 | $174 |
| i7-3920XM | 2.9 GHz | Up to 3.8 GHz | 4 / 8 | 8 MB | 55 W | 4000 | $1096 |
| i7-3820QM | 2.7 GHz | Up to 3.7 GHz | 4 / 8 | 8 MB | 45 W | 4000 | $568 |
| i7-3720QM | 2.6 GHz | Up to 3.6 GHz | 4 / 8 | 6 MB | 45 W | 4000 | $378 |
| i7-3615QM | 2.3 GHz | Up to 3.3 GHz | 4 / 8 | 6 MB | 45 W | 4000 | N/A |
| i7-3610QM | 2.3 GHz | Up to 3.3 GHz | 4 / 8 | 6 MB | 45 W | 4000 | N/A |
| i7-3612QM | 2.1 GHz | Up to 3.1 GHz | 4 / 8 | 6 MB | 35 W | 4000 | N/A |
| |||||||
Remember what I said about these being mainstream parts? Aside from the insanely-expensive mobile chips for desktop-replacement notebooks, the highest price on that chart is around $300. That’s the Core i7-3770K, the enthusiast variant of the only desktop Core i7 model releasing at this time (other versions are the 3770, 3770T, and 3770S). They are asking for a bit of a premium just for that -K modifier, which means it’s unlocked and freely overclockable, but people will pay it; that’s why they’re called enthusiasts! Note the low-power variants with different clock speeds and degrees of power consumption, all priced identically.
[image]
| <% print_image("07"); %> | <% print_image("08"); %> | <% print_image("09"); %> |
Now I know you’re dying to find out how its performance measures up, and that’s where we’re headed next. We’ve got benchmarks of the Core i7-3770K’s performance as a CPU, as well as the integrated HD 4000 graphics’ capabilities in modern games compared to a handful of discrete GPUs, so read on!
| System Setup | Page:: ( 3 / 19 ) |
For CPU performance
Intel Core i7-3770K (3.5GHz stock)
8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance @ DDR3-1333 speeds
Intel Extreme DZ77GA-70K
Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition (3.3GHz stock)
16GB (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance @ DDR3-1600 speeds
Intel Extreme DX79SI
Intel Core i7-920 (2.66GHz stock)
6GB (3x2GB) OCZ Gold @ DDR3-1333 speeds
EVGA X58 3-Way SLI
2x AMD Radeon HD 6870 in Crossfire
Catalyst 11.10
Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB/1TB
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Service Pack 1
For graphics performance
Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.5GHz
8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance @ DDR3-1600 speeds
Intel Extreme DZ77GA-70K
Intel HD 4000 Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580
AMD Radeon HD 6870
AMD Radeon HD 6850
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB
Catalyst 12.3
Forceware 301.24 Beta
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Service Pack 1
Benchmarks
Crysis 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Metro 2033
Sid Meier’s Civilization V
Total War: SHOGUN 2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
Aliens vs Predator
3DMark Vantage 1.10
3DMark ’11 1.03
Unigine Heaven 3.0
Cinebench 10 & 11.5
POV-Ray 3.62 & 3.7
| Crysis 2 - CPU | Page:: ( 4 / 19 ) |
Times Square timedemo
| Civilization V - CPU | Page:: ( 5 / 19 ) |
| Total War: Shogun 2 - CPU | Page:: ( 6 / 19 ) |
| Metro 2033 - CPU | Page:: ( 7 / 19 ) |
Prologue shoot-out
| Metro 2033 Min/Max FPS | |||
| 720p Low Settings | 16x10 High Settings | 1080p Very High Settings | |
| Core i7-3770K @ 4.5GHz | Min: 88, Max: 172 | Min: 50, Max: 161 | Min: 34, Max: 101 |
| Core i7-3770K Stock | Min: 83, Max: 177 | Min: 43, Max: 168 | Min: 30, Max: 88 |
| Core i7-3770K Turbo Off | Min: 76, Max: 174 | Min: 48, Max: 152 | Min: 31, Max: 107 |
| |||
| 3DMark Vantage - CPU | Page:: ( 8 / 19 ) |
| 3DMark ’11 - CPU | Page:: ( 9 / 19 ) |
| POV Ray - CPU | Page:: ( 10 / 19 ) |
Cinebench - CPU
| Crysis 2 - GPU | Page:: ( 11 / 19 ) |
Times Square timedemo
| Metro 2033 - GPU | Page:: ( 12 / 19 ) |
Frontline timedemo
| Metro 2033 Min/Max FPS | |||
| 720p Medium Settings | 16x10 High Settings | 1080p Very High Settings | |
