Intel decided to disable many i7-4770 features in the i7-4770K when the hardware is perfectly capable of supporting the features while charging the customers more. The 4770k is an unlocked multiplier for overclocking but is it even a worthy CPU for overclocking?
The Following features Intel decided to remove from the 4770K are
vPro Technology - is a set of security and manageability capabilities built into the processor aimed at addressing four critical areas of IT security: 1) Threat management, including protection from rootkits, viruses, and malware 2) Identity and web site access point protection 3) Confidential personal and business data protection 4) Remote and local monitoring, remediation, and repair of PCs and workstations
Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) - allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.
Trusted Execution Technology - for safer computing is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel® processors and chipsets that enhance the digital office platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. It enables an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system.
Transactional Synchronization Extensions New Instructions (Intel® TSX-NI) - are a set of instructions focused on multi-threaded performance scaling. This technology helps make parallel operations more efficient via improved control of locks in software.
Compare 4770 vs 4770K
http://ark.intel.com/products/75122
http://ark.intel.com/products/75123
Compare Chipsets
i7-4770 uses Q87 Chipset
Source: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/q87-q85-chipset-brief.html
i7-4770K uses Z87 Chipset
Source: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/z87-chipset-brief.html
Compare motherboards:
Q87
As of August 10th, there are still no reviews for Q87 motherboards on newegg. Not many motherboards exist for Q87. Are these motherboards designed for longevity & stability & performance? If so then it needs more attention.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=q87+motherboard&N=-1&isNodeId=1
Z87
There are too many Z87 motherboards available which gets all of the attention in the market. Some motherboards have features that are beneficial and important features removed such as as the PS/2, which can be very serious for competitive gaming. Some motherboards are good for overclocking while others allow more than three GPUs, more support for memory standards above DDR3 1600. Other than that, it is not always better than the Q87. Sometimes less is more like the Q87.
The research from sources about the features
"4770 features can very well make itself even faster than an overclocked 4770k"
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2323577
Speculations on why on why the 4770K features were stripped and Linus Torvalds was discussing about Hardware Lock Elision in TSX.
http://www.realworldtech.com/forum/?threadid=134060&curpostid=134194
Intel hints: "Perhaps the most powerful addition to the 4th gen Intel Core processor architecture is Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions (Intel® TSX). Intel TSX is a memory technology and instruction set that allows software developers to write specific parallel code with a focus on correctness and synchronization while the hardware of the 4th gen Intel Core processor architecture handles performance."
http://software.intel.com/sites/billboard/article/philosophical-and-technical-differences
Next is a person who made this post in lkml.org works for Intel. There seems to be a non-disclosure agreement regarding to Intel not releasing their TSX benchmarks. Without benchmarks and performance results how can we expect the consumers to understand without bias, this only helps Intel take advantage of their products to sell more.
https://lkml.org/lkml/2013/6/30/69
However there is only one benchmark for TSX, if you know more benchmarks based on the features of 4770, we are curious to know the results. If more developers take advantage of the TSX API, we can expect more applications to increase performance in the future as quoted below:
"TSX appears to provide significant improvement in concurrency - and thus performance - on TSX-capable CPUs which is very important as the number of threads and cores continues to increase in modern CPUs."
http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/?d=qa&f=ben_mem_hle
Additional Information about the TSX
Detailed analysis of TSX
http://www.realworldtech.com/haswell-tm/
From Intel:
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2013/07/25/fun-with-intel-transactional-synchronization-extensions
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2013/06/07/web-resources-about-intelr-transactional-synchronization-extensions
Software Optimization Reference Manual for the TSX
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/manuals/64-ia-32-architectures-optimization-manual.pdf
Speculations on gaming performance:
Gabe Newell mentions the impact on game development & performance but does not mention TSX. Graphic drivers are highly capable to pick up TSX very quickly. Will a DirectX 11 multi-threaded rendering be faster on i7-4770 than on a overclocked i7-4770K?
http://software.intel.com/sites/billboard/article/valve-innovation-built-intel-power-and-efficiency
Conclusion:
This post was based on the Amazon review that has encouraged me to research in-depth on the 4770 vs 4770K at http://www.amazon.com/review/R2QISINED7TMKQ
If you were looking to future-proof your hardware, would 4770 be a better choice? What are we going to do with the 4770K? Please work together to provide any research & thoughts to clear any misunderstandings that we all have.
