DailyTech - IDF 2012: Haswell GT2/GT3 Processors Run "Skyrim"

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Hardware IDF 2012: Haswell GT2/GT3 Processors Run "Skyrim"
Tiffany Kaiser - September 12, 2012 9:48 PM

29 comment(s) - last by NellyFromMA.. on Sep 14 at 2:40 PM

The GT3 is considered the top-of-the-line of Intel Haswell processors

I'm a huge "Skyrim" nerd -- and that's why I was delighted to see it being demoed using the latest Haswell processors at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2012.

For those who are a little behind, Haswell is the codename for Intel's 4th Generation processors -- the successor to the Ivy Bridge architecture. It is based on the 22 nanometer (nm) process node and is the first to be built from top to bottom for power savings and performance in regards to 3D/tri-gate transistors. They will mainly power Ultrabooks and some tablets.

David Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager of Intel Architecture Group, gave a sneak peek at the Haswell chips at IDF 2012's first keynote yesterday. According to Perlmutter, Haswell will provide 2x the graphics performance of Ivy Bridge -- and this was demonstrated in two videos running side by side, where one was Haswell-powered and the other was Ivy Bridge-powered.

However, I got a closer look at Haswell graphics today. Two monitors were showing a "Skyrim" game in progress, where one was powered by 3rd Generation Core GT2 and the second was powered by Haswell GT3. The difference? Performance level, where the GT3 is considered top-of-the-line. The GT3 has double the number of execution units (EUs) as the GT2 while still maintaining low power comparable to the Intel HD 4000.

The GT3 is running "Skyrim" at 1920x1080 resolution with High settings, while the HD 4000 GPU next door is running the same game at the same frame rate, but at Medium settings and a 1366x768 resolution.

Overall, Haswell will keep certain aspects of Ivy Bridge, like Intel Hyper-Threading, Ring Interconnect and Intel Turbo Boost. However, they provide twice the performance while cutting power significantly.

Here's a shot of the two monitors showing "Skyrim," with GT2 on the left and GT3 on the right:

^{[Image Source: Tiffany Kaiser/DailyTech]}

4th Generation Core GT3:

^{[Image Source: Tiffany Kaiser/DailyTech]}

Haswell chips are expected to be released sometime in the first half of 2013.

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I'd love to see video or benchmarks

By TakinYourPoints on 9/13/2012 12:29:42 AM , Rating: 2

I'd love to see benchmarks. Either way, Haswell is going to be AMAZING for ultrabooks next year. The need for discreet GPUs in laptops is going to be further diminished unless displays like in the retina Macbook Pro becomes common in the next year.

RE: I'd love to see video or benchmarks

By Shadowself on 9/13/2012 12:16:20 PM , Rating: 2

I do believe that for notebooks above the 13" class we'll see more and more high resolution and high dynamic range displays starting next year. Within three years from now, I'd expect those types of displays (for larger than 13" class) will be the norm. For those a discrete GPU will be required until at least 2015 (Skylake) or maybe even 2017 (Skymont).

Haswell (and even more so, Broadwell if they keep improving graphics on both the Tic and Tock steps) will make the ultrabooks the only notebooks anyone will need if 13" class or smaller is enough screen real estate for you.

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