| HD 4000 | Min: 7.11, Max: 56.21 | Min: 6.7, Max: 32.62 | Min: 1.01, Max: 21,75 |
| GTX 460 1GB | Min: 10.94, Max: 241.02 | Min: 8.94, Max: 84.82 | Min: 6.76, Max: 45.65 |
| HD 6850 | Min: 9.02, Max: 224.16 | Min: 6.07, Max: 95.62 | Min: 7.07, Max: 54.64 |
| HD 6870 | Min: 9.37, Max: 246.91 | Min: 9.25, Max: 108.73 | Min: 9.48, Max: 75.36 |
| GTX 580 | Min: 9.02, Max: 292.31 | Min: 9.88, Max: 171.79 | Min: 6.36, Max: 96.02 |
| |||
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - GPU | Page:: ( 13 / 19 ) |
Mountain path descent
| Skyrim Min/Max FPS | |||
| 720p Medium Settings | 16x10 High Settings | 1080p Ultra Settings | |
| HD 4000 | Min: 18, Max: 26 | Min: 4, Max: 10 | Min: 4, Max: 7 |
| GTX 460 1GB | Min: 102, Max: 151 | Min: 54, Max: 77 | Min: 27, Max: 51 |
| HD 6850 | Min: 112, Max: 149 | Min: 48, Max: 70 | Min: 26, Max: 46 |
| HD 6870 | Min: 116, Max: 172 | Min: 53, Max: 80 | Min: 30, Max: 48 |
| GTX 580 | Min: 157, Max: 256 | Min: 99, Max: 137 | Min: 68, Max: 94 |
| |||
| Battlefield 3 - GPU | Page:: ( 14 / 19 ) |
Thunder Run intro
| Battlefield 3 Min/Max FPS | |||
| 720p Low Settings | 16x10 Medium Settings | 1080p High Settings | |
| HD 4000 | Min: 36, Max: 75 | Min: 17, Max: 35 | Min: 13, Max: 25 |
| GTX 460 1GB | Min: 133, Max: 197 | Min: 58, Max: 137 | Min: 45, Max: 101 |
| HD 6850 | Min: 104, Max: 201 | Min: 52, Max: 119 | Min: 40, Max: 89 |
| HD 6870 | Min: 153, Max: 201 | Min: 77, Max: 146 | Min: 60, Max: 108 |
| GTX 580 | Min: 175, Max: 201 | Min: 129, Max: 201 | Min: 94, Max: 172 |
| |||
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat - GPU | Page:: ( 15 / 19 ) |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. CoP Min/Max FPS | |||
| 720p Low Settings | 16x10 High Settings | 1080p Ultra Settings | |
| HD 4000 | Min: 30.25, Max: 67.75 | Min: 14.95, Max: 25.68 | Min: 11.6, Max: 20.53 |
| GTX 460 1GB | Min: 102.68, Max: 286.58 | Min: 50.83, Max: 142.63 | Min: 43.15, Max: 117.9 |
| HD 6850 | Min: 112.78, Max: 329.95 | Min: 60.23, Max: 128.2 | Min: 39.53, Max: 102.5 |
| HD 6870 | Min: 102.05, Max: 370.7 | Min: 71.38, Max: 157.3 | Min: 52.23, Max: 119.05 |
| GTX 580 | Min: 97.18, Max: 520.68 | Min: 82.4, Max: 266.25 | Min: 74.13, Max: 222.08 |
| |||
| Aliens vs Predator - GPU | Page:: ( 16 / 19 ) |
| 3DMark Vantage & ’11 - GPU | Page:: ( 17 / 19 ) |
| Unigine Heaven - GPU | Page:: ( 18 / 19 ) |
| Unigine Heaven Min/Max FPS | |||
| 720p Low Settings | 16x10 Medium Settings | 1080p High Settings | |
| HD 4000 | Min: 13.5, Max: 43.9 | Min: 3.8, Max: 9.7 | Min: 2.8, Max: 9.4 |
| GTX 460 1GB | Min: 38.6, Max: 147.8 | Min: 23.3, Max: 74.5 | Min: 9.6, Max: 50.5 |
| HD 6850 | Min: 35.2, Max: 156.8 | Min: 19.1, Max: 71.1 | Min: 7.3, Max: 50.5 |
| HD 6870 | Min: 19.1, Max: 192.1 | Min: 12.5, Max: 100.7 | Min: 8.6, Max: 77.6 |
| GTX 580 | Min: 54.6, Max: 286.6 | Min: 35.1, Max: 153.7 | Min: 19.2, Max: 104.3 |
| |||
| Final Thoughts | Page:: ( 19 / 19 ) |
Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processor really is a wonder. Though it falls behind Sandy Bridge-E in the most CPU-heavy applications because it has fewer cores, it keeps pace in just about everything else. Most importantly, it does so while using 40% less power. We’re talking 77 W versus 130 W base TDP here, which assuming an average of 6-8 hours of use per day could make a difference of nearly a dozen kilowatt-hours a month in CPU power alone! And performance-wise, if you just look at the gaming tests -- which is what we’re interested in the most -- this new $300 chip really gives last year’s $1,000 behemoth a run for its money. If they can deliver that much performance in a package that is this much smaller and sleeker, what in the world does Intel have up their sleeve for the new high-end CPUs built using the same technology on the LGA 2011 platform? I really look forward to finding out.
