Smaller,
smarter and faster. That’s Intel’s message with today’s announcement of its
quad-core 3rd generation Core processor. This family of 3rd
generation of processors was made using 22 nanometer technology (compared to
the previous 32 nm) so small that Intel used new 3D tri-Gate technology,
stacking transistors on top of each other instead of just a single flat plane.
What does
this mean to consumers? Better computing on new smaller computing devices for
business and everyday consumers. Just like photo sensor chips, the more processors
that can be made on a production line wafer, the cheaper they get.
What is new
and exciting about 3rd generation processors is how much faster their
graphics are with HD 4000 GPU technology compared to the previous HD 3000. It
used to be that year-over-year incremental chip performance wasn’t a big deal, unless
your computer was ten years old. But these new chips walk the walk for users
who only need integrated graphic/CPU technology in more affordable PCs.
On a side note,
earlier this month, Intel also announced the new DZ77GA-70K motherboard whose
most inner workings can easily be accessed through the new Intel Visual BIOS, what
was an archaic and cryptic interface for fine tuning computers. It also
features Intel Smart Response Technology which allows hybrid hard drives made
with regular spinning and SSD drives run your PC faster. It includes hi-current
fast charge USB ports and front panel USB 3.0 ports. With Visual Bios,
consumers can safely experiment with easy-to-understand BIOS settings like
overclocking (speeding up) processor, memory and graphics pushing the envelope
on PC performance. I was able to
overclock the 3.5 GHz processor to 4.7 GHz by adjusting CPU. GFX and memory
upward on Intel’s advice settings using the Visual Bios. Impressive but not consistent beyond 4.3 GHz.
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I also
tested Intel’s Bluetooth and speedy Centrino Advanced N 6205 pre-production WiFi
kit with a retro-like external antenna. Fast. This means your next desktop will
also have Bluetooth and WiFi, like a laptop…sweet.
PERFORMANCE
So, how
fast is Intel’s Core i7-3770K 3.5 GHz 3rd gen quad processor over
the previous Sandy Bridge i7 2600K 3.4 MHz quad? Settings were optimized
similarly, including Intel Turbo Boost Technology to reflect realistic user
experience.
All my tests
were done on Intel’s newest 240 GB Solid State Drive 520 and 8GB Kingston’s
Hyper X Series RAM. The 3rd gen chip ran on the new DZ77GA-70K motherboard.
First the
specs: The 3rd gen chip has 41 per cent more transistors at 1.4
billion, a 26 per cent smaller footprint size, and theoretically 50 per cent less power
consumption (in reality my overall power draw was actually 18-20 per cent less). It was up to 43 per cent faster in CPU (processor) benchmark tests but averaged at 18 per cent faster and 64 per cent faster in GPU (graphics). That’s a big eye candy jump.
The big graphics
engine improvement from a 2nd gen HD3000 to 3rd gen HD
4000 accounts for much of the entertainment and media chore improvements.
The new
chip even beat out last year’s Intel Extreme i7-3960 SIX Core CPU in several benchmarks
including Photoshop CS 5.5 and Photoshop Elements. I even threw in my old fav,
Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX and consistently got a 43 per cent improvement in FPS performance, due to the game’s unusual CPU intensive characteristics.
In reality
though, CPU improvements were not as impressive as GPU which BTW features three
monitor Intel Quick Sync technology.
Here are some
of my benchmarking results, most of which measured productivity, media and
play applications by running games, calculating and converting large media
files to other formats, such as downsizing high HD movie files for an iPhone. You
can compare my results with any of the several hundred tech sites, worldwide,
like TomsHradware.com who ran similar benchmarks as I did.
FutureMark PC Mark 64 bit: Overall 16279, TV/Movies 6540/Gaming
13968, Music 17,977, productivity 23,735 versus 2nd gen
14837/5430/13915/16190/19150
FutureMark 3DMark Vantage (entry level) : CPU 29,001, GPU 16,645 versus 2nd
gen 23429/10248
SYSmark 2012 Overall Performance 1920×1200: score of 219
Office 10 Excel: A 70 MB, 50,000 row Black-Scholes
model spreadsheet running more
than 300,000 iterations of the Monte Carlo simulation engine. So you get
an idea, a three year old Dual Core 2.6 MHz took 160 seconds to complete
compared to the 3rd gen 4.3 second run. 2nd gen chip took
5.38 seconds.
Arcsoft
MediaConverter 7: 21.2 seconds
Cyberlink Media
Espresso: 10 seconds
Go Pro Cineform
Studio: 45.14 seconds
Gretech GOM Video
Converter: 85.51 seconds
Cyberlink Power
Director 10: 55.04 seconds
Photoshop CS 5.5
Action: 61 seconds versus 72 seconds on the 2nd gen chip
World of Warcraft
Cataclysm: 31.55
FPS good quality 1920×1080 versus 27.55 FPS on 2nd gen chip
Batman: Arkham City
built in test:27
FPS lowest quality 1920×1080 versus 22 FPS on 2nd gen chip
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