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Intel Ice Lake: 10nm, fast GPU, and a new architecture

After many years of yearly reiterations of what was basically the same design over and over again, Ice Lake finally contains major architectural improvements over its predecessors, particularly in regard to CPU cores and integrated GPU. Developed and designed over the last four years and manufactured in 10nm in Intel’s Israeli Fab28, the first available Ice Lake chip features four CPU cores and up to 64 GPU units and will only be available as mobile U and Y-series for the time being.

The chip and an addition PCH can be found on two different packages. The more powerful U-series requires more space and is typically rated at 15 to 28 W. The more energy-efficient Y-series is made for smaller notebooks and tablets and therefore fitted onto a smaller overall package. However, given that it is based on the same core design, it features four physical cores as well.

Basically, Intel’s Ice Lake architecture is characterized by three features:

  • First mass-produced 10nm chip by Intel. Cannon Lake can be considered a first test run.
  • New CPU and GPU architecture.
  • Thunderbolt and Wi-Fi 6 partly integrated into chip and/or package.
Three main features of Ice Lake
Three main features of Ice Lake
Ice Lake is going to be referred to as 10th generation Core and offers a variety of new features
Ice Lake is going to be referred to as 10th generation Core and offers a variety of new features

New CPU Architecture: Sunny Cove

In order to improve performance, Intel implemented two separate strategies:

  1. Increase IPC by up to 18%
  2. Implement new instructions functional units for popular and often-used scenarios

In order to increase overall chip performance the pipelines were both widened and deepened, the memory subsystem received an overhaul, and most caches were increased in size. According to Intel the entire architecture was revised. In other words: Ice Lake is more than a minor tweak.

The result is an up to 18% increased IPC (instructions per clock cycle), which Intel determined by running various benchmarks.

This IPC improvement compensates for the fact that Ice Lake runs at lower clock speeds than the optimized-for-high-clock-speeds 14nm++ Whiskey Lake CPUs.

Two strategies for more performance
Two strategies for more performance
New CPU features
New CPU features
Microarchitecture compared to its predecessors
Microarchitecture compared to its predecessors
Sunny Cove microarchitecture diagram
Sunny Cove microarchitecture diagram
IPC according to various benchmarks
IPC according to various benchmarks
SPECint_rate_base2006 single-core performance
SPECint_rate_base2006 single-core performance

In addition, a number of new instructions as well as functional units for AI / machine learning (DL Boost), cryptography, and compression/decompression have been implemented. Furthermore, AVX-512 is now supported on Ice Lake, which was previously only available in server-class processors. However, in order to benefit from these new instructions, applications will need to implement them first. We thus only expect newly released applications to benefit from this particular architectural improvement.

In addition, Ice Lake is the first processor to support Intel Dynamic Tuning 2.0 with Machine Learning, a technique developed by Intel using machine learning algorithms to determine future CPU core utilization in order to optimize Turbo Boost and apply it more intelligently. A best-case scenario estimates performance improvements of up to 5%.

AI and machine learning benefit from DL Boost (short burst workloads) and VNNI AVX-512 instructions
AI and machine learning benefit from DL Boost (short burst workloads) and VNNI AVX-512 instructions
2x and 2.5x higher AI performance in AIXPRT thanks to DL Boost
2x and 2.5x higher AI performance in AIXPRT thanks to DL Boost
AI, cryptography, and compression features
AI, cryptography, and compression features
Cryptography improvements in detail
Cryptography improvements in detail
Compression and Decompression improvements thanks to VBMI and Bit Algebra instructions
Compression and Decompression improvements thanks to VBMI and Bit Algebra instructions
 

More GPU Power: Integrated Gen 11 GPU

The integrated GPU was heavily modified and upgraded. The unified shaders (aka execution units) have been widened, and the pixels per clock cycle have been doubled in order to increase per-core performance even further. Units with dedicated eDRAM, such as the older Iris SKUs (e.g. Iris Plus 650 or Iris Pro 580) were not yet available at the time of writing. However, the most powerful Iris Plus model has access to 3 MB of L3 cache located in direct proximity to the GPU and 0.5 GB of shared memory.

