Intel takes wraps off Core M chip that can enable PCs without fans
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Intel on Monday officially took the wraps off its new processor -- the Core M, also known as Broadwell-- that can enable much thinner and lighter devices.
Broadwell is a 14-nanometer, or billionths of a meter, 'shrink' in which the transistor geometries are reduced from the existing (and widely-used) 22-nanometer Haswell processor. The smaller circuits result in a design that can enable devices less than 9 millimeters thick, as well as more power-efficient computers that don't need a fan. Smartphones and tablets using processors based on technology from ARM -- an Intel rival -- are fanless, for example.
The Core M hits the market several months later than Intel had planned because of problems manufacturing the advanced technology. Intel in October revealed production on Broadwell would be delayed to early 2014 rather than the fourth quarter of 2013 because of a 'defect density issue' that impacted the yields, or number of usable chips. But the company has now worked out all the kinks and is manufacturing Broadwell at high volumes.
The company on Monday said the first systems using Core M will hit store shelf for the holiday season, but the bulk of new devices will be available in the first half of 2015.
Intel makes chips that power the majority of the world's computers and servers, but ARM-based chips -- including those from Apple, Qualcomm, and Samsung -- are used in most mobile devices on the market. Intel has been pushing to make its chips consume less power in order to better compete with ARM chips in smartphones and tablets. The Core M is key for Intel as it helps PC makers create tablets and devices that can convert between tablets and laptops, computers Intel calls two-in-ones.
Rani Borkar, a vice president in Intel's platform engineering group, during a press briefing showed off a thin PC reference design -- about 7.2 millimeters thick -- that could be enabled with the Core M. She compared it to a 26 millimeter thick laptop from 2010, which she joked could be used for weightlifting.
The Core M 'enables less than 9 millimeter fanless two-in-ones for the first time on the Intel Core roadmap,' she said. And 'you will get in those systems the Core performance you have come to expect.'
Along with fanless devices, the Core M's packaging is about 50 percent smaller and 30 percent thinner than Haswell, which makes it better suited for smaller PCs. The chip also has a 60 percent lower idle power level, which boosts battery life.
-Ben Fox Rubin contributed to this report.
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