Sandy Bridge

Sandy Bridge is the codename for a microarchitecture developed by Intel beginning in 2005 for central processing units in computers to replace the Nehalem microarchitecture. It was designed for the full range of applications from mobile devices, laptop and desktop computers, to large enterprise servers. Intel demonstrated a Sandy Bridge processor in 2009, and released first products in January 2011 based on the architecture.^[1][2]

Originally, implementations targeted a 32 nanometer manufacturing process based on planar double-gate transistors. Subsequent products, codenamed Ivy Bridge, use a 22 nanometer process. The Ivy Bridge die shrink, known in the Intel Tick-Tock model as the "tick", is based on 3D tri-gate transistors. Intel demonstrated Ivy Bridge processors in 2011.^[3]

Contents 1 Technology 2 Models and Steppings 3 Performance 4 List of Sandy Bridge processors 4.1 Desktop platform 4.2 Server platform 4.3 Mobile platform 5 Cougar Point chipset flaw 6 Limitations 6.1 Overclocking 6.2 Chipset 7 Intel Insider and remote-control 8 Successor 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Technology

Developed primarily in Israel, the codename was originally "Gesher" (meaning "bridge" in Hebrew). The name was changed to avoid being associated with the defunct Gesher political party,^[4] the decision was led by Ron Friedman, vice president of Intel managing the group at the time.^[1] Intel demonstrated a Sandy Bridge processor with A1 stepping at 2 GHz during the Intel Developer Forum in September 2009.^[5]

Upgraded features from Nehalem include:

• 32 kB data + 32 kB instruction L1 cache (3 clocks) and 256 kB L2 cache (8 clocks) per core
• Shared L3 cache includes the processor graphics (LGA 1155)
• 64-byte cache line size
• Two load/store operations per CPU cycle for each memory channel
• Decoded micro-operation cache and enlarged, optimized branch predictor
• Improved performance for transcendental mathematics, AES encryption, and SHA-1 hashing
• 256-bit/cycle ring bus interconnect between cores, graphics, cache and System Agent Domain
• Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) 256-bit instruction set with wider vectors, new extensible syntax and rich functionality
• Intel Quick Sync Video, hardware support for video encoding and decoding
• Up to 8 physical cores or 16 logical cores through Hyper-threading

Models and Steppings

All Sandy Bridge processors with 1, 2, or 4 cores report the same CPUID model 0206A7h^[6] and are closely related. The stepping number can not be seen from the CPUID but only from the PCI configuration space. The later Sandy Bridge-E processors with up to 6 cores and no graphics are using CPUID 0206D6h.^[7]

CPUID	Stepping	Die size	Transistors	Max. Cores	Max. GPU EUs	Max. L3 Cache
0206A7h	D2	216 mm²	1.16 billion	4	12	8 MB
	J1	149 mm²	624 million	2	12	4 MB
	Q0	131 mm²	504 million	2	6	3 MB
0206D6h	C1		2.27 billion	8	0	20 MB

Performance

• Up to 17% more CPU performance clock-for-clock compared to Lynnfield processors.^[8]
• Around twice the integrated graphics performance compared to Clarkdale's (12 EUs comparison).

List of Sandy Bridge processors

¹Processors featuring Intel's HD 3000 graphics are set in bold. Other processors feature HD 2000 graphics or no graphics core (Graphics Clock rate indicated by N/A).

