Intel Corporation is a corporation that has been producing a large number of electronic devices and computer equipment for many years (since 1968): processors, motherboards, chipsets, server products, products for Ethernet networks, wireless solutions and much more. INTEL has created a huge number of technologies that are a striking feature of the quality mark of the electronic masterpieces produced!

Since there are a lot of technologies from Intel, I propose to consider only a small part that may be of interest to the average user. Each technology is unique, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of performance, mobility, energy efficiency, processing power and data protection. More detailed information can be obtained from the manufacturer's official website: Intel Official Website. So it's time to consider advanced technologies, embedded visualization technologies, INTEL security and data technologies.

Advanced INTEL Technologies

Firmware Intel Management Engine (Intel ME) Leverages built-in management and security platform and application capabilities for remote, out-of-band management of networked computing resources.

Intel High Definition Audio Supports playback of more channels at higher quality than previous integrated audio systems. Additionally, Intel High Definition Audio integrates the technologies needed to support the latest audio formats.

Intel Matrix Storage Technology Provides security, performance, and extensibility for desktop and mobile platforms. Users using one or more hard drives benefit from additional performance and lower power consumption. When using multiple drives, the user receives additional protection against data loss in the event of a hard drive failure. Precursor to storage technology.

Intel Rapid Start Technology Supported by select Ultrabooks equipped with Intel Core processors. It allows you to wake your Ultrabook from sleep mode in a matter of seconds, returning it to the state in which you left it.

Intel Smart Connect Technology Provides automatic updates to email and social media content when your computer is in sleep mode. With Intel Smart Connect technology, you won't have to wait for updated information to download when you wake up.

Intel Smart Response Technology combines the high performance of small SSDs with large hard drive capacity.

Intel Stable Image Platform Program (Intel SIPP) can help your company find and implement standardized, stable PC platforms for at least 15 months.

Intel Small Business Benefits Technology offers small businesses a comprehensive solution to improve security and productivity with features such as software monitoring, data backup and recovery, USB port blocker, PC health center and Wireless Display technology.

Command Set Extensions are additional instructions that can be used to improve performance when performing operations on multiple data objects. These include SSE (Support for SIMD Extensions) and AVX (Vector Extensions).

Intel Demand Based Switching is a power management technology in which the application voltage and microprocessor clock speed are kept at the minimum required level until an increase in processing power is required. This technology was introduced to the server market under the name Intel SpeedStep.

Intel Virtualization Technology Directed I/O for Itanium (VT-i) allows a single Intel Itanium processor platform to function as multiple "virtual" platforms. The technology improves management capabilities, reducing downtime and maintaining productivity by dedicating separate partitions for computing operations.

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology provides two processing threads for each physical core. Multithreaded applications can perform more tasks in parallel, making work much faster.

Intel Turbo Boost Technology Dynamically increases the processor frequency to the required level, using the difference between the nominal and maximum values ​​of the temperature and power consumption parameters, which allows you to increase energy efficiency or, if necessary, overclock the processor.

Intel vPro Technology is a processor-integrated set of management and security tools designed to solve problems in four main areas of information security: 1) Threat management, including protection against rootkits, viruses and other malware 2) Protection of personal information and targeted protection of access to the Internet site 3) Protection of confidential personal and business information 4) Remote and local monitoring, corrections, repair of PCs and workstations.

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple "virtual" platforms. The technology improves management capabilities, reducing downtime and maintaining productivity by dedicating separate partitions for computing operations.

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O complements virtualization support on IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium (VT-i) processors with I/O device virtualization capabilities. Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O helps users increase system security, reliability, and I/O device performance in virtual environments.

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables Technology, also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), accelerates memory-intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables technology on Intel Virtualization Technology-enabled platforms reduces memory and power overhead and improves battery life by optimizing page forward table management in hardware.

Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions New Instructions (Intel TSX-NI) are a set of commands aimed at scaling performance in multi-threaded environments. This technology helps to perform parallel operations more efficiently through improved software locking control.

Intel 64 architecture When combined with appropriate software, supports 64-bit applications on servers, workstations, desktops and laptops. Intel 64 architecture provides performance improvements that enable computing systems to utilize more than 4 GB of virtual and physical memory.

Intel My WiFi Technology Provides wireless connection between Ultrabook or laptop and WiFi enabled devices such as printers, stereo systems, etc.

Advanced Intel SpeedStep Technology allows you to ensure high performance, as well as compliance with the energy saving requirements of mobile systems. Standard Intel SpeedStep technology allows you to switch voltage and frequency levels depending on the load on the processor. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology is built on the same architecture and uses design strategies such as voltage and frequency change separation, and clock distribution and recovery.

Thermal control technologies Protect the processor chassis and system from failure due to overheating with multiple thermal management features. An on-chip Digital Thermal Sensor (DTS) senses core temperature, and thermal management services reduce processor chassis power consumption as needed, thereby reducing temperatures to ensure operation within normal operating specifications.

Built-in imaging technologies

Intel Clear Video HD Technology Supports HD video playback for enhanced picture quality in games and movies, Blue-ray disc playback and Internet streaming.

Intel Insider Technology allows you to stream premium HD content to Ultrabooks and PCs.

Intel InTRU 3D Technology Enables 3D stereoscopic 1080p Blu-ray video playback using HDMI 1.4 and high-quality audio, and delivers 3D viewing in games and other multimedia content.

Intel Iris graphics solution is Intel's latest and most powerful graphics technology built directly into 4th Gen Intel Core processors. Delivering double the performance of previous Intel graphics technologies. Intel Iris works no less effectively when playing high-definition (HD) and ultra-high-definition (4K) movies.

Graphics solution Intel HD Graphics- graphics technology built into 2nd and 3rd generation Intel Core processors. This solution delivers high-performance graphics and multimedia processing functions at the processor level, delivering significant performance improvements without requiring additional graphics adapters or requiring additional graphics space.

Intel Quick Sync Video Technology Provides fast video encoding and decoding. Allows you to quickly create DVD or Blu-ray discs, edit video, convert video files for a portable multimedia player and video for posting on the network.

Intel Wireless Display Technology (Intel WiDi) Makes it easy to stream movies, videos, photos, music, apps and other content to your big TV screen. Using a wireless connection, you can display content from your hard drive, home network, or Internet to your TV. Before watching, you just need to connect the adapter to the TV and follow a few simple steps. To take advantage of Intel Wireless Display technology, you need a laptop and TV adapter that support this technology.

Data protection technologies

Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (AES-NI) are a set of commands that allow you to quickly and securely encrypt and decrypt data. AES-NI commands can be used to solve a wide range of cryptographic problems, such as applications that provide bulk encryption, decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Intel Secure Key Technology is a random number generator that creates unique combinations to strengthen encryption algorithms.

Protection technologies

Intel Trusted Execution Technology extends secure command execution capabilities through hardware enhancements to Intel processors and chipsets. This technology provides digital office platforms with security features such as measured application launch and secure command execution. This is achieved by creating an environment where applications run in isolation from other applications on the system.

Cancel bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce vulnerability to viruses and malicious code, and prevent malware from executing and spreading on a server or network.

Intel Anti-Theft Technology (Anti-Theft) helps ensure the security of data on a laptop computer if it is lost or stolen. To use Intel Anti-Theft Technology, you must obtain a subscription from an Intel Anti-Theft Technology service provider.

Intel Identity Protection Technology- built-in security technology based on the use of tokens. The technology provides simple, secure controls to control access to online commercial and business data, protecting against security threats and fraud. Intel Privacy Technology uses hardware-based mechanisms to authenticate PCs to websites, banking systems and online services, confirming the PC's uniqueness, protecting against unauthorized access and preventing malware attacks.

