The first few models of Intel's third generation Core processor, codenamed Ivy Bridge, were launched today, combining faster performance with lower power consumption thanks to Intel's cutting-edge 22 nm manufacturing process.
Since 2007, the microprocessor giant has been using a model it describes as "tick-tock."
Each "tick" is a die shrink and introduction of a new manufacturing process, each "tock" is the introduction of a new processor architecture. Ivy Bridge is a "tick," taking the 32 nm "Sandy Bridge" architecture and scaling it down to 22 nm. But Ivy Bridge goes further than past ticks—it includes an extensively improved GPU architecture, leading Intel graphics architect Tom Piazza to
describe it as a "tick plus."
