Intel has reportedly told its corporate customers that the Sandy Bridge CPUs with integrated graphics processors due for release at the end of the year will have vastly improved performance. While the chipmaker quotes a doubling of performance, it does not define what it compares it to, though it is most likely the existing Nehalem CPUs. Intel is otherwise being cryptic about the chips’ performance, saying only that the chips have advanced media and graphics capabilities.
Sandy Bridge will feature integrated graphics on the same die as the CPU, with the two set on the company’s first 32nm graphics core. With NVIDIA and ATI planning on introducing 28nm cores, it may also mean Intel is the only one in the industry with the 32nm chips.
A twofold improvement over Intel HD graphics found on Arrandale (mobile dual-core Nehalem) and Clarkdale (desktop) chipsets would be welcome, as the current design is capable of advanced media playback but often criticized for sluggish gaming. More likely, however, is a slight improvement compared to these chips.
Sandy Bridge will support 4GHz clock speeds, with scalable CPUs using up to eight cores.