I utilized the Overclocking Assistant again to reach the 4.5 GHz speed I used for testing. I want to reiterate how awesome it is having access to the GUI version of that in the BIOS now -- thank you, Intel. (Check out our Z77 chipset article for more information on Visual BIOS.) That’s as high as the no-brainer slider goes, but again they’re claiming it can easily reach up to 4.8 GHz with manual tweaking, so that should be the starting point for you leet overclockers out there. As I mentioned before, this baby can theoretically reach speeds in excess of 6 GHz with up to 2667 MHz DDR3 memory, so break out the liquid nitrogen! Though you won't need that kind of cooling for mild to moderate overclocking like I've done, it should be noted that Ivy Bridge does run temperatures a bit higher than you'd expect. It shouldn't be an issue if you have a liquid cooling setup, but those who intend to overclock on air might run into some trouble.
Looking back at these benchmarks, I realize I probably should have tested the Intel HD 4000 graphics first, before getting figures for all the other discrete cards… I thought it would be more efficient to start swapping out GPUs after completing the CPU testing, before taking them out completely and testing the integrated graphics last. But, as you no doubt noticed, anything beyond the first round of each game or benchmark was pretty much a pointless exercise in putting together slide shows. The integrated graphics performed fairly well at low or medium settings, but ramping up to high, very high, or ultra didn’t tell us any more than what we already knew: it doesn’t hold a candle to a real, dedicated graphics card. Avoiding this oversight in method could have saved a good bit of time and trouble, on both my part and yours.
I thought overclocking the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics might make a noticeable difference in performance; nothing major, just maybe enough to make higher settings playable. Unfortunately, I just didn’t have much success overclocking that component of the Ivy Bridge chip. The Overclocking Assistant didn’t help at all, as even the first notch above default settings caused the system to crash at the first sign of exertion. I’m assuming this pre-release firmware is not calibrated properly in that regard. I did manually bump it up by about 150 MHz (bringing the clock speed up to a maximum of 1.3 GHz), but the performance difference was negligible, and I didn’t spend the time trying to find the overclock limit there with trial and error.
Not that increasing the clock speed was likely to yield very impressive results anyway… the real bottleneck of the integrated graphics is its lack of memory. The default setting gives it about 128MB of system RAM to play with, which is a rather paltry amount for any modern application. There are options to raise that to 256MB or even the Maximum (whatever that is), but enabling them didn’t seem to have any effect. Or if it did, I wasn’t able to test what impact it had on performance because it was crashing so much. On the bright side, even without overclocking Intel’s HD 4000 IGP is more than capable of playing new games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Battlefield 3 on low to medium settings, depending on the resolution and other individual options.
Not that anybody who calls themselves a gamer would buy Ivy Bridge specifically to use the integrated graphics, but it could serve as a capable back-up if something happens to your GPU, or offer some diversion on an office PC you find yourself spending some time with. It’s definitely an improvement over Sandy Bridge, whose integrated graphics doesn’t even support DX11. Although, I did try testing the HD 4000 IGP with Total War: Shogun 2 and it refused to run, citing compatibility issues. So while the potential for tolerable performance is there, it seems there are still some bugs to work out with the drivers.
[image]
| <% print_image("10"); %> | <% print_image("11"); %> | <% print_image("12"); %> |
All in all, the Core i7-3770K processor is a very attractive potential upgrade for the budget-conscious enthusiast still holding onto their Core 2 Quad or first-gen Core i7. Both the performance improvements and decrease in power consumption would be more than substantial in that case. Though it is possible to upgrade from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge by simply swapping out the CPU in your P67 or Z68 motherboard, the performance bump there wouldn’t be worth the cost to most people. I wasn’t able to procure a Sandy Bridge chip to benchmark myself, but Intel’s numbers (see images above) show the difference between an i7-2700 and i7-3770 is only around 5-10%. The greatest gains are seen when comparing the new HD 4000 graphics to the older HD 3000 (between 20 and 50%), but again, that’s not really a good reason for a gamer who prides himself on owning a respectable discrete GPU. So unless you’re interested in going whole hog with LGA 2011, those of you with Sandy Bridge should probably hold off until the next “tock” arrives in 2013.