A maximum performance of up to 1.12 TFLOPS in FP32 and 2.25 TFLOPS in FP16 based on the maximum clock speed of 1.1 GHz and 64 execution units compares nicely to the GeForce MX250’s 1.25 TFLOPS in FP32. Intel also offers GPUs with fewer execution units and therefore a lower peak performance. The slowest GPU is referred to as UHD Graphics and can be found in all CPUs suffixed with G1. So far, we were able to identify three separate GPUs within Intel’s U-series:

In addition to more oomph the new GPUs have also been enhanced to incorporate a new feature called variable rate shading, which enables developers to render less eye-catching areas on-screen to be rendered and shaded in a lower resolution in order to improve performance.

A total of three display pipes are available, each with support for 5K@60 Hz. Two of these can be combined in order to drive a single 8K display. The GPU supports the VESA Adaptive Sync standard (aka FreeSync) that synchronizes the display's refresh rate to the game’s frame rate for a smoother gaming experience. This technology can help make lower frame rates seem smoother than they normally would. Another new feature is the FP16 HDR display pipeline, which enables support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The media encoders have been upgraded and are now not only supposed to work faster but also offer better quality. Intel integrated two encoders with support for HEVC and VP9 up to 4K60 10b 4:4:4 or 8K30 10b 4:2:0.

Gen. 11 graphics for gaming
Gen. 11 graphics for gaming
Less-demanding games will even run smoothly in 1080p
Less-demanding games will even run smoothly in 1080p
Display engine, media engine, and push are new features as well
Display engine, media engine, and push are new features as well

On-Chip Thunderbolt

In order to lower costs for integrating Thunderbolt 3 and the upcoming USB 4.0 standard, Intel integrated the necessary controller directly into the SoC. The CPU can provide two or four ports, and all manufacturers have to do is to implement a simple retimer per port as well as a Power Delivery (PD) controller. The Thunderbolt controller is supposed to consume no more than 300 mW of energy under full load and will therefore not expose the power supply or cooling solution to any amount of noticeable additional stress. Y-series chips in particular should benefit greatly from this feature due to their heavily restricted thermal and power budgets.

Thunderbolt 3 consisting of DisplayPort, USB 3, and PCI Express
Thunderbolt 3 consisting of DisplayPort, USB 3, and PCI Express
Currently used external Thunderbolt chips are considered complex, expensive, and energy intensive
Currently used external Thunderbolt chips are considered complex, expensive, and energy intensive
Ice Lake CPUs allow for a simpler integration
Ice Lake CPUs allow for a simpler integration
The SoC contains various components required for Thunderbolt 3
The SoC contains various components required for Thunderbolt 3

Fast Wi-Fi on Package

While not directly on-chip, the Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax CNVi 2) modem is integrated into the on-package PCH (platform controller hub, the artist formerly known as Southbridge) and requires an additional AX201 RF chip.

Intel is thus one of the first manufacturers to support 802.11ax and intends to provide one of the fastest wireless experiences with its Wi-Fi 6 Gig+ feature with support for 160 Hz and OFDMA. Wi-Fi 6 is particularly interesting in networks with a large number of clients.

On-package Wi-Fi improves performance
On-package Wi-Fi improves performance
Parallel connections benefit greatly from Wi-Fi 6
Parallel connections benefit greatly from Wi-Fi 6
Intel's Gig+ brand showcases the optional features 160 Hz and OBSS
Intel's Gig+ brand showcases the optional features 160 Hz and OBSS
Wi-Fi 6 promises a higher performance and more capacity
Wi-Fi 6 promises a higher performance and more capacity

Assessment

While the first Ice Lake chips are not necessarily significantly more powerful regarding CPU performance, the faster GPU, support for Wi-Fi 6, and the integrated Thunderbolt controller are major advantages over their predecessors. In addition, the Y-series benefits from two extra cores. That being said, the new chips will still require proper cooling and integration in order to perform adequately despite their lower power consumption thanks to the modern and slowly maturing 10nm manufacturing process. However, we don’t expect any big surprises in energy efficiency and battery life as Intel conveniently skipped over this aspect in its presentation.