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According to the rule, humorously called “tick-tock” by Intel, the introduction of new processor microarchitectures and the transfer of processor production to more “thin” technological standards occurs in antiphase, but in a cycle with a total period of just over two years. This rule has become something of a fundamental principle that Intel has strictly observed, along with Moore's Law, over the past several years. It is no longer a secret to anyone that, in full accordance with this rule, in the very near future we will meet with a new family of processors Ivy Bridge, which act as a “tick”, that is, they inherit the microarchitecture from their predecessors, but at the same time switch to the most modern 22-nm process technology.

Together with processors, platforms as a whole are developing according to the “tick-tock” rule. With the advent of new microarchitectures, Intel is introducing new processor sockets and significantly redrawing the structure of systems - both desktop and mobile. “Ticks,” as a rule, involve cosmetic changes that do not bring any fundamental innovations. Nevertheless, the release of the next family of processors is a good reason to refresh the platform. Therefore, the manufacturer was going to coincide with the appearance of Ivy Bridge with the appearance of a new line of system logic sets that would bring the platform’s characteristics up to the modern level, but would not violate compatibility between chipsets and processors. This is exactly how we imagined the seventh series chipsets, codenamed Panther Point, which includes the desktop Z77 and its various simplified or mobile variations.

However, for a number of technological reasons, Intel was forced to make some adjustments to the original schedule. The Ivy Bridge announcement date has been pushed back, leaving its companion Z77 chipset strangely alone. Its announcement took place today, but the processors for which it was mainly designed will appear only in two weeks. Although such a phased schedule for introducing new products looks strange, it is actually quite acceptable, because the new chipsets are also compatible with Sandy Bridge processors. And this, in a certain way, plays into our hands: we get the opportunity to consider new products step by step, paying more attention to their features.

Actually, in this material we will focus on examining the Intel Z77 system logic set. Of course, for now we will have to consider it in tandem with the Sandy Bridge processor, but we will keep in mind that in place of this processor there should be another Bridge - Ivy.

⇡ Intel Z77: technical details

Since the memory controller and PCI Express graphics bus controller moved into processors, the design of system logic sets has been significantly simplified. Chipsets, which previously consisted of a pair of chips - a north and a south bridge, have been reborn into a single hub chip responsible for implementing I/O interfaces. And now their update does not have a significant impact on the performance and capabilities of the platform, but essentially affects only the design of motherboards equipped with one or another set of additional controllers. Therefore, one should clearly not expect that the release of the next generation of logic sets can somehow significantly affect the consumer characteristics of systems. In general, motherboards based on the Z77 will be very similar to their predecessors with the old Z68 chipset. And when releasing the new chipset, Intel responded primarily to requests from board manufacturers who wanted to support a richer set of interfaces in a single base chip.

The flagship chipset of the previous generation, Intel Z68, had two main drawbacks. It did not implement the USB 3.0 bus, and the number of SATA 6 Gb/s ports was limited to only two. Adding ports with these interfaces is the most popular direction for improving chipsets for the LGA1155 platform. But Intel, having been burned by the release of the sixth series chipsets, where support for new interfaces caused unexpected reliability problems, is now acting very conservatively. On the one hand, the new generation of logic sets has finally received support for the modern USB 3.0 interface. However, on the other hand, the maximum number of ports capable of operating in USB 3.0 mode is limited to four, and SATA ports are left without the desired upgrade: the SATA 6 Gb/s interface is supported by only two of them. Obviously, until the next processor “taka,” the evolution of desktop platforms for Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge will not be too noticeable.

In such conditions, it would be completely stupid to expect any bolder steps from Intel, such as introducing a high-speed Thunderbolt interface into the chipset. Although Intel is one of the main developers and advocates of this technology, only Apple is taking real steps to popularize this interface. The Z77 does not have any built-in Thunderbolt controllers, but Intel still did not completely abandon its brainchild. Thunderbolt support in new motherboards is possible, but through an external controller, for the connection of which four PCIe lanes are provided in the system structure.