Desktop platform

^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Target segment	Cores (Threads)	Processor Branding & Model		CPU Clock rate		Graphics Clock rate		L3 Cache	TDP	Release Date (Y-M-D)	Price (USD)	Motherboard
				Normal	Turbo	Normal	Turbo					Socket	Interface	Memory
Extreme / High-End	6 (12)	Core i7 Extreme	3960X	3.3 GHz	3.9 GHz	N/A		15 MB	130 W	2011-11-14	$999	LGA 2011	DMI 2.0 PCIe 3.0	Up to quad channel DDR3-1600[13]
		Core i7	3930K	3.2 GHz	3.8 GHz			12 MB			$583
	4 (8)		3820	3.6 GHz	3.9 GHz			10 MB		Q1 2012[14]	$285
Performance			2700K	3.5 GHz		850 MHz	1350 MHz	8 MB	95 W	2011-10-24	$332	LGA 1155	DMI 2.0 PCIe 2.0	Up to dual channel DDR3-1333
			2600K	3.4 GHz	3.8 GHz					2011-01-09	$317
			2600								$294
			2600S	2.8 GHz					65 W		$306
	4 (4)	Core i5	2500K	3.3 GHz	3.7 GHz		1100 MHz	6 MB	95 W		$216
			2500								$205
			2500S	2.7 GHz					65 W		$216
			2500T	2.3 GHz	3.3 GHz	650 MHz	1250 MHz		45 W
			2400	3.1 GHz	3.4 GHz	850 MHz	1100 MHz		95 W		$184
			2405S	2.5 GHz	3.3 GHz				65 W	2011-05-22	$205
			2400S							2011-01-09	$195
			2320	3.0 GHz					95 W	2011-09-04	$177
			2310	2.9 GHz	3.2 GHz					2011-05-22
			2300	2.8 GHz	3.1 GHz					2011-01-09
Mainstream	2 (4)		2390T	2.7 GHz	3.5 GHz	650 MHz		3 MB	35 W	2011-02-20	$195
		Core i3	2120T	2.6 GHz	N/A					2011-09-04	$127
			2100T	2.5 GHz						2011-02-20
			2130	3.4 GHz		850 MHz			65 W	2011-09-04	$138
			2125	3.3 GHz							$134
			2120							2011-02-20	$138
			2105	3.1 GHz						2011-05-22	$134
			2102							Q2 2011
			2100							2011-02-20	$117
	2 (2)	Pentium	G860	3.0 GHz						2011-09-04	$86
			G850	2.9 GHz						2011-05-24
			G840	2.8 GHz							$75
			G632	2.7 GHz						Q3 2011
			G630							2011-09-04	$75
			G622	2.6 GHz						Q2 2011
			G620							2011-05-24	$64
			G630T	2.3 GHz		650 MHz			35 W	2011-09-04	$70
			G620T	2.2 GHz						2011-05-24
		Celeron	G540	2.5 GHz		850 MHz	1000 MHz	2 MB	65 W	2011-09-04	$52
			G530	2.4 GHz							$42
			G530T	2.0 GHz		650 MHz			35 W		$47
	1 (2)		G460	1.8 GHz				1.5 MB		2011-12-11	$37
	1 (1)		G440	1.6 GHz				1 MB		2011-09-04

Suffixes to denote:

• K - Unlocked (adjustable CPU ratio up to 57 bins)
• S - Performance-optimized lifestyle (low power with 65W TDP)
• T - Power-optimized lifestyle (ultra low power with 35-45W TDP)
• X - Extreme performance (adjustable CPU ratio with no ratio limit)

Server platform

Target Segment	Socket	Cores (Threads)	Processor Branding & Model		CPU Clock rate		Graphics Clock rate		L3 Cache	Interface	Supported Memory	TDP	Release Date	Price (USD)
					Standard	Turbo	Normal	Turbo
4P Server	LGA 2011	8 (16) 6 (12) 4 (4/8) 2 (2/4)	Xeon E5	46xx			N/A			2× QPI DMI 2.0 PCIe 3.0	Up to quad channel DDR3-1600		Q1 2012
2P Server		8 (16)		2687W	3.1 GHz				20 MB		4x DDR3-1600	150 W	Q1 2012	$1885
				2690	2.9 GHz							135 W		$2057
				2680	2.7 GHz							130 W		$1723
				2670	2.6 GHz							115 W		$1552
				2665	2.4 GHz									$1440
				2660	2.2 GHz							95 W		$1329
				2650	2.0 GHz									$1106
				2650L	1.8 GHz							70 W		$1106
		6 (12)		2667	2.9 GHz				15 MB			130 W		$1552
				2640	2.5 GHz						4x DDR3-1333	95 W		$884
				2630	2.3 GHz									$612
				2620	2.0 GHz									$406
				2630L	2.0 GHz							60 W		$662
		4 (8)		2643	3.3 GHz				10 MB		4x DDR3-1600	130 W		$884
		4 (4)		2609	2.4 GHz						4x DDR3-1066	80 W		$294
				2603	1.8 GHz									$202
		2 (4)		2637	3.0 GHz				5 MB		4x DDR3-1600			$884
	LGA 1356	8 (16) 6 (12) 4 (4/8) 2 (2/4)		24xx						1× QPI DMI 2.0 PCIe 3.0	Up to triple channel DDR3-1600		Q1 2012
1P Server	LGA 2011	6 (12)		1660	3.3 GHz	3.9 GHz			15 MB	2× QPI DMI 2.0 PCIe 3.0	Up to quad channel DDR3-1333	130 W	Q4 2011	$1080
				1650	3.2 GHz	3.8 GHz			12 MB					$583
		4 (8)		1620	3.6 GHz	3.9 GHz			10 MB					$294
	LGA 1155	4 (8)	Xeon E3	1290		4.0 GHz			8 MB	DMI 2.0 PCIe 2.0	Up to dual channel DDR3-1333	95 W	2011-05-29	$885
				1280	3.5 GHz	3.9 GHz							2011-03-15	$612
				1275	3.4 GHz	3.8 GHz	850 MHz	1350 MHz						$339
				1270			N/A					80 W		$328
				1260L	2.4 GHz	3.3 GHz	650 MHz	1250 MHz				45 W		$294
				1245	3.3 GHz	3.7 GHz	850 MHz	1350 MHz				95 W		$262
				1240			N/A					80 W		$250
				1235	3.2 GHz	3.6 GHz	850 MHz	1350 MHz				95 W		$240
				1230			N/A					80 W		$215
		4 (4)		1225	3.1 GHz	3.4 GHz	850 MHz	1350 MHz	6 MB			95 W		$194
				1220			N/A		8 MB			80 W		$189
		2 (4)		1220L	2.2 GHz				3 MB			20 W