The Following features Intel decided to remove from the 4770K are
vPro Technology - is a set of security and manageability capabilities built into the processor aimed at addressing four critical areas of IT security: 1) Threat management, including protection from rootkits, viruses, and malware 2) Identity and web site access point protection 3) Confidential personal and business data protection 4) Remote and local monitoring, remediation, and repair of PCs and workstations
Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) - allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.
Trusted Execution Technology - for safer computing is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel® processors and chipsets that enhance the digital office platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. It enables an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system.
Transactional Synchronization Extensions New Instructions (Intel® TSX-NI) - are a set of instructions focused on multi-threaded performance scaling. This technology helps make parallel operations more efficient via improved control of locks in software.
Compare 4770 vs 4770K
http://ark.intel.com/products/75122
http://ark.intel.com/products/75123
Compare Chipsets
i7-4770 uses Q87 Chipset
Source: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/q87-q85-chipset-brief.html
i7-4770K uses Z87 Chipset
Source: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/z87-chipset-brief.html
Compare motherboards:
Q87
As of August 10th, there are still no reviews for Q87 motherboards on newegg. Not many motherboards exist for Q87. Are these motherboards designed for longevity & stability & performance? If so then it needs more attention.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=q87+motherboard&N=-1&isNodeId=1
Z87
There are too many Z87 motherboards available which gets all of the attention in the market. Some motherboards have features that are beneficial and important features removed such as as the PS/2, which can be very serious for competitive gaming. Some motherboards are good for overclocking while others allow more than three GPUs, more support for memory standards above DDR3 1600. Other than that, it is not always better than the Q87. Sometimes less is more like the Q87.
The research from sources about the features
"4770 features can very well make itself even faster than an overclocked 4770k"
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2323577
Speculations on why on why the 4770K features were stripped and Linus Torvalds was discussing about Hardware Lock Elision in TSX.
http://www.realworldtech.com/forum/?threadid=134060&curpostid=134194
Intel hints: "Perhaps the most powerful addition to the 4th gen Intel Core processor architecture is Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions (Intel® TSX). Intel TSX is a memory technology and instruction set that allows software developers to write specific parallel code with a focus on correctness and synchronization while the hardware of the 4th gen Intel Core processor architecture handles performance."
http://software.intel.com/sites/billboard/article/philosophical-and-technical-differences
Next is a person who made this post in lkml.org works for Intel. There seems to be a non-disclosure agreement regarding to Intel not releasing their TSX benchmarks. Without benchmarks and performance results how can we expect the consumers to understand without bias, this only helps Intel take advantage of their products to sell more.
https://lkml.org/lkml/2013/6/30/69
However there is only one benchmark for TSX, if you know more benchmarks based on the features of 4770, we are curious to know the results. If more developers take advantage of the TSX API, we can expect more applications to increase performance in the future as quoted below:
"TSX appears to provide significant improvement in concurrency - and thus performance - on TSX-capable CPUs which is very important as the number of threads and cores continues to increase in modern CPUs."
http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/?d=qa&f=ben_mem_hle
Additional Information about the TSX
Detailed analysis of TSX
http://www.realworldtech.com/haswell-tm/
From Intel:
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2013/07/25/fun-with-intel-transactional-synchronization-extensions
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2013/06/07/web-resources-about-intelr-transactional-synchronization-extensions
Software Optimization Reference Manual for the TSX
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/manuals/64-ia-32-architectures-optimization-manual.pdf
Speculations on gaming performance:
Gabe Newell mentions the impact on game development & performance but does not mention TSX. Graphic drivers are highly capable to pick up TSX very quickly. Will a DirectX 11 multi-threaded rendering be faster on i7-4770 than on a overclocked i7-4770K?
http://software.intel.com/sites/billboard/article/valve-innovation-built-intel-power-and-efficiency
Conclusion:
This post was based on the Amazon review that has encouraged me to research in-depth on the 4770 vs 4770K at http://www.amazon.com/review/R2QISINED7TMKQ
If you were looking to future-proof your hardware, would 4770 be a better choice? What are we going to do with the 4770K? Please work together to provide any research & thoughts to clear any misunderstandings that we all have.
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