Nevertheless, Intel still took a couple of more decisive steps. Firstly, seventh generation consumer chipsets were completely devoid of PCI bus support. Of course, implementation of this bus is possible on motherboards by installing additional converter chips, but we recommend starting to get used to the idea that PCI is no more. The number of motherboard models with such slots will rapidly decrease, since the implementation of this bus is not provided for in the reference design.

The second step is to simplify the nomenclature. The experience of selling consumer chipsets of the sixth series, which included three types of products (we do not take business solutions into consideration): H - for simple integrated systems, P - for systems with discrete graphics and Z - combining both approaches, showed that users don't need that much variety. The seventh series includes two main types of logic sets: H - for simple systems and Z - for systems that can be overclocked. At the same time, there will no longer be chipsets that cut off the graphics built into the processor, and any motherboard based on the seventh series chipset allows you to use the graphics core available in LGA1155 processors.

Intel integrated graphics in general are gradually beginning to emerge from the disdainful shadow that users have created around it for years. By now, the performance and capabilities of graphics cores found in Intel processors have improved significantly, and the number of cases in which they can be used to solve any problems has become extremely large. A significant contribution to this was made by the Intel-funded Lucid Logix, which proposed a set of technologies for using the graphics built into the processor when using an external video card in the system.

By the way, Ivy Bridge processors will have significantly more advanced graphics compared to Sandy Bridge. On the one hand, performance will increase, and on the other, support for three independent video signal outputs will appear. The latter feature will be available only on boards with seventh series chipsets; only such configurations will be able to connect three monitors at once.

And this is, perhaps, the most important thing that makes motherboards with chipsets of the sixth and seventh series not completely equivalent. All other differences are successfully compensated for by additional controllers installed on motherboards. As for processor support, there really are no pitfalls here. Old boards based on sixth series chipsets are fully compatible with Ivy Bridge (after updating the BIOS), and new boards work equally well with both Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge. There are no significant differences even in the subtleties of overclocking.

One of the main disappointments associated with the LGA1155 platform was the inability to overclock processors by increasing the frequency of the base clock generator. The architecture of systems based on sixth-generation chipsets assumed the implementation of a clock generator inside the system logic set and the use of a single reference frequency to clock both the processor and all components of the logic set. As a result, an increase in the frequency of the base generator by more than 5-7% led to system inoperability, but not due to the fault of the processor, but due to the controllers built into the chipset.

Unfortunately, in this regard, the seventh series chipsets do not introduce any innovations. Intel positions LGA2011 as the best platform for enthusiasts, and the company is not going to introduce the same circuit with additional processor multipliers for the reference frequency in the LGA1155 platform. The new seventh series chipsets allow you to overclock Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge just like the old ones - solely by increasing their multiplier and nothing else.

It turns out that even if the Z77 is considered a step forward compared to the Z68, this step is small and not very convincing. Indeed, the block diagram of a system based on the Intel Z77 chipset looks almost the same as a similar diagram that we presented in article about Intel Z68.

The following table can demonstrate the significant differences between the seventh series chipsets and their predecessors:

	Sixth series chipsets	7 series chipsets
Code name	(Cougar Point)	(Panther Point)
Processor support	Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge	Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge
Package size	27x27 mm	27x27 mm
USB	14 USB 2.0 ports	14 USB ports, 4 of which support USB 3.0
PCI Express	8 PCIe 2.0 lanes	8 PCIe 2.0 lanes
SATA	2 SATA 3 ports, 4 SATA 2 ports, RAID support, iRST 10	2 SATA 3 ports, 4 SATA 2 ports, RAID support, iRST 11
PCI	Up to 4 slots (provided in reference design)	Not supported
Display pins	Two independent outputs	Three independent outputs
Audio	Intel HD Audio	Intel HD Audio
LAN	GbE MAC	GbE MAC
Clock generator	Built-in	Built-in

In addition to the Intel Z77, the seventh-generation desktop chipsets include slightly stripped-down Z75 and H77 chipsets, as well as several B and Q series chipsets, designed for the business segment and therefore outside the scope of our interests. As for the Z75, it is an analogue of the Z77 with reduced capabilities in terms of fragmenting the PCI Express processor graphics bus, and the H77 is an even more simplified version without support for SLI/CrossfireX configurations and devoid of means for overclocking the processor.

