CES: Intel launches next-generation laptop, desktop chips
They're aimed at improving system performance and battery life (see video, below)
IDG News Service - Intel on Thursday officially released its next-generation chips, which should improve the system performance and battery life of laptops.
For the past year, the chip maker has talked about the chips as a giant upgrade over existing Core chips that go into laptops and desktops. The chips provide close to double the processing and graphics performance than their comparable predecessors.
The chips were announced at a press conference during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The chips are shipping and systems based on them should be available this month, the company said.
The new chips fall under the brands of Core i3 for low-end systems, Core i5 for midrange systems and Core i7 for the fastest systems, generally aimed at enthusiasts and gamers. The new processors include dual-core laptop chips under the three brands running between 1.06GHz and 2.66GHz, and desktop chips running between 2.93GHz and 3.46GHz.
At a press conference, Intel demonstrated a system with a new chip capable of playing a high-definition movie and syncing music with systems faster than prior processors.
The new chips are manufactured using the 32-nanometer process, which makes them smaller and more power-efficient than earlier chips. Based on the Westmere architecture, the transistors are a step away from chips manufactured using the 45-nanometer process.
Intel will announce quad-core chips and low-voltage processors based on the architecture later this year, said Sean Maloney, executive vice president at Intel, during a press conference.
Compared to previous chips, the new processors speed up high-end tasks like intense graphics as well as mundane tasks like syncing a music player, Maloney said. Related tasks would run close to two times faster than previous chips.
Intel has also integrated graphics chips into the new processor package, which could make the chips capable of playing Blu-ray movies or high-definition games.
But the graphics processors have some limitations. "It doesn't go into the high end... you always get a big fat graphics chip with a heat sink on it," Maloney said.
Laptop responsiveness will also improve with the Turbo Boost mode, which can crank up the speed of cores to boost performance. The technology can also shut down cores when not needed to save power.
Intel launched three Core i3, eight Core i5, and five Core i7 for laptops and desktops. The company has close to 500 designs based on the new chips, Maloney said. The chips are available immediately, and many desktops and laptops were on show on the CES show floor at Intel's booth.
The laptop processors include five Core-i7 chips, including the 620M chip that runs at 2.66GHz and is priced at $332 for 1,000 units. The slowest chip is the low-power 620UM chip, which runs at 1.06GHz and is priced at $278. Two Core i3 chip were listed for laptops, including the i3-350M, which runs at 2.26GHz. The chip's price was not immediately available. Four Core i5 chips for laptops were also listed, including the Corei5-540M, which runs at up to 2.53GHz and is priced at $257. A Core i5-520UM low-power chip runs at 1.06GHz and is priced at $241.
The new desktop processors include two Core i5 and two Core i3 chips. The fastest Core i5 chip is the Core i5-670, which runs at 3.46GHz and is priced at the $284. The fastest Core i3 chips is the Core i3-540, which runs at 3.06GHz and is priced at $133.
Westmere is based on the underpinnings of the Nehalem architecture, which itself included new features included an integrated memory controllers. Nehalem chips were manufactured using the 45-nm process and introduced late last year.
- 'Minority Report' interface shown at CES
- Image gallery: Hottest laptops and netbooks of CES
- Your mobile future: From smartphones to superphones -- and beyond
- Intel CEO shows first Moorestown smartphone
- Verizon Wireless flexes LTE muscle at CES
- First looks from CES: Google Nexus One and Motorola Backflip
- Palm opens developer program, adds plug-in support
- Palm updates the Pre and Pixi for Verizon Wireless
- Quick hands-on from CES: Que and Skiff e-readers
- First Look: Marvell's Plug Computer 3.0


- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Gary Watson, CTO, Nexsan: 6 Tips for Selecting Hard Drives
- What type of drives should be used for what types of data? Selecting a drive and interface can seem complex with considerations of...
- 10 Reasons to Modernize the Desktop
- Learn how to enhance your business through VMware View
- The Laptop Dilemma: How to Maximize Productivity and Lower the Burden on IT
- Download Now
- Practice Management: Double Billing Rate and Improve Patient Services
- Would you like to double your billing rate and achieve faster payment for services?
Download this customer success story to see how One Health... - Mission Critical Data Explosion and Customer Case Study
- Would you like to double your tier 1 storage capacity while simultaneously reducing your storage footprint?
Download this customer success story to see how...
All Hardware White Papers
- Distributed Database Security with Real-time Monitoring
- View this demo and learn how IBM InfoSphere Guardium database activity monitoring can help protect your sensitive data in distributed DBMS environments with...
- InfoSphere Warehouse Packs Demo
- These flash modules make warehousing more tangible and relevant to business users through detailed explanations of the InfoSphere Warehouse Packs.
- Delivery Management -- Extending Lifecycle Management
- Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT
Siloed organizations continue doing the wrong things and doing things wrong, leading to increased costs,... - Leverage automation today to reduce IT complexity
- Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 2:00 PM EDT
Whether your B2B complexity is caused by multiple technologies due to M&A, business or application specific... - Redefine Expectations in the Data Center
- Need to do more with less? Watch this video to learn how HP ProLiant Gen8 servers can help your business deploy servers three... All Hardware Webcasts
