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Platform Compatibility: Are Motherboard Vendors Ready?

Intel Core i7-3770K Review: A Small Step Up For Ivy Bridge
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All of Intel’s Ivy Bridge-based CPUs employ the existing LGA 1155 interface, setting up warranted questions about compatibility.

Naturally, the third-gen Core processors work right out of the box on 7-series platforms with Management Engine firmware version 8.x. Second-gen Core CPUs based on Sandy Bridge also drop right into motherboards with 7-series chipsets.

Support gets more conditional when you start talking about dropping third-gen Core chips on older boards with 6-series core logic. Each platform vendor is responsible for updating its H61-, H67-, P67-, and Z68-based motherboards with new Management Engine firmware, a BIOS, and graphics driver updates. Ivy Bridge CPUs are not supported on Q65-, Q67-, and B65-based boards.

Just days before the launch, the number of vendors with 22 nm-ready firmware is smaller than those without. Asus, Gigabyte, and Intel were able to get us updates for boards we have in the lab. MSI, EVGA, and Foxconn are purportedly working on updates. Biostar has firmware posted with 22 nm support, though the files are from late 2011 and we’re not sure if they accommodate retail boxed processors or not. ECShas firmware posted for a handful of its H61-based boards, but P67 and H67 support will come later. ASRock says it'll go live with its 22 nm-ready updates on launch day.

Here’s the thing to remember, though. If you plan on using an Ivy Bridge-based processor in an existing 6-series platform, be sure to update to a 22 nm-ready firmware with Sandy Bridge installed before ditching your old chip. To be clear, if you buy a 6-series board that doesn't have an Ivy Bridge-compatible firmware and then try to drop in a third-gen Core processor, it won't boot up.

PCI Express 3.0 On 6-Series Boards

Ivy Bridge-based CPUs include 16 lanes of PCI Express 3.0 connectivity. You can get 8 GT/s from one PCIe 3-ready add-in card on 6- and 7-series motherboards without any intervention at all. A couple of caveats apply, though.

First, if you’re using a 6-series board with a bridge chip like Nvidia’s NF200 to enable three- and four-way SLI, the switch limits you to second-gen PCIe signaling. Such is the case with Gigabyte’s Z68X-UD7-B3 motherboard. Nothing will ever get that board working at PCIe 3.0.

Other 6-series boards employ switches that automatically reconfigure PCI Express lanes in multi-card arrays, turning one 16-lane link into a pair of eight-lane connections, for example. In order to connect Ivy Bridge to dual Radeon HD 7000 or GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards at third-gen speeds, those switches have to support PCI Express 3.0 too. Otherwise you drop back to PCI Express 2.0 signaling.

Plug a card like AMD’s Radeon HD 7850 into something like Gigabyte’s Z68-powered G1.Sniper 2 with a Core i7-3770K, though, and you won’t have any problems at all.

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Top Comments
  • 32 Hide
    verbalizer , April 23, 2012 4:37 PM
    OK after reading most of the review and definitely studying the charts;
    I have a few things on my mind.

    1.) AMD - C'mon and get it together, you need to do better...
    2.) imagine if Intel made an i7-2660K or something like the i5-2550K they have now.
    3.) SB-E is not for gaming (too highly priced...) compared to i7 or i5 Sandy Bridge
    4.) Ivy Bridge runs hot.......
    5.) IB average 3.7% faster than i7 SB and only 16% over i5 SB = not worth it
    6.) AMD - C'mon and get it together, you need to do better...

    (moderator edit..)
  • 30 Hide
    Maziar , April 23, 2012 4:08 PM
    Great review as always Chris! looks like I'm staying with my 2500k for a while!
  • 23 Hide
    sublime2k , April 23, 2012 4:47 PM
    Now I'm happy for buying 2500K instead of waiting for IB. :) 
Other Comments
  • 18 Hide
    tecmo34 , April 23, 2012 4:07 PM
    Nice Review Chris...

    Looking forward to the further information coming out this week on Ivy Bridge, as I was initially planning on buying Ivy Bridge, but now I might turn to Sandy Bridge-E
  • 30 Hide
    Maziar , April 23, 2012 4:08 PM
    Great review as always Chris! looks like I'm staying with my 2500k for a while!
  • 7 Hide
    jaquith , April 23, 2012 4:11 PM
    Great and long waited review - Thanks Chris!

    Temps as expected are high on the IB, but better than early ES which is very good.

