Intel is reportedly gearing up to showcase its 22 nm next-generation processors based on the Ivy Bridge architecture soon, possibly during Computex Taipei 2011 taking place from May 30 to June 4. Actual processors aren't expected to hit the market until the first half of 2012, keeping in tune with Intel's yearly release schedule.
Ivy Bridge's appearance seems rather premature, given that Intel just launched the 32 nm Sandy Bridge platform during CES 2011 back in January. However, the architecture will remain similar tos Sandy Bridge, but reduced down to a smaller die thanks to 22 nm manufacturing. Thus, the Ivy Bridge chips will be smaller but are expected to provide an increased performance per watt. The processors will also be compatible with the LGA1155 interface.
Additional reports indicate that Ivy Bridge will bring a DirectX 11-compatible graphics core combined with the second-generation QuickSync video technology. Ivy Bridge will also reportedly have 24 execution units compared to 12 today, and include HDMI 1.4 output. Integrated subsystems are also expected to receive improvements with the addition of native support for 1600 MHz DDR3 and PCIe 3.0. Overall performance is expected to increase 20 to 30-percent over the equivalent Core processors released in 2011.