PosModelL2 Cache + L3 CacheTDP WattMHz - TurboCores / ThreadsCinebench R15 CPU Single 64BitCinebench R15 CPU Multi 64BitCinebench R20x264 Pass 1
Intel Core i5-1038NG72MB + 6MB282000 ‑ 38004/8
169
768
1998
Intel Core i7-1068G72MB + 8MB282300 ‑ 41004/8
Intel Core i7-1065G72MB + 8MB151300 ‑ 39004/8
178.1n35
662.5n36
1543n31
184.9n2
Intel Core i5-1035G72MB + 6MB151200 ‑ 37004/8
170n3
712n3
1233n3
167.5
Intel Core i5-1035G42MB + 6MB151100 ‑ 37004/8
169n5
602.5n6
1304.5n6
154.1
Intel Core i5-1035G12MB + 6MB151000 ‑ 36004/8
167.5n8
606n11
1311n7
Intel Core i7-1060NG72MB + 8MB101200 ‑ 38004/8
Intel Core i7-1060G72MB + 8MB91000 ‑ 38004/8
Intel Core i5-1034G12MB + 6MB15800 ‑ 36004/8
Intel Core i5-1030NG72MB + 6MB101100 ‑ 35004/8
140
448
875.5n2
77.4
Intel Core i5-1030G72MB + 6MB9800 ‑ 35004/8
Intel Core i5-1030G42MB + 6MB9700 ‑ 35004/8
Intel Core i3-1005G11MB + 4MB151200 ‑ 34002/4
157n6
405n6
859n7
135.2
Intel Core i3-1000NG41MB + 4MB91100 ‑ 32002/4
141
333
587
Intel Core i3-1000G41MB + 4MB91100 ‑ 32002/4
Intel Core i3-1000G11MB + 4MB91100 ‑ 32002/4
(-) * Smaller values are better. / n123 Number of benchmarks for this median value / * Approximate position

Intel Ice Lake Articles


Please find our latest articles referring to Intel’s Ice Lake architecture below.

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additional restrictions: Ice Lake
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The budget-oriented 14-inch convertible may not be the thinnest or lightest, but it can get the job done without breaking the bank or resorting to unattractively low specifications.
Allen Ngo, 06 Dec 2020 20:44
The best Cyber Monday laptop deals are here. (Image via Pixabay)

Deal | The 10 best laptop deals for Cyber Monday — Great hardware with enticing discounts

Cyber Monday sales are live and promise some of the best discounts of the year. We list the 10 best laptop deals you can snag right now that promise a great feature set and performance to boot, for a steal.
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 30 Nov 2020 12:30
Cheap Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 with 10th gen Core i3, 8 GB RAM, 1080p display, and 256 GB SSD is down to just $300 USD (Image source: Best Buy)

Deal | Cheap Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 with 10th gen Core i3, 8 GB RAM, 1080p display, and 256 GB NVMe SSD is down to just $300 USD

The $300 range is home to some awful laptops sporting with Celeron, Atom, or 768p displays. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 is easily one of the better options in this price range based solely on its decent specifications.
Allen Ngo, 24 Nov 2020 04:19
Beelink sells the SEi10 in two configurations. (Image source: Beelink)

Beelink SEi10: A mini-PC with an Intel Core i3-1005G1 processor, Thunderbolt 3 and support for up to 64 GB of RAM

The SEi10 from Beelink is a mini-PC powered by an Intel Ice Lake-U processor, up to 512 GB of pre-installed storage and support for 64 GB of RAM. The Core i3-1005G1-powered machine comes with Windows 10 pre-installed, Gigabit Ethe...
Alex Alderson, 19 Nov 2020 00:06
Not created equal yet again: Retail Core i7-1165G7 laptops can be up to 50 percent slower than Intel's in-house claims (Image source: Intel)

