14 DAY TRIAL // Since it is holding the Intel Developer Forum, the Santa Clara, California-based CPU developer was gracious enough to provide the press with not just a die shot of the quad-core Sandy bridge CPU model, but also a new set of logos.
As one probably knows by now, the Sandy Bridge series of central processing units (CPUs) will, more or less, take the place of the current Core Series of CPUs.
They will have both higher clock speeds and better integrated graphics, in addition to a higher energy efficiency.
Taking advantage of its Intel Developer Forum event, the chip developer has now unveiled not only the upcoming logos, but also a die shot of the Sandy Bridge quad-core silicon.
Apparently, the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 identifiers will persist for the new collection of central processing units, keeping the familiarity factor in place.
On the other hand, the entire line will be known as second-generation Core processors, or the 2011 Intel Core processors, while the model numbers will start with the 2,000 series.
The other thing that Intel showcased, the die shot, shows that the IGP-embedded northbridge is completely integrated into the processor die.
This is different from the current line of so-called 'Clarkdale' units, which have the northbridge set on a separate die and connected to it through a QPI link.
Naturally, Sandy Bridge is built on the 32nm process technology and its IGP can, besides provide graphics capabilities, hasten video encoding.
This last ability is available thanks to several media-acceleration features, the speed outpacing a Core i7, while encoding HD video, by two or three times, according to HotHardware.
For those interested in more accurate specifications, the quad-core should have 6MB of L3 cache, as well as a dual-channel DDR3 IMC and a graphics processor that supports DirectX 10.1.