Detailed information about the differences between these modifications of system logic sets can be gleaned from the table:

	Intel Z77	Intel Z75	Intel H77
Processor support	LGA1155	LGA1155	LGA1155
Integrated graphics support	Eat	Eat	Eat
PCI Express 2.0 lanes	8	8	8
PCI support	No	No	No
USB 3.0 ports	4	4	4
USB 2.0 ports	10	10	10
SATA 6 Gb/s ports	2	2	2
SATA 3 Gb/s ports	4	4	4
RAID support	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Smart Response Technology	Eat	No	Eat
Overclocking	CPU, GPU	CPU, GPU	GPU
PCIe Graphics Configuration	1x16 2x8 1x8 + 2x4	1x16 2x8	1x16
Price	$48	$40	$43

The positioning of the Z77, Z75 and H77 is quite clear. Most motherboards designed for “self-assembled” systems will use the oldest and most expensive chipset in the line. The Z75 version, which, among other things, does not have support for SSD caching, will probably only end up in the cheapest products, especially since it saves motherboard manufacturers a fairly significant $8. Deprived of means for overclocking the processor, the H77 will obviously find its place in motherboards of miniature form factors aimed at compact systems, where operating processors in abnormal modes and supporting SLI and CrossfireX are completely irrelevant.

⇡ Description of test systems

The new Intel Z77 chipset is a very interesting object for research, both in comparison with previous chipsets and in itself. To conduct testing, we equipped the motherboard in our laboratory with the new ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe chipset with a Core i5-2500K processor, 8 gigabytes of memory and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 video card. For comparison, where necessary, we used a board based on Intel Z68 , ASUS P8Z68-V PRO.

As a result, the following components were used in the test systems:

• Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K (Sandy Bridge, 4 cores, 3.3 GHz, 6 MB L3);
• CPU cooler: NZXT Havik 140;
• Motherboards:
  • ASUS P8Z68-V PRO (LGA1155, Intel Z68 Express);
  • ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe (LGA1155, Intel Z77 Express).
• Memory: 2x4 GB, DDR3-1866 SDRAM, 9-11-9-27 (Kingston KHX1866C9D3K2/8GX);
• Graphics card: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Classified 3 GB (03G-P3-1588-AR);
• Hard drive: Intel SSD 520 240 GB (SSDSC2CW240A3K5);
• Power supply: Tagan TG880-U33II (880 W);
• Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 Ultimate x64;
• Drivers:
  • Intel Chipset Driver 9.3.0.1019;
  • Intel HD Graphics Driver 15.26.8.2696;
  • Intel Management Engine Driver 8.0.0.1399;
  • Intel Rapid Storage Technology 11.1.0.1006;
  • Intel Rapid Start 1.0.0.1022;
  • Intel Smart Connect 2.1.1121.0;
  • LucidLogix Virtu MVP Software 2.1.111.20856;
  • NVIDIA GeForce 301.10 Driver.

⇡ New technologies: Rapid Start and Smart Connect

The hardware capabilities of the new LGA1155 chipsets are not particularly impressive. There is nothing fundamentally new in the seventh series, and those additives that are still present have not been wonders for a long time and are perfectly implemented on motherboards through additional controllers. N no one promised that the release of Intel Z77 will mark a revolution in desktop platforms, but it turns out to be an incident: new generation boards may turn out to be no better than their predecessors. This situation is unlikely to suit Intel and motherboard manufacturers, who clearly intend to make extra money with the release of seventh-generation chipsets.