Mobile platform

• Core i5-2515E and Core i7-2715QE processors have support for ECC memory and PCI express port bifurcation.
• All mobile processors, except Celeron and Pentium, use Intel's Graphics sub-system HD 3000 (12 EUs).

Target Segment	Cores / Threads	Processor Branding & Model		CPU Clock rate		Graphics Clock rate		L3 Cache	TDP	Release Date	Price (USD)	Motherboard
				Normal	Turbo (1C/2C/4C)	Normal	Turbo					Interface	Socket
Extreme	4 (8)	Core i7 Extreme	2960XM	2.7 GHz	3.7/3.6/3.4 GHz	650 MHz	1300 MHz	8 MB	55 W	2011-09-04	$1096	*DMI 2.0 *Memory: Up to dual channel DDR3-1600 MHz PCIe 2.0	Socket G2 / BGA-1224
			2920XM	2.5 GHz	3.5/3.4/3.2 GHz					2011-01-05
Performance		Core i7	2860QM	2.5 GHz	3.6/3.5/3.3 GHz				45 W	2011-09-04	$568
			2820QM	2.3 GHz	3.4/3.3/3.1 GHz					2011-01-05
			2760QM	2.4 GHz	3.5/3.4/3.2 GHz			6 MB		2011-09-04	$378
			2720QM	2.2 GHz	3.3/3.2/3.0 GHz					2011-01-05
			2715QE	2.1 GHz	3.0/2.9/2.7 GHz		1200 MHz				OEM
			2710QE
			2675QM	2.2 GHz	3.1/3.0/2.8 GHz		1200 MHz			2011-10-02		*DMI 2.0 *Memory: Up to dual channel DDR3-1333 MHz PCIe 2.0
			2670QM				1100 MHz
			2635QM	2.0 GHz	2.9/2.8/2.6 GHz		1200 MHz			2011-01-05
			2630QM				1100 MHz
Mainstream	2 (4)		2640M	2.8 GHz	3.5/3.3 GHz		1300 MHz	4 MB	35 W	2011-09-04	$346		Socket G2 / BGA-1023
			2620M	2.7 GHz	3.4/3.2 GHz					2011-02-20
			2649M	2.3 GHz	3.2/2.9 GHz	500 MHz	1100 MHz		25 W
			2629M	2.1 GHz	3.0/2.7 GHz						$311
			2655LE	2.2 GHz	2.9/2.7 GHz	650 MHz	1000 MHz				OEM
			2677M	1.8 GHz	2.9/2.6 GHz	350 MHz	1200 MHz		17 W	2011-06-20	$317
			2637M	1.7 GHz	2.8/2.5 GHz						$289
			2657M	1.6 GHz	2.7/2.4 GHz		1000 MHz			2011-02-20	$317
			2617M	1.5 GHz	2.6/2.3 GHz		950 MHz				$289
			2610UE		2.4/2.1 GHz		850 MHz				OEM
		Core i5	2557M	1.7 GHz	2.7/2.4 GHz		1200 MHz	3 MB		2011-06-20	$250
			2537M	1.4 GHz	2.3/2.0 GHz		900 MHz			2011-02-20
			2467M	1.6 GHz	2.3/2.0 GHz		1150 MHz			2011-06-19	OEM
			2540M	2.6 GHz	3.3/3.1 GHz	650 MHz	1300 MHz		35 W	2011-06-20	$266
			2520M	2.5 GHz	3.2/3.0 GHz						$225
			2515E		3.1/2.8 GHz		1100 MHz				OEM
			2510E
			2435M	2.4 GHz	3.0/2.7 GHz		1300 MHz			2011-10-02
			2430M				1200 MHz
			2410M	2.3 GHz	2.9/2.6 GHz					2011-06-20
		Core i3	2350M		N/A		1150 MHz			2011-10-02	$225
			2330E	2.2 GHz			1050 MHz			2011-06-19	OEM
			2330M				1100 MHz
			2310E	2.1 GHz			1050 MHz			2011-02-20
			2310M				1100 MHz
			2367M	1.4 GHz		350 MHz	1000 MHz		17 W	2011-10-02
			2357M	1.3 GHz			950 MHz			2011-06-19
			2340UE				800 MHz
	2 (2)	Pentium	967	1.3 GHz			1000 MHz	2 MB		2011-10-02
			957	1.2 GHz			800 MHz			2011-06-19
			B960	2.2 GHz		650 MHz	1100 MHz		35 W	2011-10-02
			B950	2.1 GHz						2011-06-19
			B940	2.0 GHz
		Celeron	B840	1.9 GHz			1000 MHz			2011-09-04	$86
			B815[15]	1.6 GHz			1050 MHz			Q1 2012
			B810E				1000 MHz			2011-06-19	OEM
			B810				950 MHz			2011-03-13	$86
			B800	1.5 GHz			1000 MHz			2011-06-19	$80
			857	1.2 GHz		350 MHz			17 W	2011-07-03	$134
			847	1.1 GHz			800 MHz			2011-06-19
			847E								OEM
	1 (1)		827E	1.4 GHz				1.5 MB		2011-07-03
			787	1.3 GHz							$107
			B720[16]	1.7 GHz		650 MHz	1000 MHz		35 W	Q1 2012
			B710	1.6 GHz						2011-06-19	$70

