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Haswell And 1.35 V Memory: Three DDR3 SO-DIMM Kits, Tested
When it comes to memory, most of our focus is on the desktop and its replaceable CPUs. The mobile side typically moves slower. But Intel's Haswell architecture imposes interesting changes, and we saw fit to test SO-DIMMs down at their new 1.35 V ceiling.
Though the same memory serves on-die graphics, 3DMark 11 actually suggests that CPU-heavy tasks gain most from increased DRAM data rates.
I began 3DMark Professional Edition testing with the app's low-end Ice Storm test, only to have a "what the...?" moment after switching over to integrated graphics. Looking for performance differences attributable to memory, I was stunned to see just how badly Intel gimped the GPU on its LGA 1150-based processor compared to the embedded version. We told Intel this before Haswell launched, but I believe the company underestimated the market for a socketed processor with Iris Pro graphics 5200.
Cloud Gate pulls the Core i7-4770K's HD Graphics 4600 into the low 20s, while the embedded CPU's Iris Pro graphics 5200 engine cruises through unscathed. Again we see only minor performance differences attributable to memory data rate.