And in this situation, programmers come to the aid of chipset hardware developers. Using the Z68 as an example, we have already seen how the list of chipset characteristics can be easily expanded with the help of software solutions. It was then that Intel introduced the Smart Response SSD caching technology implemented in the Rapid Storage Technology driver, which became an integral part of the Z68 and added to its attractiveness. The new seventh series logic sets, like their predecessor, also support this technology. However, now it has been joined by new software additions that may even encourage someone to upgrade the motherboard. These additives are collectively known as Platform Responsiveness Technologies and include two new technologies: Rapid Start and Smart Connect.

Rapid Start technology is aimed at minimizing the time the computer wakes up from sleep and improving the energy efficiency of this state. To achieve this, Intel engineers creatively redesigned standard hibernation. Its appearance in operating systems of the Windows family was at one time appreciated by users, because theoretically, the advantage of hibernation over a simple shutdown is that upon startup the computer is ready for productive work much faster. It starts immediately with all the necessary programs running and open files, since the full state of the RAM during the previous power outage was saved on the hard drive and is now restored when turned on. However, in practice, in modern versions of Windows, the hibernation mode had to be replaced with a hybrid sleep mode, which does not lead to a complete blackout of the computer. The fact is that restoring the system state from the hard drive leads to significant delays, which reduce the benefits of hibernation as a means of quickly restoring the working environment to nothing. Therefore, in hybrid sleep mode, although the contents of the memory are reset to the hard drive in case of unexpected power outages, the system memory and a number of functional units remain energized. This allows you to quickly reanimate the working environment, but leads to additional energy consumption during hibernation.

However, the proliferation of high-performance solid-state drives still allows for true hibernation: restoring the memory contents from the SSD occurs without much loss in the time it takes to bring the system back to life. This is exactly what Rapid Start technology is responsible for. If your computer has a solid-state drive (or a specialized flash module), it allows you to completely turn off the system when sending the computer to sleep, storing the contents of RAM in a separate, pre-created SSD partition. The size of this section, of course, is equal to the amount of RAM.

Thus, Rapid Start Technology is an add-on to the operating system that, when sleep mode is turned on, transfers the contents of RAM to a special section of the solid-state drive and completely turns off the power.

Most Rapid Start Technology settings are focused on mobile systems, but the technology works great on desktops as well.

The working environment is restored automatically the next time you turn on the computer. Thanks to the high speed of the SSD, this process takes no more than 5-7 seconds, regardless of the number of loaded applications and open files. As a result, Rapid Start outperforms even the standard Windows 7 hybrid sleep mode in terms of computer wake-up speed, so this technology can be quite useful not only in mobile applications, but also in desktop systems.

The second technology, Smart Connect, seems to us somewhat less useful. It is intended for people who actively use social networks, mail and other cloud services. The point of the technology is to receive updates from the network even when the system is in a sleep state. The implementation is primitive: at set intervals the computer wakes up, requests new data via the Internet and falls asleep again. As a result, when the user wants to access the system, it will be up to date, even if it was inactive. According to the developers, this should save the time required to synchronize the system with cloud services.

Configuring sleep periods is done through a special utility.

On the Advanced page you can set time periods when Smart Connect should not work

However, the main problem with Smart Connect technology in its current form is that it is not omnivorous, but requires compatible software from third-party developers that can deliver updates on demand. So far, only Sobees and Seesmic Desktop are supported, which provide interaction only with a limited set of social networks, and Microsoft Outlook or Windows Live Mail email clients.

