Intel used this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to unveil its latest Core family of processors, including its Turbo Boost technology for embedded devices, as well as laptop and desktop computers.
The Core i7, i5 and i3 chips coincide with the arrival of the firm’s 32nm manufacturing process, a result of the US$7bn investment announced early last year.
Intel revealed several platforms, including more than 25 processors, wireless adapters and chipsets. In the list were the Core i7, i5 and i3 processors, Five Series chipsets, and Centrino Wifi and Wimax adapters.
Some 2000 embedded devices are expected to be released based on these products along with more than 400 laptop and desktop PC platform designs.
The 32nm process includes the firm's second-generation high-k metal gate transistors to help increase speed while decreasing energy consumption.
"They become energy efficient to the point of shutting down processing cores or reducing power consumption to provide performance when people need it, and energy efficient when they don't," said Sean Maloney, executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group.
Based on Intel's Nehalem microarchitecture, these embedded i7 and i5 processors use Turbo Boost technology, which automatically accelerates performance, adjusting to the workload to give users an immediate performance boost when needed. Hyper-threading technology in the i7, i5 and i3 processors enables smart multi-tasking by allowing each processing core to run multiple threads.
The Five Series chipset is the company's first single-chip chipset, evolving from connecting components to providing a range of platform capabilities.
The embedded processors target devices that leverage PC-like operations in the smarter connected world, including ticket kiosks, self check-out machines, ATMs, digital signs, medical equipment, communications gear and industrial machines.
Intel also expanded the performance-per-watt platform choices for embedded by adding error correcting code memory for applications that require a higher data integrity standard. The embedded processors and the Five Series chipsets have a seven-year life cycle.
The Centrino brand now represents Intel's wireless products. Three Centrino wireless adapters feature 802.11n multi-stream capabilities and dual-band support for Wifi.
The integrated Wimax and Wifi adapter supports 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5GHz Wimax bands delivering up to 20Mbit/s on the go.
Various companies have already launched products based on the processors including Advantech, Concurrent Technologies, Congatec, Curtiss-Wright, Emerson Network Power, GE Intelligent Platforms, Hectronic, IBase, Kontron and Radisys.
"As one of the first companies to announce a product based on the i7 processors, we are demonstrating our commitment to provide higher-performance lower-power products to the critical embedded market,” said Glen Fawcett, CEO for Concurrent Technologies.
"The Intel Core i7 processor provides outstanding performance that meets the requirements of the market segments Advantech serves," said Franz Wei, vice president of Advantech. "We have taken advantage of such technology to furnish a series of products that can meet multiple requirements such as fanless or compact systems. We have confidence that the new Intel Core i7 processor-based series of Advantech products will stand out from the crowd."
“The increased integration and increased density of this new family of processors from Intel offers us astonishing new opportunities,” said Peter Cavill, general manager of military and aerospace products for GE Intelligent Platforms.