Suffixes to denote:

• M - Mobile processors
  • XM - Unlocked
  • QM - Quad-core
• E - Embedded mobile processors
  • QE - Quad-core
  • LE - Performance-optimized
  • UE - Power-optimized

Cougar Point chipset flaw

On January 31, 2011, Intel issued a recall on all 67-series motherboards due to a flaw in the Cougar Point Chipset.^[17] A hardware issue, in which the chipset's SATA-II ports may fail over time, cause failure of connection to SATA-II devices, though data is not at risk.^[18] Intel claims that this problem will only affect 5% of users over 3 years, however, heavier I/O workloads can exacerbate the problem.

Intel stopped production of flawed B2 stepping chipsets and began producing B3 stepping chipsets with the silicon fix. Shipping of these new chipsets started on 14 February 2011 and Intel estimated full recovery volume in April 2011.^[19] Motherboard manufacturers (such as ASUS and Gigabyte Technology) and computer manufacturers (such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard) stopped selling products that involved the flawed chipset and offered support for affected customers. Options ranged from swapping for B3 motherboards to product refunds.^[20][21]

Sandy Bridge processor sales were temporarily on hold, as one cannot use the CPU without a motherboard. However, processor release dates were not affected.^[22] After two weeks, Intel continued shipping some chipsets, but manufacturers had to agree to a set of terms that will prevent customers from encountering the bug.^[23]

Limitations

Overclocking

Due to a single clock generator controlling the speed of all electrical buses, overclocking of LGA-1155 compatible processors beyond the default 100 MHz base clock speed is very limited, up to 5-7% without other hardware components failing.^[24] However, Intel has made available K-edition processors which feature unlocked multipliers; the highest multiplier for Sandy Bridge is 57.^[25]

Intel has demonstrated a Sandy Bridge CPU running stably overclocked at 4.9 GHz on air cooling.^[26][27]

Intel Sandy Bridge E-series Processors will come with "Performance OverClocking" support.^[28]

Chipset

Non-K edition CPUs can overclock up to four bins from its turbo multiplier. Refer here for chipset support.

Intel Insider and remote-control

The processors include a "service" called Intel Insider which the company calls "an extra layer of content protection".^[29] This protection technology is only intended for streaming services at the moment.

