Demystifying Intel ® Ivy bridge microarchitecture

• Main Author: Uy, Roger Luis
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2013
• Subjects: Computer architecture; Intel microprocessors; Microcomputers; Computer Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/12624
• Institution: De La Salle University

Tick-Tock is a model introduced by Intel ® Corporation in 2006 to show the improvement of its chip development. Every “tick” is the die-shrink of the current microarchitecture, while every “tock” is the new microarchitecture. During the 2nd quarter of 2012, Ivy Bridge Microarchitecture was introduced as the 22-nm die shrink (the “tick”) of the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture (the “tock”). Ivy Bridge-based microprocessors are multicore processor which place emphasis on minimizing thermal dissipation of processor and providing architecture innovation rather than raw processor speed. Ivy Based-processor comes in three variations – for desktop, for mobile and for server usage. Difference among them lies in the number of core in a processor, the clock frequency, the Thermal Design Power (TDP), the cache memory size and architectural innovations. This research paper will survey the Ivy Based-processor and classify them accordingly. Survey will be based from the Intel’s official website (ark.intel.com). At the same time, independent website (www.cpu-world.com) will be used to countercheck the specifications and to obtain additional information. A freeware software, called CPU-Z (www.cpuid.com) is used to gather information of the processor and provide information such as the name and number of the processor, internal and external clock rate, clock multiplier, supported instructions and cache information. Once the survey and classification is done, we can gain information on which type of applications can be used on which type of microprocessor.