Intel has now officially released its "second-generation Core" CPUs, which are popularly referred to by their collective code name "Sandy Bridge." These processors represent some major changes in Intel's design philosophy, and could have a major impact on computing in 2011 and beyond. What follows is a very brief rundown of the basics of Sandy Bridge. For more information about the technology behind the new micro-architecture, check out ExtremeTech's deep-dive of Sandy Bridge.
1. The Evolution of Mainstream. Sandy Bridge is the latest "tock" in its "tick-tock" developmental strategy. It's the next stage of the 32nm technology it introduced about this time last year in Intel's midrange Clarkdale and Arrandale processors, and is designed to increase performance while decreasing power usage and heat output.
2. Redesigning and Reprogramming. Intel claims that Sandy Bridge CPUs achieve these goals through a combination of revamped micro-operation processing, changes to the memory cluster, and new methods of branch prediction, all of which do less overlapping of work whenever possible.
3. Unification. In Sandy Bridge processors, the memory, PCI Express (PCIe), and video controllers are all contained within the same die for the first time. These systems communicate with each other and all processing cores, at enhanced speeds and efficiency, by way of a ring-based interconnect.
4. Scalability. The interconnect contains four fully pipelined rings, and scale as the number of cores and cache size increase. This means that all kinds of systems based on the technology—from budget laptops to high-end servers—can benefit.
5. Rethought Uncore. A new System Agent is completely integrated with the ring, and provides power and thermal management services for the PCIe and DDR controllers. It also allows the video and media processing systems to operate at higher bandwidths and with lower latency. (The new System Agent replaces what used to be called the "
6. Newer and Better Graphics, Now On-Die. Video support on Sandy Bridge processors is limited to DirectX 10.1, at least right now, but Sandy Bridge sports completely redesigned video and media subsystems that Intel claims greatly increase performance in everyday computing as well as more specialized tasks like video editing and transcoding. There's built-in support for a wide variety of popular video codecs, as well as accelerators for commonly used filters like scaling and removing noise. (Intel also says that these changes save enough power to dramatically increase battery life on laptops.)
7. Boosted Turbo Boost. Intel's technology for increasing the performance of certain cores by turning off others that aren't being used, Turbo Boost, now takes better advantage of the thermal realities of processor design. In Sandy Bridge, cores boost above the target speed for 25 seconds or so at a time, and then step down gradually until they reach their safe limits.
8. Upgrades Required. Sandy Bridge CPUs are not compatible with the LGA1156 sockets used by last generation's Westmere and Clarkdale chips. They require new motherboards with Intel's new LGA1155 socket.
9. The Heat Is Down. The changes made to Sandy Bridge processors in terms of reducing heat output mean that desktop systems require a smaller fan and heat sink. At the 2010 Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel showed off one stock Sandy Bridge fan–heat sink combo that was between two-thirds and half the size of those used to cool Westmere and Clarkdale Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 CPUs.
10. Sandy Bridge for Sale. Processors and motherboards based on the Sandy Bridge design are available now, and may be purchased separately for system building. (PCMag has already reviewed the Core i7-2600K CPU and the Desktop Board DH67BL motherboard. They will also immediately begin showing up in desktop and laptop PCs from major manufacturers; check out PCMag's reviews of the Falcon Northwest Mach V and the Maingear F131 Super Stock for a look at two of the first desktops using Sandy Bridge CPUs.