Ivy Bridge CPU Suffix Differentation

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sub3marathonman

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I understand the numbers, what I'm wondering is if there is a technical reason that one chip, when first made, is chosen to be a K suffix, while another chip that seems identical becomes an S or just a regular one with no suffix. Or are they all really identical, just named according to consumer demand? I understand why the K suffix has a price premium, but the S and no suffix chips are the same price. And is a K just a K because Intel said so, or was it superior in some manufacturing quality test?

Thanks for the help.
 
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One thing to note is that for i5 and i7, non-k processors are still limited unlock, so they can add +4 to the multiplier. The k for i5 also gets you the better graphics.

As far as the chips,
Theoretically, Intel will bin the chips based on yield tests and choose only the highest performing ones out of their test to be the higher speeds and "k" processors, and lower performing ones to be the lower speeds.

But in practice, if the yield is producing all good chips that are good enough to be "k" processors or higher speeds, and they will just sell them all based on what people want to pay for them and keep all the price options available to maximize revenue

You will not be able to tell; you just get what you paid for. But yield...
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jaguarskx

jaguarskx

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"K" models are the only CPUs that have unlocked multipliers which allows you to overclock your CPu.

"S" models are a little more power efficient than normal models; 65w vs 77w.

"T" models are even more power efficient than "S" models; 45w vs 65w. They basically consume as much as a power hungry laptop mobile CPU.

"P" models do not have the Intel HD 4000 graphics core.
 
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raytseng

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One thing to note is that for i5 and i7, non-k processors are still limited unlock, so they can add +4 to the multiplier. The k for i5 also gets you the better graphics.

As far as the chips,
Theoretically, Intel will bin the chips based on yield tests and choose only the highest performing ones out of their test to be the higher speeds and "k" processors, and lower performing ones to be the lower speeds.

But in practice, if the yield is producing all good chips that are good enough to be "k" processors or higher speeds, and they will just sell them all based on what people want to pay for them and keep all the price options available to maximize revenue

You will not be able to tell; you just get what you paid for. But yield improves the longer a chip is out and manufacturing improves.

If Intel ever reports we have a supply/manufacturing shortage of their highest speed chips, that can be a sign that yields are not perfect and the lower speed chips really are as good as they can can be, and not just hobbled high speed chips.

In some sense it is like software like Windows. Everybody's copy of Windows can theoretically do the same thing, but based on your license you paid for you get more features. There is no physical cost to Microsoft to give everybody Ultimate versus Home, but they need to maximize profit

For a more real life comparison, if you go to a fastfood restaurant with a soda fountain and free refills, you still can choose to pay a different price for the different cup sizes, even though you get the same product and amount of product.
 
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jaguarskx

jaguarskx

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Ivy Bridge... 3rd generation Core i3/i5/i7 CPU. In general it is on average 6% more powerful at the same clockspeed compared to Sandy Bridge; 2nd generation Core i3.i5/i7 CPU.

Lot's of minor differences. The biggest difference it the current Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics core vs. Sandy Bridge's HD 3000 graphics core. On average a 35% increase in performance. Sounds pretty impressive. Coming from Intel, it actually is impressive. But it is still weak compared to an actual graphics card.

The Intel HD 3000 is basically equal to the Radeon HD 5450. The Intel HD 4000 has about 90% of the Radeon HD 5550's performance.
 
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jaguarskx

jaguarskx

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Haswell is the upcoming 4th generation of the Core i3/i5/i7 CPU. It is socket 1150 and it is not compatible with current motherboards for Ivy Bridge CPUs; socket 1155.

Preliminary benchmarks indicates an approximate 10% increase in performance at the same clockspeed. It will come with the Intel HD 4600 graphics core and is estimated to be about 20% more powerful than the Intel HD 4000. That makes it a bit more powerful than the Radeon HD 5550.

 
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sub3marathonman

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Those were two great analogies! But with the soda refills, in this situation it is that people are paying to be restricted to less, which in this case it is lower processor speed. The actual substance (in this case the non-K processor) is the same, it isn't more efficient or running at a lower voltage. Isn't it therefore possible to take the no suffix processor and make it an "s suffix" processor with the BIOS settings?
 
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raytseng

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most people just look at the k processors as this is an enthusiast forum.

But if you want to look at s/t. I would agree, if your BIOS/OS is accesses the intel speedstep and multiplier settings, my opinion is you can have the no-suffix perform the same as an S processor from a computing and power standpoint.

The practical use of an S / T processors) would be true custom hardware implementation where you don't have the benefit of a full desktop computer's BIOS/Windows power control features. Like if you were to use it for some custom gadget of some kind.

However, T processors are supposed to have fewer cores, potentially these are the chips where those cores were found to be defective.
 
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toarranre

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I was always slightly confused by the K suffix. I understood it was for OC but people say "unlocked" for overclocking. But chips that don't have the K can still OC anyway. Is it entirely down to the binning, or there other features at play?
 
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J_E_D_70

J_E_D_70

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Non-K can do a 400Mhz per-core bump but that's about it, so effectively a turbo of 4.1 (four cores) to 4.3 (two cores) on a 3770.

The K processors can run all cores at whatever OC is achievable. I got 4.4 on four cores on auto voltage with cheap air in testing. Can probably get up to 4.8 on four cores with really good water cooling (maybe more?).

So the only question is how far you want to push it and how much you want to spend on high end cooling solution to get a few hundred more MHz. For most folks, the locked CPU with cheap air on a Z77 with the turbo amped up is sufficient.
 
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raytseng

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Here is one more link from anandtech forums
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2234017

This discusses and shows the actual silicon which is the same for all ivybridge. Notice the difference for things like the HD3000/4000 graphics is just "cutting" away execution units or parts. It's not a different design in there, just disablement.

As far as features, intel will just "cut" out features you didn't pay for. For features, you cannot unlock the cutaway features (can't turn an hd3000 into an hd4000).

For speeds, binning may or may not be in effect, but you cannot tell. You will only be guaranteed to got what you paid for. Only k gives you full unlock of the multiplier to find out for yourself.

To add and resummarize JED's words above,

Assuming you don't care about the difference with integrated graphics;
If you plan on only going +4, then you are fine with the non-k. The price increase you pay for k is the cost to get over +4.
 
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