⇡ Virtu MVP technology: Lucid Logix takes on graphics acceleration

Lucid Logix is ​​also doing some work to make new Intel platforms attractive. To coincide with the release of the previous logic set for LGA1155, Z68, it timed the release of its Virtu technology, which allows the simultaneous use of the graphics core built into the processor and an external video card. Now this technology has received serious development, and motherboards based on Intel Z77 will be promoted as supporting the next version of this technology, called Virtu MVP. Of course, Lucid Logix's GPU virtualization principles actually work on older systems (and even systems with AMD processors), but the marketing machine will try to make it seem like Virtu MVP is a feature inherent in new motherboards with chipsets seventh generation. That is why the discussion of Virtu MVP ended up in this material.

So let's see what Lucid Logix has to offer this time. Virtu technology was aimed primarily at providing access to the Quick Sync engine, which is part of the graphics core of Intel processors, on systems with an external graphics card installed. Let us remind you that this specialized engine allows you to transcode high-definition video at unsurpassed speed. However, in the normal state of affairs, if an external video card is responsible for outputting the image to the monitor, the processor graphics core is disabled and becomes unavailable. Virtu technology solved this problem by allowing software to access both the external and internal GPU, depending on the user's desire, without the need to reboot or reconnect the monitor.

Virtu MVP goes even further. Now we are talking not just about using either the built-in or external graphics core based on the type of task being solved, but about using them together. Moreover, if initially the graphics built into the processor were considered only as a means for servicing multimedia tasks such as decoding and encoding high-resolution video, now Lucid Logix offers to combine diverse graphics cores to achieve higher performance in games.

In principle, hybrid multi-GPU modes that combine built-in and external graphics into a single complex no longer seem like a ridiculous and unpromising idea. AMD, in its systems based on Llano processors, has quite successfully implemented Dual Graphics technology, which operates precisely on this principle. And it really works - productivity improves. However, for a more or less positive effect from such a symbiosis, the power of the built-in and external graphics accelerators must be close, otherwise the overhead of synchronizing the work of the cores on joint rendering of frames will lead to the opposite effect - a drop in the FPS level.

Therefore, Lucid Logix took a completely different path - using the power of different cores at different stages of the image formation and output process. Virtu MVP technology offers the use of a high-performance external graphics card at all initial and accelerator-demanding stages of image construction: transformations, lighting calculations, shader calculations, primitive generation, projection construction, rasterization, texturing, and the like. Integrated processor graphics, which do not have rich computing resources, within the framework of this technology serve only as a frame buffer and are responsible for displaying images on the screen.

This division of roles, together with algorithms additionally developed by Lucid Logix (the essence of which is not possible to find out, since this is the company’s know-how protected by patents), allows for the implementation of two interesting functions that improve, on the one hand, the “responsiveness” of games, and on the other - quality of the image displayed on the screen. At least in theory.

• The first function is Virtual-Vsync. It combines the positive aspects of enabling and disabling Vsync in games. The idea is that the image generated in the frame buffer of the integrated graphics core is transferred to the monitor synchronized with its frame rate. However, the external graphics card, which does the bulk of the work of rendering frames, renders them at the fastest possible speed, as if Vsync was disabled. On the one hand, this allows you to get rid of artifacts typical of modes without Vsync, such as image tearing, when parts of successive frames appear on the monitor at the same time. On the other hand, the number of FPS is not artificially limited from above, so the lag in the game’s response to user actions, noticeable in some shooters when Vsync is enabled, is minimized.

The picture on the left is an example of image tearing characteristic of working without Vsync

In other words, Virtual-Vsync operation looks on the screen as a mode with Vsync enabled, but the number of actual rendered FPS can be anything - either higher or lower than the monitor refresh rate.

• Second function - HyperFormance. It offers a way to further increase the number of FPS by not rendering redundant frames that will ultimately not be displayed on the monitor. As far as can be understood from the unclear explanation offered by Lucid Logix, the function works in two directions. Firstly, any activity of the external video card to prepare frames that do not differ from the picture already displayed on the monitor screen is completely cut off. And since the frame buffer of the integrated graphics core stores the previously constructed image, it simply continues to be displayed on the screen until some changes occur in the scene that require it to be reconstructed by a discrete accelerator. Secondly, the full rendering of a number of frames is simply skipped on the assumption that they will never be displayed on the monitor due to its limited refresh rate.

