Intel Ivy Bridge 2012 Laptops – Advantages and Improvements We’ll See

The Intel Ivy Bridge platform of processors are slated to be released in April of 2012.  Intel generally refreshes its lineup of desktop and mobile processors every 12 – 18 months and with each new iteration comes a performance boost and power savings over the previous generation.  When the Ivy Bridge platform is released in April it will be marketed as the 3rd generation of Core i processors, initially Core i5 and i7 Ivy Bridge processors will be rolled out soon after followed by the more budget oriented 3rd generation Core i3 processors.  Intel typically releases its fastest and most expensive processors in a new lineup first, then the older generation processors left in inventory get discounted, once that inventory is depleted the budget level processors from the newest family are released.

So what benefits will Intel Ivy Bridge processors offer over the current Sandy Bridge processors for laptops?  Read on to find out!

Intel Ivy Bridge Processor Overview and Performance Advantages over Sandy Bridge

Previously announced back in late 2011, Ivy Bridge is the codename for Intel’s 22 nanometer (nm) next generation Sandy Bridge microarchitecture processors and will be the industry’s first CPU to use tri-gate transistors as opposed to MOSFET, which is still being used by its competitors (namely AMD).  The tri-gate transistor design will offer a performance boost due to its faster switching capabilities.   Not only will the transistors be faster, but there will be more of them on a chip.  Ivy Bridge processors should have approximately 1.4 billion transistors, up from 1.16 billion (a 20.7% increase) in Sandy Bridge.  Even with the increase in transistors, Ivy Bridge will be noticeably smaller than Sandy Bridge as it will use a smaller 22nm manufacturing processor instead of the current 32nm process.   Despite all these changes the new Ivy Bridge processors will be backwards-compatible with the current Sandy Bridge platform and will only require a BIOS/firmware update to work in existing laptops. The new processor will support DirectX 11, Thunderbolt, and USB 3.0.

So what do the new transistor and fabrication technologies mean in terms of performance boost for Ivy Bridge processors?  Until processors are released there is no way to precisely say the performance advantage, some reports are saying as little as 10% while others say it will be up to a 37% boost.  Intel themselves are claiming “around 20%” faster performance over existing equivalent processors.

Intel Ivy Bridge Power Consumption and Battery Life Advantages

The big news with Intel Ivy Bridge for laptop buyers will not so much be with performance, but rather the power savings.  Though we don’t have any hard numbers on the reduction in power consumption for mobile processors, Intel has said that the upcoming Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K desktop processor will have a TDP of just 77 watts (W), down from 95W on the current equivalent top-end Sandy Bridge Core i7-2700K.  That’s about a 19% power savings on paper, and presumably still offers better overall performance in conjunction with less power consumption.  While we can’t say this should translate directly to 19% better battery life on Ivy Bridge laptops, it at least tells you things will be better.  Since the processor and screen backlighting are generally the top drains on battery life, a 20% reduction in power draw from a processor is certainly going to be meaningful in improving battery life.

Intel Ivy Bridge HD 4000 Graphics Performance

Current Sandy Bridge processors use the Intel HD3000 integrated graphics while the upcoming Ivy Bridge processors will use the new Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics.  Performance wise, graphics processing is where you will see the biggest difference in overall performance with Intel’s Ivy Bridge chips. Though the Ivy Bridge CPU core count is identical to current Sandy Bridge processors, the graphics processing unit (GPU) portion has been a focus of improvement.   Earlier we mentioned the number of transistors has increased by over 20%, most of those transistors are going on the graphics portion of the processor.  Up to 30% of the transistors will now be housed on the GPU portion of the chip.  This is still short of AMD Fusion APUs that have 50% of the transistors on the GPU, but it’s a step in the right direction and indicates Intel realizes it needs to improve the integrated graphics performance of its processors.  Intel is claiming a 60% performance in graphics of the HD 4000 over the HD 3000.  The HD 4000 will support DirectX 11, finally catching up to AMD and Nvidia offerings.

What Laptops will be first to have Intel Ivy Bridge?

There’s no doubt laptop manufacturers are salivating to get Intel Ivy Bridge processors in laptops as soon as possible so they can tout the advantages and tempt early adopters into upgrading their laptops right away.  Ultrabooks are sure to benefit for the lower power consumption of Ivy Bridge and so we’ll likely see an initial burst of new Ultrabooks in the April 2012 time frame.  Here are some of the known 2012 Ivy Bridge laptops we know of that were announced at CES 2012:

• Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga – The IdeaPad Yoga is a 13.3″ laptop to tablet convertible that will run Windows 8 and come equipped with an Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor.
• Lenovo U300e – A cheaper version of the IdeaPad U300s ultrabook with a 500GB HDD and 32GB of flash storage.  Will be equipped with Intel Ivy Bridge platform.
• Lenovo IdeaPad U310 – 13″ screen Ultrabook update to the IdeaPad U300s,1366 x 768 resolution, an eight-hour battery, Intel WiDi and a choice of Intel Core processors.  Includes an extra USB 3.0 port relative to U300s and also has an SD card slot. Option of 500GB HD or 64GB SSD.  Weight is 3.7lbs.  Pricing starts at $699.
• Lenovo IdeaPad U410 -14″ screen Ultrabook,1366 x 768 resolution, an eight-hour battery, Intel WiDi and a choice of Intel Core processors.  Includes an extra USB 3.0 port relative to U300s and also has an SD card slot. Option of 500GB HD or 64GB SSD.  Weight is 4.2lbs.  Pricing starts at $699.
• Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 – Intel Ivy Bridge equipped 14″ laptop with optional Nvidia 650m dedicated graphics making this a gaming capable portable laptop.
• Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 – Intel Ivy Bridge equipped 15.6″ screen 1080p laptop with Nvidia GTX 660M graphics.
• Lenovo G480 – Budget level 14-inch screen laptop with up to Intel Core i7 Intel Ivy Bridge processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT630M graphics.  Pricing will start at $399.
• Lenovo G580 – Budget level 15.6-inch screen laptop with up to Intel Core i7 Intel Ivy Bridge processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT630M graphics.  Pricing will start at $499.
• Lenovo G780 – Budget level 17-inch screen laptop with up to Intel Core i7 Intel Ivy Bridge processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT630M graphics.  Pricing will start at $599.
• Lenovo Z480 – 14-inch screen Intel Ivy Bridge equipped laptop with up to Intel Core i7 and Nvidia dedicated graphics.  The Z series is meant as a home multimedia entertainment laptop an has Dolby Home Theatre V4 enhanced audio.  Available in April of 2012 and starts at $599.
• Lenovo Z580 – 15.6-inch screen Intel Ivy Bridge equipped laptop with up to Intel Core i7 and Nvidia dedicated graphics.  The Z series is meant as a home multimedia entertainment laptop an has Dolby Home Theatre V4 enhanced audio.  Available in April of 2012 and starts at $599.
• Lenovo Z380 – 13.3-inch screen Intel Ivy Bridge equipped laptop with up to Intel Core i7 and Nvidia dedicated graphics.  The Z series is meant as a home multimedia entertainment laptop an has Dolby Home Theatre V4 enhanced audio.  Available in April of 2012 and starts at $599.
• Lenovo ThinkPad T430u – An ultrabook version of the popular T-series that will include an Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, Nvidia graphics and a 14-inch screen.
• Lenovo ThinkPad S430 – The ThinkPad S430 is a thin and light laptop at only 0.8” thick. It will have the 3rd generation Intel Core i5 processors. The S430 is targeted at small business buyers and will be available starting at $749 in the Spring of 2012.
• Lenovo ThinkPad E430 – Think ThinkPad E430 replaces the current popular ThinkPad Edge E420. Design remains much the same but the processor gets updated to Intel Ivy Bridge and the new USB 3.0 port makes an appearance. Pricing will start at $499.
• Lenovo ThinkPad E530 – The ThinkPad E530 replaces the current popular ThinkPad Edge E520. The E530 will be updated with the new Intel Ivy Bridge platform. The ThinkPad E530 offers a 15.6” screen and is a desktop style replacement laptop, it has a built-in number pad and trackpoint.
• Lenovo ThinkPad E130 – The ThinkPad E130 is an 11.6” netbook like laptop that will have Intel’s 3rd Generation Core i3 processors. The E130 will be available starting in April 2012 in select world markets.
• Lenovo ThinkPad E330 – The ThinkPad E330 is a 13.3” netbook like laptop that will have Intel’s 3rd generation of Core i3 processors. The E330 will be available starting in April 2012 in select world markets.
• Toshiba Satellite 14” Ultrabook – Coming in May 2012 the 14-inch Satellite Ultrabook will start at $799.  Thickness of 0.78, uses hard drive and SSD.  Ports include an SD card slot, three USB ports, Ethernet and HDMI jacks, and a mic and headphones sockets
• Vizio thin-and-light 13″ laptop – The Vizio 13″ thin-and-light laptop is an ultrabook like product.  It has a 1600 x 900 resolution 13″ screen, Intel Ivy Bridge processor on board and an all silver paint finish.  Release date should be sometime in May 2012.
• Vizio thin-and-light 15″ laptop – The Vizio 15″ screen thin and light laptop has a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution screen and will have the Intel Ivy Bridge processor on board.  Release date is set for May.
• Vizio 15″ performance laptop – The Vizio 15″ performance laptop will have dedicated Nvidia graphics and an Intel Ivy Bridge processor on board.

You’ll notice that most of that list is composed of Lenovo laptops, this is because they decided to pre-announce a lot of their 2012 consumer laptops at CES, other companies such as Dell, HP and Sony are keeping mum about what they have in store as far as Ivy Bridge equipped laptops.

Conclusion

We’ll have to wait until Spring of 2012 to know more fully what all the performance and battery life advantages are of the Intel Ivy Bridge platform.  At this point we can surmise that the overall performance advantage will be around 15% when comparing equivalent Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors.  Battery life might improve in the 10% range and integrated graphics performance should jump significantly by around 50% if Intel is to be believed.  If you’re in the market for buying a new laptop and like to have the latest and greatest then it’s probably worth waiting 3-months for new Ivy Bridge laptops.  However, at launch laptops with new technology tend to be quite expensive and you may end up favoring a cheaper laptop that’s already on the market.  If your needs are modest then current Intel Sandy Bridge laptops will more than suffice for your needs, to be quite honest the best way to make a laptop faster these days is by upgrading to an SSD, processor performance is already generally more than enough for most users.