Not created equal yet again: Retail Core i7-1165G7 laptops can be up to 50 percent slower than Intel's in-house claims

We don't think it's a coincidence that initial processor benchmarks from Intel are always faster than what we actually see on retail units from OEMs. ULV CPUs are designed to run across a wide range of TDP levels meaning manufactu...
Allen Ngo, 17 Nov 2020 22:41
The Chuwi CoreBox Pro costs US$439. (Image source: Chuwi)

Chuwi CoreBox Pro: Ice Lake mini-PC with a Thunderbolt 3 port launched for US$439

The Chuwi CoreBox Pro offers an Intel Ice Lake processor, 12 GB of RAM, an NVMe drive and loads of ports. One of these is a Thunderbolt 3 port, opening the two-litre machine up to being used with an eGPU. The Chuwi CoreBox Pro is ...
Alex Alderson, 05 Nov 2020 19:06
Latest Razer Blade Stealth with 11th gen Core i7 is only $100 more than the 10th gen version. Why the small difference? (Image source: Razer)

Latest Razer Blade Stealth with 11th gen Core i7 is only $100 more than the 10th gen version. Why the small price difference?

Razer is now shipping its latest Tiger Lake Blade Stealth for $1800 USD while the last generation Ice Lake version is $1700 USD. We look into what exactly buyers would be getting should they decide to spend that extra $100 for the...
Allen Ngo, 02 Nov 2020 20:41
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex NP950QCG im Test: Strahlend helles Display dank Outdoor+-Modus

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex 15.6 with wireless charging clickpad for smartphones

Samsung's 15.6-inch convertible offers a compact case, very good battery life, and a very bright display with a brightness of up to 600 nits. Its touchscreen display (QLED, IPS, FHD) does not only support finger but also stylus in...
Sascha Mölck, 29 Oct 2020 20:36
Intel's Rocket Lake-S is based on the Cypress Cove architecture. (Image Source: Intel)

8C/16T Intel Rocket Lake-S Cypress Cove is based on Ice Lake CPU and Xe GPU, promises double-digit percentage IPC improvements over Comet Lake-S

Intel has offered a high-level overview of the architectural changes coming to Rocket Lake-S next year. Rocket Lake-S will be based on a Cypress Cove architecture, which is a combination of an Ice Lake CPU and an Xe iGPU. Rocket L...
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 29 Oct 2020 15:00
Mixing GPU results coming from mobile devices and lightweight laptops might not be a good idea. (Image Source: benchmarks.ul.com)

The new 3DMark Wild Life cross-platform benchmark is reporting some strange results where Apple's A13 Bionic GPUs beat the latest AMD Vega 8 iGPUs

PCWorld tested the Apple A13 Bionic SoC against a few popular laptop processors, and it turns out that the iPhone 11 chip appears to be faster than iGPUs like the Iris Plus and the Vega 8, but it is also significantly lagging behi...
Bogdan Solca, 28 Oct 2020 16:37
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex NP950QCG Review: Very Bright Display Thanks To Outdoor+ Mode

87% Samsung Galaxy Book Flex NP950QCG Review: Very Bright Display Thanks To Outdoor+ Mode

100 % sRGB. Samsung's 15.6-inch convertible offers a compact case, very good battery life, and a very bright display with a brightness of up to 600 nits. Its touchscreen display (QLED, IPS, FHD) does not only support finger but also stylus input using the included S Pen.
Intel Core i7-1065G7 | NVIDIA GeForce MX250 | 15.60" | 1.6 kg
Sascha Mölck, 27 Oct 2020 20:36
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14 with the Nvidia GPU is better for gaming

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14 with the Nvidia GPU is better for gaming

With the Yoga Slim 7 14, Lenovo offers users the choice between AMD and Intel processors. We have tested both versions.
Andreas Osthoff, 26 Oct 2020 06:12
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > Topics > Ice Lake Architecture: 10 nm, Fast GPU, and Many New Features
Klaus Hinum, 2019-07- 9 (Update: 2019-08- 5)