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Fun Facts: Intel's Sandy Bridge Processors

By

On January 14, 2011, 3:52 AM

Around this time last year we ran a story with some fun facts about Intel's then debutant 32nm manufacturing technology. For example, we learned that a 32nm transistor can switch on and off over 300 billion times in one second, conversely it would take a human 4000 years to flick a light switch on and off that many times.

For the launch of their 2nd-gen Core CPUs (a.k.a. Sandy Bridge), Intel have compiled another interesting list of fun facts in a whitepaper. We have selected the ones we find more amusing and are republishing them here with Intel's permission:

  • There are close to 1 billion transistors inside a 2nd Generation Intel Core processor. If a car were to have 1 billion parts - compared to the 30.000 they currently have - it would take the most productive car manufacturer 114 years to assemble this car.
  • If you equate the power consumption of a laptop based on the 2nd Generation Intel Core processors to an electric clothes dryer, drying one load for 60 minutes is equivalent to running a laptop for 147 hours or 6 days and 2.4 hours. If you compare the processor to an electric oven. baking a pizza for 45 minutes at 350 degrees (Fahrenheit) is equivalent to running 67 laptops for 50 hours.

Read the complete Tech Tip / Intel Fun Facts article.


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User Comments: 15

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  1. This sounds really nice. Maybe in two years I will buy one.

    It would have been nice to have a comparison with the previous generation of CPU.

    I know that Intel makes only small steps in terms of technology because they milk as much as possible the cash cows.

    I would bet that the energy efficiency comparing to the previous generation is less than 10%.

  2. Staff

    Not quite, the efficiency improvements are notable:

    [link]

  3. Here's another fun fact. You can now own a processor that can go match the performance of Core I7 Extreme Edition without spending a thousand dollars. Just grab a Core I7-2600K for $300+ and start overclocking.

  4. Nice, I like these fun facts posts.

  5. fpsgamerJR62 said:

    Here's another fun fact. You can now own a processor that can go match the performance of Core I7 Extreme Edition without spending a thousand dollars. Just grab a Core I7-2600K for $300+ and start overclocking.

    XD yayayayay!

    How long will it take for me to break and buy one! Don't particularly need it though, doing just fine with i5 750 for now

  6. SilverCider said:

    fpsgamerJR62 said:

    Here's another fun fact. You can now own a processor that can go match the performance of Core I7 Extreme Edition without spending a thousand dollars. Just grab a Core I7-2600K for $300+ and start overclocking.

    XD yayayayay!

    How long will it take for me to break and buy one! Don't particularly need it though, doing just fine with i5 750 for now

    Yah. If you're on lga 1156 then just wait until ivy bridge.

  7. The Intel Core processor is printed on very pure silicon, which is refined from common beach sand. So the sand you once stepped on at the beach may be powering your notebook today.

    Now that's a fun fact.

    I suppose it's a bit like....Did your mother once wear tights? Well, BP may have very well tried to use those tights to plug the biggest oil spill in American history.

  8. @alexandrionel

    No offense really, but this comment is just plain stupid. It's like you didn't even bother looking through the techspot articles for the performance reviews of the new 25&2600k processors, which clearly show a marked improvement in operating efficiency compared to their predecessors :\

  9. Guest said:

    @alexandrionel

    No offense really, but this comment is just plain stupid. It's like you didn't even bother looking through the techspot articles for the performance reviews of the new 25&2600k processors, which clearly show a marked improvement in operating efficiency compared to their predecessors :\

    Hes 0.18 posts a day. I doubt he reads many of the articles here. He probably read the sandy bridge one by semiaccurate charlie.

  10. its`s better to walk a mile per day than non in a week , what ever the upgrade is it`s still an upgrade.

  11. Oh my God, okey, here is another one, if a sandwich had the same number of layers than the number of transistors the 2nd Generation Intel Core processor has it will take to a million times the human population to eat it a million of million of years lol

    And I could go on.

    :-S

  12. An anagram of Sandy Bridge is Band Digs Rye.

  13. What are those things in the picture?

  14. grvalderrama said:

    What are those things in the picture?

    That's a small section of a silicon wafer that the CPU's are fabricated on.(lithography)

    [link]

  15. Hum, so, that's the intricate network of circuit lines that "look like a futuristic, multi-layered highway system".... thanks for the article, was great!

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