Ice Lake (microprocessor)
Intel's 10 nm mobile and server Sunny Cove processors.
Ice Lake is Intel's codename for the 10th-generation Intel Core mobile and 3rd-generation Xeon Scalable server processors based on the Sunny Cove microarchitecture. It represents an Architecture step in Intel's process–architecture–optimization model and was produced on the second generation of Intel's 10 nm process, originally called 10 nm+. Ice Lake is Intel's second microarchitecture manufactured on the 10 nm process, following the limited launch of Cannon Lake in 2018. Ice Lake CPUs are sold together with the 14 nm Comet Lake CPUs as Intel's '10th Generation Core' product family; there are no Ice Lake desktop or high-power mobile processors.
Quick Facts
- Code
- 80689
- Clock
- 4.1 GHz
- Microarch
- Sunny Cove
- Arch
- x86-64
- Extensions
- AES-NI, CLMUL, RDRAND, SHA, TXT, SGX, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, AVX-512, FMA3, VT-x, VT-d
- Numcores
- 2–4
- Gpu
- Gen11
- Socket
- BGA1526
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Ice Lake was designed by Intel Israel's processor design team in Haifa, Israel. Intel released details of Ice Lake during Intel Architecture Day in December 2018, stating that the Sunny Cove core would focus on single-thread performance, new instructions, and scalability improvements, achieved by making the core 'deeper, wider, and smarter'. The Sunny Cove cores deliver an average 18% increase in IPC compared to the 2015 Skylake running at the same frequency and memory configuration. Ice Lake features Intel's Gen11 graphics, increasing execution units to 64 from 24 or 48 in Gen9.5, achieving over 1 TFLOPS of compute performance. Each execution unit supports 7 threads, giving 512 concurrent pipelines, fed by a 3 MB L3 cache—a four-fold increase from Gen9.5—alongside increased memory bandwidth from LPDDR4X on low-power mobile platforms. Gen11 graphics introduces tile-based rendering and Coarse Pixel Shading (CPS), Intel's implementation of variable-rate shading (VRS), and an all-new HEVC encoder design. On August 1, 2019, Intel released specifications of Ice Lake -U and -Y CPUs; the Y-series lost their -Y suffix and m3 naming, using a trailing number before the GPU type to indicate package power: '0' for 9W, '5' for 15W, and '8' for 28W. The first two numbers in the model number correspond to the generation, the third to the family (i3, i5, etc.); thus, a 1035G7 is a 10th-generation Core i5 with 15W package power and a G7 GPU. Several mobile Ice Lake CPUs were discontinued on July 7, 2021.
Reader's Guide
Ice Lake marked Intel's second 10 nm processor family after the limited Cannon Lake launch, and its first widespread 10 nm mobile lineup. As an Architecture step in Intel's process–architecture–optimization model, it introduced the Sunny Cove microarchitecture with an 18% IPC gain over Skylake, hardware acceleration for SHA operations, Intel Deep Learning Boost for AI inference, and PCI Express 4.0 on the Ice Lake-SP server variant. The Gen11 graphics with up to 64 execution units, tile-based rendering, and variable-rate shading represented a significant leap in integrated GPU capability, supporting 5K and 8K display output and dual HEVC 10-bit encode pipelines. Ice Lake's direct mobile successor was Tiger Lake, using the Willow Cove microarchitecture and Intel Xe graphics. The Ice Lake-SP Xeon Scalable line was succeeded by Sapphire Rapids with Golden Cove cores. Ice Lake-D, announced in April 2021, extended the architecture to the Xeon D edge/server family, with the D-2700 and D-1700 series launching at MWC 2022 and the D-2800 and D-1800 series announced on December 14, 2023. The Ice Lake-W3300 workstation processors, launched July 29, 2021, offered 64 PCI Express lanes and support for up to 16 DIMMs of DDR4 memory (maximum 4 TB).
Did You Know?
- Ice Lake was designed by Intel's processor design team in Haifa, Israel.
- The Gen11 GPU in Ice Lake achieves over 1 TFLOPS of compute performance with up to 64 execution units.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Intel's Ice Lake?
Ice Lake is the codename Intel assigned to its 10th-generation mobile Core lineup and its 3rd-generation Xeon Scalable server family, both built around the Sunny Cove microarchitecture. It occupies the 'architecture' slot in Intel's process–architecture–optimization cadence.
Why do fans call Ice Lake Intel's 'second' 10 nm chip?
Cannon Lake was the first design to ship on Intel's 10 nm node in 2018, but it saw extremely limited availability. Ice Lake became the second microarchitecture actually fabricated on that same node (originally branded 10 nm+), and it was the first to reach a broad consumer audience.
When did Ice Lake actually hit the market?
Mobile Ice Lake parts went on pre-order in August 2019 and began shipping to retailers in September of that year. The server-side Xeon Scalable Ice Lake chips didn't arrive until April 6, 2021, with the Xeon W-3300 workstation line following on July 29, 2021.
How does Ice Lake relate to the '10th Generation Core' branding?
Intel marketed Ice Lake's 10 nm Sunny Cove chips and the 14 nm Comet Lake chips together under one '10th Generation Core' umbrella for mobile products. That meant two different process nodes and microarchitectures shared the same generation number, which tripped up a lot of buyers trying to compare specs.
What microarchitecture does Ice Lake use, and what does that bring?
Ice Lake is built on the Sunny Cove microarchitecture, which Intel designed as the architectural refresh following Skylake and the limited Cannon Lake launch. It delivered a wider out-of-order execution window, improved branch prediction, and other pipeline enhancements over its predecessors.
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