There’s been a lot of hype surrounding Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge chip lately. Many are really expecting this chip to outperform most others on the market, and Intel has created a lot of press surrounding the chip. Even though Intel is set to launch Ivy Bridge, Windows 8 is currently not ready to go along with the chip (an essential ingredient). While we wait for Microsoft to perfect and finish up with Windows 8, there are more than a few things that can be covered in relation to Ivy Bridge.

Why Is Ivy Bridge So Hyped?

Intel originally gained a lot of Ivy Bridge press when speaking of a new chip that was more energy efficient and a lot more powerful than current competing chips – and even better than Intel’s last Sandy Bridge chip. In addition to increase speed and power, Ivy Bridge will include USB 3.0 support all around and 13 quad-core processors. The powerful chip will be headed right for desktops, though Intel has stated that the company plans on creating dual-core options for ultrabooks later this year. The amazing part about the Ivy Bridge chip is that even though it comes with 13 quad-core processors and is lightning fast, this chip will also consume a lot less energy than previous (or existing) chips. In short, an energy-saving chip that dares to outdo the rest as far as speed goes is worth the hype.

It’s also worth pointing out that the Ivy Bridge chips will be much smaller than any other chip currently available. Just how small does Intel plan to make these chips? Intel is using a new process called the “22 Nanometer Process,” which will produce chips that are just 22 nanometers (nm) in size – that’s smaller than the average person’s thumbnail, much smaller. In fact, you could cram a number of these chips onto the surface of a thumbnail, hypothetically. So, the smallest, fastest, and least energy-consuming chip to ever surface is certainly a chip worth talking about. Now, the question is: when does Intel plan to launch these chips?

Launch Date and Other Specs

Rumor has it that Intel will launch the Ivy Bridge chip today (April 23). As mentioned, the Windows 8 platform that the Ivy Bridge is supposed to go along with isn’t quite ready (according to reports released earlier today), but that might not stop Intel from releasing additional information about the Ivy Bridge chips or from a complete launch. Aside from Microsoft, Apple plans to get its hands on the Ivy Bridge chips as well, so Intel might not wait for Microsoft to get Windows 8 together.

There’s more than a bit of speculation that all upcoming Macs will be equipped with Intel’s Ivy Bridge technology, and this would mean even faster Macs – and happier Apple clients. Specifically, all-in-one iMacs are expected to gain the new Intel technology first, followed by MacBooks in the near future. It will be interesting to see whether or not Intel launches the Ivy Bridge chip today (previous hang-ups with the chip have pushed this deadline back more than once), and whether or not Microsoft will be able to keep up on the Windows 8 front.