    Those with their SB or SB-E (K/X) should be feeling good about now ;) 
  • 5 Hide
    xtremexx , April 23, 2012 4:11 PM
    saw this just pop up on google, posted 1 min ago, anyway im probably going to update i have a core i3 2100 so this is pretty good.
  • 7 Hide
    ojas , April 23, 2012 4:15 PM
    it's heeearrree!!!!! lol i though intel wan't launching it, been scouring the web for an hour for some mention.

    Now, time to read the review. :D 
  • -3 Hide
    zanny , April 23, 2012 4:18 PM
    It gets higher temps at lower frequencies? What the hell did Intel break?

    I really wish they would introduce a gaming platform between their stupidly overpriced x79esque server platform and the integrated graphics chips they are pushing mainstream. 50% more transistors should be 30% or so more performance or a much smaller chip, but gamers get nothing out of Ivy Bridge.
  • 5 Hide
    JAYDEEJOHN , April 23, 2012 4:23 PM
    It makes sense Intel is making this its quickest ramp ever, as they see ARM on the horizon in today's changing market.
    They're using their process to get to places they'll need to get to in the future
  • 32 Hide
    verbalizer , April 23, 2012 4:37 PM
    OK after reading most of the review and definitely studying the charts;
    I have a few things on my mind.

    1.) AMD - C'mon and get it together, you need to do better...
    2.) imagine if Intel made an i7-2660K or something like the i5-2550K they have now.
    3.) SB-E is not for gaming (too highly priced...) compared to i7 or i5 Sandy Bridge
    4.) Ivy Bridge runs hot.......
    5.) IB average 3.7% faster than i7 SB and only 16% over i5 SB = not worth it
    6.) AMD - C'mon and get it together, you need to do better...

    (moderator edit..)
  • 5 Hide
    Pezcore27 , April 23, 2012 4:45 PM
    Good review.

    To me it shows 2 main things. 1) that Ivy didn't improve on Sandy Bridge as much as Intel was hoping it would, and 2) just how far behind AMD actually is...
  • 1 Hide
    pacioli , April 23, 2012 4:45 PM
    I don't know what to say... I'm not feeling jittery about upgrading and blowing $ on a new system... That is good I guess.
    I would have liked to see a bigger jump in performance. I'm still very satisfied with the i5 2500K system I built last year... This may actually be bad for Intel as they simply didn't innovate as much as I thought they would...
  • 23 Hide
    sublime2k , April 23, 2012 4:47 PM
    Now I'm happy for buying 2500K instead of waiting for IB. :) 
  • 4 Hide
    MKBL , April 23, 2012 4:55 PM
    It has been rumored that Ivy Bridge will be more expensive than comparable Sandy Bridge because of limited launch supply for a while. Is that right that Intel really will set Ivy's price low?
  • -1 Hide
    duckwithnukes , April 23, 2012 4:58 PM
    I was more interested in the peak power consumption difference between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge while running the processors at full load. That's where the real savings in power will be attained.

    It's clear that while idling, there won't be much of a difference.

    Too bad Tomshardware dropped the ball on that one.
  • -7 Hide
    larkspur , April 23, 2012 5:01 PM
    Here is a more in-depth look at overclocking Ivy: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5763/undervolting-and-overclocking-on-ivy-bridge.
  • -6 Hide
    Pezcore27 , April 23, 2012 5:01 PM
    Quote:
    It has been rumored that Ivy Bridge will be more expensive than comparable Sandy Bridge because of limited launch supply for a while. Is that right that Intel really will set Ivy's price low?

    Ivy bridge's prices are expected to be lower than the current SB prices, yes.

    They have an expected pricing guide in the anandtech review.

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/5771/the-intel-ivy-bridge-core-i7-3770k-review/2
  • 0 Hide
    larkspur , April 23, 2012 5:05 PM
    Sry bad link, let's try again: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5763/undervolting-and-overclocking-on-ivy-bridge
  • 0 Hide
    halcyon , April 23, 2012 5:07 PM
    sublime2kNow I'm happy for buying 2500K instead of waiting for IB.

    I went with the 2500K too...but I kinda wish I'd gone with a 2700K...even if it is just for gaming. IB is beyond what I need right now...this month at least.
  • 6 Hide
    gti88 , April 23, 2012 5:10 PM
    I think, I'll upgrade my 775 to Sandy Bridge.
    I was waiting reviews just to be sure.
  • 3 Hide
    hellfire24 , April 23, 2012 5:15 PM
    it's not an 'upgrade',it's just an 'update'.
    don't regret yourself if you have a SB cpu!
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