Intel is bringing back adjustable base clock for Ivy Bridge, well, we have the specifics and they're less complex than you'd think.
Intel has just unleashed a new line of processors. It’s not based on a new architecture, but is instead an expansion of the current Sandy Bridge line. Now, instead of a maximum of four cores, you can buy a processor with up to six!
Of course, you could do that months ago – but you’d have to purchase a processor using the Nehalem architecture. That made no sense, because the quickest quad-core Sandy Bridge options were almost as fast and hundreds less expensive. Does Sandy Bridge-E resolve that issue? Let’s take a closer look.
The latest Sandy Bridge-E 6 core processors have just been released, to excellent reviews. However, the architecture is designed for 8 cores, so these current i7-3960X & i7-3930K processors actually contain those 8 cores, but with two turned off in order to enable them to fit within a manageable 130 W power envelope. Hence there's quite a bit more potential to be released and soon.
Intel released Sandy Bridge-E today. Here's what's new, what's not, and where to find out more about it.