The Ivy Bridge Preview: Core i7 3770K Tested
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 6, 2012 8:16 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
- Intel
- Core i7
- Ivy Bridge
Video Transcoding Performance
x264 HD 3.03 Benchmark
Graysky's x264 HD test uses x264 to encode a 4Mbps 720p MPEG-2 source. The focus here is on quality rather than speed, thus the benchmark uses a 2-pass encode and reports the average frame rate in each pass.
In the second pass of our x264 test we see a nearly 14% increase over the 2600K. Once again, there's no replacement for more cores in these types of workloads but delivering better performance in a lower TDP than last year's quad-core is great for more thermally conscious desktops.
Software Development Performance
Compile Chromium Test
You guys asked for it and finally I have something I feel is a good software build test. Using Visual Studio 2008 I'm compiling Chromium. It's a pretty huge project that takes over forty minutes to compile from the command line on a Core i3 2100. But the results are repeatable and the compile process will stress all 12 threads at 100% for almost the entire time on a 980X so it works for me.
Ivy Bridge shows more traditional gains in our VS2008 benchmark - performance moves forward here by a few percent, but nothing significant. We are seeing a bit of a compressed dynamic range here for this particular compiler workload, it's quite possible that other bottlenecks are beginning to creep in as we get even faster microarchitectures.
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Mithan - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Most gamers don't spend money on the I7 lineup, prefering to buy the Core i5 series and invest the extra money into more GPU.just4U - Thursday, March 8, 2012 - link
It's not only the extra money.. Apparently the 2500K does better in a fair number of games over the 2600K (in part.. i think due to Hyper Threading) and the graphs seem to support that (altho maybe not for the reason I mentioned)Looking at the 3700 series though it beats out both the 2500K and 2600K so I think that one is going to be of special interest to gamers.. moving forward.
auvrea - Monday, November 19, 2012 - link
bumpnuha_te10 - Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - link
I'm afraid the next Haswell will be Tock-Arnulf - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Why ?If the statement "the significant gains we're seeing here with Ivy will pale in comparison to what Haswell provides" is true then I'm looking forward to Haswell very much. I'll finally be able to dump discrete GPU as I only use relatively mdoest dislay resolutions, and instead pour the money into even quieter cooling solution. Silence, sweet silence :)
Articuno - Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - link
Nice to see AMD winning where it actually matters for most consumer applications.Exodite - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Browsing?Fujikoma - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
You crack me up... that was truly a funny response.Seriously though, Llano isn't that bad for a generic/cheap build. I did pick one up to build a machine for my mom. The mobo and the proc. were justified by the price. I knew it wouldn't be powerful, but it's fairly energy efficient, has decent graphics and the money I saved went toward the ssd. Most people I build/fix computers for, don't come close to using them to their potential, so price becomes the biggest factor. Would I buy one for myself? No, I'll stick with the i7 I currently have and when I build my next machine, it looks like it'll be an Intel also.
Exodite - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
Thanks. :)I quite agree, Llano is awesome for what it does and provides an excellent platform for most users.
I'm just tired of the assumption that GPU grunt is more powerful than CPU.
It's true that most of my friends and family would be perfectly happy with the GPU muscle in a Llano chip. That said, they'd also be perfectly happy with the iGPU in something like a i3 2100.
As for myself I'm using an i7 2600K, running at stock, but then I have somewhat different requirements.
I'd not hesitate to recommend either Llano or Intel chips with iGPU solutions, it all depends on the person really.
Exodite - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link
...'GPU grunt is more important that CPU'... would probably read better, looking back.Ah well, you get the point I'm sure.