Intel IDF looks into multi-core graphics chip and USB 3.0
SAN FRANCISCO, California--At the Intel Developer Forum Fall event Tuesday, the chipmaker shared its roadmap on the company's latest developments including new processors, new technologies and updates on its strategy for the next few years. Here are some of the highlights at the various keynote sessions held on the opening day.
IDF turns 10:
2007 marks the 10th year Intel has organized the Intel Developer Forum. The company uses the event as a platform to share and discuss the latest roadmaps and technologies with industry observers from all over the world. Previously held twice a year in San Francisco (Spring and Fall), the Spring event has now been moved to China, in line with the chipmaker's growth in the Mainland market.
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Here comes the 45nm processor
As speculated earlier, Intel will be launching what it claims is the world's first 45nm processor called Penryn on November 12 this year. This puts the chipmaker firmly on schedule to deliver a new chip with improved process technology every two years. The current top-of-the-line Core 2 and Xeon processors, which are based on the 65nm manufacturing technology, were first launched in 2005, while 90nm chips one generation before were rolled out in 2003.
For the layman, the new 45nm process technology generally means the chip is now smaller, uses less power and will be cheaper to produce compared with the 65nm processors. More importantly, the Penryn chips are expected "to provide up to a 20 percent performance increase while improving energy efficiency", according to Intel's president and CEO Paul Otellini who delivered the opening keynote address at this year's IDF.
Intel attributes the improved performance of the upcoming Penryn chips to the implementation of the 45nm high-k metal gate transistor technology, which helps to reduce the leakage power by as much as 10x. The Penryn CPUs will incorporate Intel's SSE 4 instructions and support 1,600MHz system bus. Its L2 cache can go up to 12MB (for quad-core chips) with processor speeds expected to hit above 3GHz.
Intel has revealed that it will introduce 15 new 45nm processors (inclusive of Xeon processors) by the end of 2007, with an additional 20 expected in the first quarter of next year. On the green front, the chipmaker has announced that in addition to its 45nm products being 100 percent lead-free, the 45nm CPUs introduced by the end of 2008 will also feature halogen-free packaging.
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