Ivy Bridge Now 3rd Gen Intel Core Processor -- and in HP PCs

[#1]

There’s been a lot of talk about codename, “Ivy Bridge”. But forget codenames, the 3^rd generation Intel® Core™ Processor is official and here. For those that haven’t been paying attention, it’s all about faster overall CPU performance and better processor graphics on Intel motherboards– that’s the high-level breakdown of what it means.

The “how” is the interesting part. Well, interesting to nerds like me, at least. All this improvement is happening because Intel now shrinks down its manufacturing process to 22 nanometers.  You see, Intel operates on what’s known as a “tick-tock” cycle. At the “tick” in the cycle, Intel introduces a new fabrication process. Last time, it was “Clarkdale” processors reducing Nehalem processors to 32 nanometers back in 2010. Well, it’s time for the next “tick.”

Why is going smaller, better? Well, let me put it this way: Better power efficiency and then some.  The 22nm design helps...

• Reduce average power by up to 20%
• Reduce die size
• Raise the transistor count from 1.1B to 1.4B transistors and as a result just about double performance on visually-intensive activities.

In plain English: For desktops that means you’ll find faster CPUs that can do more and cost less. For laptops, you’re looking at better battery life without having to give up performance to get it. 

Something that really matters to me though, is the upgraded graphics on-board the motherboard. We’re talking DirectX 11 support with Intel integrated graphics. That is a big deal. It means that while discrete GPUs will remain king, you’ll be able to find svelte systems (even small laptops) that could potentially keep better pace. Translation: GAMES ON SMALL PCs! OK, personal biases aside, that extra horsepower will mean more machines can edit video – or stream 1080p content (and did I mention, “play games?”) with ease. An old buddy of mine over at Intel was also quick to point out that Quick Sync Video 2.0 is especially handy. It allows mainstream users to work with video much more easily. (Way faster video encoding / decoding. If you want to learn more about it, check it out here.)

So, after this quick description, you’re probably wondering: “Where will I find the new Ivy Bridge architecture?” Fair question. For starters, here are the Desktops that you’ll find 3^rd generation Intel® Core™ processor first appearing in the….

• HP Omni 220qd (starting at $999)
• HP Omni²⁷ qd (starting at $1,199)
• HP TouchSmart 520xt (starting at $999)
• HP Pavilion HPE h8t (starting at $699)
• HP Pavilion HPE Phoenix (starting at $1,149)

All these PCs will be available come June 24th -- except for the Phoenix, which gets first dibs. 3rd Gen Core processors will be available April 29th in the HPE Phoenix.

All right, so you might notice the lack of laptops mentioned in this post. Well, unfortunately we can’t share that information with you quite yet, but it kinda goes without saying that we have a couple cool little creations on the way. Soon.

In the meantime, feel free to ping me with questions about 3^rd generation Intel® Core™ processors finding its way into HP gear that I am allowed answer. As always, I’m here for you!

Want a slick video breakdown? We've got you covered in what I like to call "Honey, I Shrank the Intel People"

[#2]

All the links to actual systems are broken ...

[#3]

That's odd....I'll pull the links for now and see what's going on. Thanks for the head's up, bshor!

You can always just find the stuff if you head over to the HP Shopping site. 

[#4]

bad link again

[#5]

caught the error there, GTODave. ;p Thanks!

[#6]

So it's safe to say between now and either Back to School or Holiday 2012 shopping periods there will not be any refreshes to the Envy 15 and 17 line with these processors? As I am looking at purchasing a Envy 17 sometime in the next few months.

[#7]

@buckeyegoose:

Unfortunately, there is nothing that I can share at this time about laptops.

(I get ZERO pleasure from saying, "no comment.")

[#8]

I don't see the PC's as available, is April 24 the right date?

And -- what will be the maximum memory? 16Gb doesn't cut it anymore. I'd like 32Gb.

[#9]

@bshor: It's actually 29th of April for Phoenix -- that's the soonest.

I think we covered the RAM before in this thread, but with the upgraded mobos starting w/ Sandy Bridge E, you should be good to go with 32GB RAM. I'm going to double-check on that to be certain w/ 3rd Gen.

(out of curiousity, what are you using your PC for in order to require that much RAM?)

[#10]

Ok about the date.

Thanks for the response about the memory. I asked because there was no option in the HP Shopping site to equip 32Gb RAM. So aftermarket is ok for that much?

Will the Ivy Bridge desktops be able to accept 32Gb too, or only Sandy Bridge E?

I know this is crazy -- but can the memory go to 64Gb if I want to upgrade in the future?

The answer to your question is big data academic research using the open source R statistics language! It's very memory hungry.

[#11]

And another question. Are the Sandy Bridge E and new Ivy Bridge desktops overclockable? I know the chips are unlocked (at least the high end versions).

The more performance I can squeeze, the better.

[#12]

@bshor:

Don't know / have an answer about being able to go beyond 32GB RAM....and unfortunately, I don't have anything I can share about overclocking. I'd have to direct you to the usual suspect hardware sites for that (Tom's Hardware and the like...)

Also, might have to try and catch up with you offline about the research project. Interested to see how our hardware is helping.....