Haswell GT3e Pictured, Coming to Desktops (R-SKU) & Notebooks
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 10, 2013 7:21 PM EST
One of the worst kept secrets is Haswell will have four different GPU configurations: GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT3e. As with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge, higher numbers mean more execution units, with GT3 topping out at 40 EUs. The lowercase e denotes an embedded DRAM part, with some amount of DRAM on the Haswell package itself (not on-die).
In an awesome scoop, the folks at VR-Zone managed to snag a photo of what looks like a quad-core Haswell die with GT3e graphics. The small package to the left should be the Lynx Point chipset (8-series), while the dual-die package on the right is Haswell + DRAM. The big square die should be Haswell itself with its 40 EU GPU, while the smaller die is the DRAM itself.
Intel hasn't officially acknowledged the existence of GT3e, but it did demonstrate performance of the part at CES earlier this year - targeting somewhere around the speed of NVIDIA's GeForce GT 650M. The DRAM size, operating frequency and bus width are all unknown at this point. I've heard the DRAM itself should be relatively small (~128MB), looking at the chip shot we get some indication but there's no confirmation of the specific type of memory we're looking at here (which obviously impacts die area).
Haswell GT3e will be available both in notebooks and desktops, however neither will come in socketed form (BGA-only). The desktop parts will carry an R suffix. This will be the beginning of Intel's socketed/soldered strategy on the desktop, which as of now is set to work sort of like tick tock - with the first chips on any new process being sold exclusively in BGA packages. Haswell will have socketed desktop SKUs, Broadwell won't, Skylake will, etc...
GT3e use in notebooks will be limited to larger designs it seems. Don't expect to find this level of graphics performance in a low wattage Ultrabook part, but it will likely surface in bigger notebooks - perhaps those driving ultra high resolution panels.
Source: VR Zone
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Timothy003 - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link
The big square die looks too large to be a CPU die. I think Haswell is actually the smaller one.tipoo - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link
No, that looks about right, remember for one it's on the same fab process as Ivy Bridge, and two it goes from 16 execution units on the GPU to 40, and the GPU was about half the die already on IVB. If you scale it, the math works out. The smaller die to the right will be the eDRAM.Bob Todd - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link
I wonder if there will be a slight but noticeable uptick for AMD consumer desktop CPU sales during Intel's BGA only years. I know enthusiasts buying socketed CPUs are a tiny fraction of the pie, but it would be interesting if there was a some repeatable correlation between the two (in total units shipped, year over year growth/decline, something). They'd obviously need to be competitive price/performance wise, but it would be interesting to do some visualization of the data.tipoo - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link
It's possible, but would those enthusiasts be willing to take such a hit to single threaded performance just for a socket? Maybe if Haswell doesn't move performance forward much and AMD continues to improve faster.MrSpadge - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link
Surely not if Haswell can hold it's ground against any 1x nm AMD chips, due out.. who knows!FITCamaro - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link
I would love to see the highest end model in a Surface Pro.tipoo - Friday, April 12, 2013 - link
The model with GT3e was expected to have a 55W TDP, wasn't it? Not for mobile, the Surface Pro uses a 17 watt CPU.slim142 - Monday, April 15, 2013 - link
Good point.Gotta watch GT3e TDP. Whether is 55w or not, I think anything above 35 for a rMBP 13" (for example) would be too much.
Im waiting for haswell to buy a rMBP 13 but I want to see how apple is gonna set them up and read the first reviews (temps especially).
tipoo - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - link
I really hope the 13" Pros (retina and non) can fit the GT3e in, especially the retina, the GPU seems like it was *made* for such computerss with high res in a small form factor, but the wattage from the models we've seen seems too high for the MBP which uses 35w processors.mikk - Monday, April 15, 2013 - link
47W for GT3e Notebook and 65W for GT3e desktop.