Putting these two tricks together, the HyperFormance feature promises a significant increase in FPS. Of course, this is a kind of cheat, because in reality more frames per second will not be displayed on the monitor. Moreover, apparently, the number of frames honestly and completely rendered by the video card does not increase. But this trick nevertheless improves the responsiveness of the game, since the time that passes between pressing a button or moving the mouse and displaying the subsequent frame that takes into account this user activity is reduced.

Thus, Virtu MVP technology looks like a really interesting tool that allows you to combine external and built-in graphics for the benefit of your business. Moreover, the applicability of this technology has become much wider than that of the previous, purely utilitarian version of Virtu graphic virtualization.

However, not everything that looks good on paper has the same properties in reality. The first suspicions that everything is not so rosy begin to creep in after reading the official results of testing the Virtu MVP technology. They look like this:

The advantages of Virtu MVP are shown to us by the example of games four to five years ago that use DirectX 9. In this case, the Lucid Logix initiative looks quite effective, but nevertheless, it is difficult to draw conclusions about its real usefulness, because graphics acceleration beyond 100 FPS will not be noticed even by the most seasoned gamer.

Therefore, using more modern and relevant gaming applications, we also conducted our own research on Virtu MVP technology. In practice, it is implemented by special and periodically updated software, available for download on the websites of motherboard manufacturers. There are no problems when installing it, you just have to keep in mind that support for Virtu MVP should be listed among the characteristics of the motherboard. The technology will not work on incompatible models, but not because of hardware limitations, but because of the Lucid Logix development distribution scheme, which involves licensing fees from motherboard manufacturers.

After installing the software, Virtu MVP technology is managed through a special utility that allows you to enable the Virtual-Vsync and HyperFormance functions together or separately.

The control utility has not only basic triggers, but also an editable list of applications with individual default settings for each case. And since Virtu MVP includes the functionality of regular Virtu technology, it is also proposed to assign a primary video adapter for each application. All this works clearly and intuitively.

To get acquainted with the effect of the functions that make up the essence of Virtu MVP technology, we tested the gaming performance of our system in five cases: when using an external graphics card without Virtu MVP, but with Vsync disabled and enabled; when activating Virtual-Vsync; when HyperFormance is enabled and when Virtual-Vsync and HyperFormance work together. The results are in the graphs below.

The results when HyperFormance is enabled are more controversial. Despite the fact that Lucid Logix promised a performance boost due to its special magic, in reality it is observed only sporadically. However, this is completely unimportant, because enabling HyperFormance leads to the appearance of numerous artifacts: ghosting and jerking of the image, damage to textures, errors in lighting, and the like, which makes using this function in real conditions completely impossible. We were able to see decent images in games from our test set only in Metro 2033 and, with some assumptions, in Battlefield 3.

Apparently, the developers intended that HyperFormance should be used in conjunction with Virtual-Vsync, because when both functions are activated at the same time, defects in the image disappear. True, performance also decreases, almost always being less than when working without Virtu MVP and Vsync at all.

So, contrary to Lucid Logix's wishes, we're primarily inclined to think of Virtu MVP as a more advanced replacement for the Vsync option. At least the combination of Virtual-Vsync + HyperFormance works correctly and can often increase game FPS compared to regular Vsync. So if you are used to activating Vsync, then the Virtu MVP technology proposed by Lucid Logix is ​​quite capable of increasing the responsiveness of games and improving their overall experience. Otherwise, Lucid Logix's new initiatives will be completely useless to you. Virtu MVP technology can provide the promised performance increase only in old and, mainly, DirectX 9-game applications, which work excellently on modern graphics cards and without any tricks.