Sandy Bridge processors with vPro capability have security features that can remotely disable a PC or erase information from hard drives. This can be useful in the case of a lost or stolen PC. The commands can be received through 3G signals, ethernet, or internet connections. AES encryption acceleration will be available, which can be useful for video conferencing and VoIP applications.^[30]

Successor

See also

• Accelerated Processing Unit
• x86
• x86-64
• P5
• P6
• NetBurst
• Core
• Nehalem
• List of Intel CPU microarchitectures
• AMD Fusion

References

External links

• Intel's AVX page
• Marco Chiappetta (January 2, 2011). "Intel Core i7-2600K and i5-2500K Processors Debut". HotHardware.com. http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Intel-Core-i72600K-and-i52500K-Processors-Debut/. Retrieved January 2, 2011. 
• David Kanter (September 25, 2010). "Intel's Sandy Bridge Microarchitecture". realworldtech.com. http://www.realworldtech.com/page.cfm?ArticleID=RWT091810191937&p=1. Retrieved December 16, 2010. 
• David Kanter (August 8, 2011). "Intel's Sandy Bridge Graphics Architecture". realworldtech.com. http://realworldtech.com/page.cfm?ArticleID=RWT080811195102. Retrieved November 4, 2011. 
• Gabriel Torres (December 30, 2010). "Inside the Intel Sandy Bridge Microarchitecture". hardwaresecrets.com. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Inside-the-Intel-Sandy-Bridge-Microarchitecture/1161/1. Retrieved January 16, 2011. 
• Andrew Van Til (January 3, 2011). "Intel Sandy Bridge: Core i5-2500K and DH67BL Motherboard". www.missingremote.com. http://www.missingremote.com/review/intel-sandy-bridge-core-i5-2500k-and-dh67bl-motherboard. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 

Intel processors Discontinued BCD oriented (4-bit) 4004 4040 pre-x86 (8-bit) 8008 8080 8085 Early x86 (16-bit) 8086 8088 80186 80188 80286 x87 (external FPUs) 8/16-bit databus: 8087 16-bit databus: 80287 · 80387SX 32-bit databus: 80387DX · 80487 IA-32 (32-bit) 80386 SX 376 EX 80486 SX DX2 DX4 SL RapidCAD OverDrive A100/A110 Celeron M D Pentium Original OverDrive Pro II II OverDrive III 4 M Dual-Core Core Solo Duo x86-64 (64-bit) Celeron D Dual-Core Pentium 4 D Extreme Edition Dual-Core Core 2 Other iAPX 432 — RISC: i860 · i960 · StrongARM · XScale Current IA-32: EP80579 · Atom (CE) — x86-64: Atom (some) · Celeron · Pentium · Core (i3 · i5 · i7) · Xeon — Other: Itanium Lists CPU sockets CPU power dissipation Chipsets PCHs SCHs ICHs PIIXs Microarchitectures Processors Future Processors Codenames GMA Atom Celeron Core 2 i3 i5 i7 Itanium Pentium Pro II III 4 D M Dual-Core Xeon Microarchitectures P5   P5 based cores 800 nm P5 600 nm P54C 350 nm P54CS P55C 250 nm Tillamook P6   P6 / Pentium M / Enhanced Pentium M based cores 500 nm P6 350 nm P6 Klamath 250 nm Mendocino Dixon Tonga Covington Deschutes Katmai Drake Tanner 180 nm Coppermine Coppermine T Timna Cascades 130 nm Tualatin Banias 90 nm Dothan Stealey 65 nm Tolapai Yonah Sossaman NetBurst   NetBurst based cores 180 nm Willamette Foster 130 nm Northwood Gallatin Prestonia 90 nm Tejas and Jayhawk Prescott Smithfield Nocona Irwindale Cranford Potomac Paxville 65 nm Cedar Mill Presler Dempsey Tulsa Core   Core / Penryn based cores 65 nm Merom-L Merom Conroe-L Allendale Conroe Kentsfield Woodcrest Clovertown Tigerton 45 nm Penryn Penryn-QC Wolfdale Yorkfield Wolfdale-DP Harpertown Dunnington Bonnell   Bonnell based cores 45 nm Silverthorne Diamondville Pineview Lincroft Tunnel Creek Sodaville 32 nm Cedarview Cedar Trail-M Nehalem   Nehalem / Westmere based cores 45 nm Clarksfield Lynnfield Jasper Forest Bloomfield Gainestown (Nehalem-EP) Beckton (Nehalem-EX) 32 nm Arrandale Clarkdale Gulftown (Westmere-EP) Westmere-EX Sandy Bridge   Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge based cores 32 nm Sandy Bridge Future Larrabee · Haswell / Broadwell · Skylake / Skymont