New chips from Intel will lower power use
Reuters, Bloomberg News
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO Intel said Tuesday that it would start selling chips next year that combine its desktop and notebook designs as the company shifts its focus from making processors that run at higher speeds to making chips that have higher performance per watt.
Such performance is crucial for small, mobile devices as well as for computers in data centers trying to cram more chips into smaller spaces.
The shift in Intel's chip development to focus more on power consumption comes as it faces the stiffest competition ever from its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices.
Intel expects to ship new chips based on the design in the second half of 2006, the chief executive, Paul Otellini, said.
Otellini said the company took designs from its Centrino chip line to cut power consumption in one new chip design by a factor of 10.
Current chips draw as much power as small television sets and have to be cooled by large, noisy fans.
Intel has struggled to produce chips that stay cool as they perform more functions, and in October it halted a plan to produce a faster version of its Pentium processor because it gave off too much heat. A chip that does not get hot will help computer makers produce sleeker devices that can be used in more ways in homes, offices and on the road.
The chips that Otellini announced Tuesday are called x86 chips, which are industry-standard microprocessors. They are also dual-core chips, essentially two chips in one. They will be able to handle 64 bits of data at once, twice the current standard of x86 chips, which is 32 bits.
"They give us the next level of performance per watt," Otellini said.
Otellini, in his first major public speech since becoming chief executive in May, showed small portable computers that use Intel chips and require less than a watt of power to work. A typical desktop computer draws about 115 watts. These "handtop" models are expected to come out in the first half of next year.
Otellini aims to mirror the success of Intel's Centrino notebook chips, which have delivered $5 billion in revenue since their introduction in 2003. Sales of those products rose 68 percent and operating profit in the division nearly doubled in the last quarter.
SAN FRANCISCO Intel said Tuesday that it would start selling chips next year that combine its desktop and notebook designs as the company shifts its focus from making processors that run at higher speeds to making chips that have higher performance per watt.
Such performance is crucial for small, mobile devices as well as for computers in data centers trying to cram more chips into smaller spaces.
The shift in Intel's chip development to focus more on power consumption comes as it faces the stiffest competition ever from its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices.
Intel expects to ship new chips based on the design in the second half of 2006, the chief executive, Paul Otellini, said.
Otellini said the company took designs from its Centrino chip line to cut power consumption in one new chip design by a factor of 10.
Current chips draw as much power as small television sets and have to be cooled by large, noisy fans.
Intel has struggled to produce chips that stay cool as they perform more functions, and in October it halted a plan to produce a faster version of its Pentium processor because it gave off too much heat. A chip that does not get hot will help computer makers produce sleeker devices that can be used in more ways in homes, offices and on the road.
The chips that Otellini announced Tuesday are called x86 chips, which are industry-standard microprocessors. They are also dual-core chips, essentially two chips in one. They will be able to handle 64 bits of data at once, twice the current standard of x86 chips, which is 32 bits.
"They give us the next level of performance per watt," Otellini said.
Otellini, in his first major public speech since becoming chief executive in May, showed small portable computers that use Intel chips and require less than a watt of power to work. A typical desktop computer draws about 115 watts. These "handtop" models are expected to come out in the first half of next year.
Otellini aims to mirror the success of Intel's Centrino notebook chips, which have delivered $5 billion in revenue since their introduction in 2003. Sales of those products rose 68 percent and operating profit in the division nearly doubled in the last quarter.
SAN FRANCISCO Intel said Tuesday that it would start selling chips next year that combine its desktop and notebook designs as the company shifts its focus from making processors that run at higher speeds to making chips that have higher performance per watt.
Such performance is crucial for small, mobile devices as well as for computers in data centers trying to cram more chips into smaller spaces.
The shift in Intel's chip development to focus more on power consumption comes as it faces the stiffest competition ever from its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices.
Intel expects to ship new chips based on the design in the second half of 2006, the chief executive, Paul Otellini, said.
Otellini said the company took designs from its Centrino chip line to cut power consumption in one new chip design by a factor of 10.
Current chips draw as much power as small television sets and have to be cooled by large, noisy fans.
Intel has struggled to produce chips that stay cool as they perform more functions, and in October it halted a plan to produce a faster version of its Pentium processor because it gave off too much heat. A chip that does not get hot will help computer makers produce sleeker devices that can be used in more ways in homes, offices and on the road.
The chips that Otellini announced Tuesday are called x86 chips, which are industry-standard microprocessors. They are also dual-core chips, essentially two chips in one. They will be able to handle 64 bits of data at once, twice the current standard of x86 chips, which is 32 bits.
"They give us the next level of performance per watt," Otellini said.
Otellini, in his first major public speech since becoming chief executive in May, showed small portable computers that use Intel chips and require less than a watt of power to work. A typical desktop computer draws about 115 watts. These "handtop" models are expected to come out in the first half of next year.
Otellini aims to mirror the success of Intel's Centrino notebook chips, which have delivered $5 billion in revenue since their introduction in 2003. Sales of those products rose 68 percent and operating profit in the division nearly doubled in the last quarter.
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