It is a 3.5GHz quad-core with eight threads and 8MB of memory. It officially supports DDR3 1600. With the help of Turbo Boost it can hit 3.9GHz and it comes with an unlocked multiplier.
The graphics part is also interesting, as this 84W processor has a brand new HD 4600 graphics core with 1250MHz clock.
Intel makes some bold statement claiming that we can expect up to a threefold improvement in 3D performance when comparing Ivy Bridge GT1 part with Haswell DT2 desktop SKU. It is not clear which two SKU are compared, but 3x sounds good for marketing.
Intel also claims up to 2x faster video conversion comparing the same two SKUs as well as support for multi-user life, like video chat. The new chip also brings a near real-time photo video filter for content creation, and this part is really unclear as we don’t know what kind of pictures and filters and what software Intel has in mind.
Everyone expects that Haswell can make a step forward in graphics performance, and let’s hope so for many users of Intel integrated graphics, which are no longer synonymous with lackluster performance.
