Intel's Ivy Bridge: An HTPC Perspective

Towards the end of June 2011, we saw AMD trying to create a HTPC friendly solution in the Llano series. By pairing a GPU with the CPU in the same die, users could obtain HTPC functionality (hardware decode and video post processing) without the need for a discrete GPU. Intel put a GPU and CPU in the same package (albeit, on different dies) in Clarkdale, and moved them both to the same package in Sandy Bridge. AMD's Llano was an aggressive response to Sandy Bridge on the gaming side. However, as a HTPC solution, it didn't excite us much (just like Sandy Bridge at launch). While Ivy Bridge is technically a die-shrink of the Sandy Bridge, only the CPU's architecture remains the same. The GPU has received extensive updates.