Intel Brings ‘Eye Candy' to Masses with Newest Laptop, PC Chips

[btarunr]

With more than one million computers selling each day, Intel Corporation introduced its game-changing 2nd Generation Intel Core processor family today. Intel highlighted several surprising new features, services and partnerships that combine to deliver an entirely new visual experience with processor graphics built in. More than 500 desktop and laptop PCs are expected from all major OEMs worldwide throughout the next year.

New features include Intel Insider, Intel Quick Sync Video, and a new version of the company's award-winning Intel Wireless Display (WiDi), which now adds 1080p HD and content protection for those wishing to beam premium HD content from their laptop screen to their TV. The company also revealed arrangements with CinemaNow, Dixons Retail plc, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, Image Entertainment, Sonic Solutions, and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.



"The new 2nd Generation Intel Core processors represent the biggest advance in computing performance and capabilities over any other previous generation," said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager, PC Client Group, Intel. "The built-in visual capabilities enabled by these new processors are stunning. This combined with improved adaptive performance will revolutionize the PC experience in a way that is obvious for every user to see and appreciate – visibly smarter performance."

New Visual Experience for Today's Lifestyles
The 2nd Generation Intel Core processor family is the first "visibly smart" microarchitecture to combine visual and 3D graphics technology with performance-leading microprocessors on a single chip. Incorporating the newly architected Intel HD Graphics on each 32nm die enables significant graphics performance improvements over previous generation graphics, for both HD media processing and mainstream gaming. The chips improve performance and yet still offer great battery life and the ability to design thinner, lighter and more innovative laptops and all-in-one PCs.

New processor graphics technology will focus on the areas where most people are computing today: high-definition (HD) video, photos, mainstream gaming, multi-tasking and online socializing and multimedia. Enhanced visual technologies like next-generation Intel® HD graphics are built into every 2nd Generation Intel Core processor. For consumers, this means a dramatically improved PC experience, with better overall power management, greater efficiency and great battery life.

Additionally, a surprise new feature of the next-generation PC and laptop processors, Intel Insider, will give consumers access to movies on their PCs in true high definition that were not available before. To show this feature, Eden used a clip from the feature film Inception from Warner Bros.* and demonstrated how easy it would be to get the movie from CinemaNow and watch it in full HD on a laptop.

In collaboration with Hollywood and Bollywood studios along with leading content distributors such as CinemaNow, Dixons Retail plc, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, Image Entertainment, Sonic Solutions*, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and others, Intel creates a protected environment for the distribution, storage and playback of premium content.

This enables content owners and video services to release more movies in high definition on the same date as DVD/Blu-ray releases. Commercial distribution of HD premium content using the Intel Insider technology is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2011. and services will be available in Q1.

Building upon this Intel Insider innovation, Eden then demonstrated how consumers can now also use Intel WiDi 2.0 to beam content like the Inception film to their big screen HDTVs. Additional Intel WiDi 2.0 improvements include support for 1080p HD as well as protected content either streaming from the Internet or played locally from a Blu-ray or DVD player.

Another unique element of the visual experience built into the 2nd Generation Intel Core processor family is Intel Quick Sync Video. This built-in hardware acceleration takes the wait out of editing and sharing videos with astonishing performance that completes in minutes what used to take hours. Now faster than ever, consumers can edit, convert, and share videos with friends and family. Intel estimated that a four minute HD video could now transfer to an iPod for example in just 16 seconds.

The power of the 2nd Generation Intel Core processors for immersive mainstream gaming was demonstrated with a teaser from Valve's* Portal 2, one of the most anticipated game releases of 2011. Eden did the demonstration with precision Hydra motion controllers from Razer using Sixense MotionTouch technology.

Smart Performance, Energy Efficiency and Intelligence Merge
The Core i3, i5 and i7 processors also include the enhanced Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0. This feature automatically reallocates processor core and processor graphics resources to accelerate performance, giving users an immediate performance boost when and where it's needed.

Other new chip features include Intel Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), Intel InTru 3-D, and Intel Clear Video Technology HD. Intel InTru 3-D enables immersive stereoscopic 3D to 3D-capable HDTVs or monitors via HDMI 1.4, making movie excitement almost come out of the screen.

Intel AVX increases performance for demanding visual applications like audio processing and professional video image editing like stitching together multiple photographs. Intel Clear Video improves the visual quality and color fidelity during video playback for a spectacular screen experience.

To make it easy for users to find a 2nd Generation Core-based system that is just right for their particular needs, Intel is also announcing a wide array of SKUs including Intel vPro enabled processors.

The chips are made on Intel's 32 nanometer manufacturing process on the company's second-generation high-k metal gate transistors. These unique advantages further boost performance; reduce power consumption for better battery life and smaller designs, and lower overall manufacturing costs.

Intel announced more than 20 processors, wireless adapters and chipsets, including new Intel Core i7, i5 and i3 processors, Intel 6 Series Chipsets, and Intel Centrino Wi-Fi and WiMAX adapters. More than 500 laptop and desktop PC platform designs are expected from all major computer makers worldwide based on these products.

The quad core (four processors inside one chip) based systems will be available on January 9 and additional dual-core versions in February.

[H82LUZ73]

So these the last run I7 cpu`s before the Sandy bridge ones.

[Noy]

This is Sandy Bridge.

[H82LUZ73]

yeah i know that now after reading the motherboard reviews on the front page.They seem pretty even with 1st gen I7`s though,The ASUS boards are using some new BIOS GUI which i hope gets into AMD based systems.

[buggalugs]

Good system if you're building a new machine but i'm going to stick with X58 until Q4.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by H82LUZ73

yeah i know that now after reading the motherboard reviews on the front page.They seem pretty even with 1st gen I7`s though,The ASUS boards are using some new BIOS GUI which i hope gets into AMD based systems.

UEFI i hope. we need it for 2TB+ HDD's

[H82LUZ73]

Originally Posted by Mussels

UEFI i hope. we need it for 2TB+ HDD's

Yep that is it.

[Tannhäuser]

I'm planning to build a new PC this month. Now I look for some overclocking-benchmarks, showing the best performance per dollar (will be watercooled). Any hints?

[blu3flannel]

Originally Posted by Mussels

UEFI i hope. we need it for 2TB+ HDD's

I wish motherboard manufacturers would release UEFI for their current motherboards, it would be nice to have it on my P55-GD65. And I think I can wait until later this year for 1356/2011, my i5 750 is still going strong.

[iLLz]

UEFI is supported by an ASUS P67 Mobo used by Anandtech.com in their review here:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...-2100-tested/5

[Mussels]

some boards seem to support it already, but not many.


i really want UEFI too.

[Delta6326]

Yummy i wants new laptop with this!

[pr0n Inspector]

Originally Posted by Mussels

some boards seem to support it already, but not many.


i really want UEFI too.

I want real EFI firmware(not BIOS emulation) but not the lame GUI that is essentially the same as that of BIOS but with more gloss.

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

These will sell quite well, I think.

[theonedub]

Id like to hear more about this 'Intel Quick Sync Video' feature. Sounds like they are saying encoding performance that is comparable to current CUDA accelerated encoders.

[H82LUZ73]

Originally Posted by theonedub

Id like to hear more about this 'Intel Quick Sync Video' feature. Sounds like they are saying encoding performance that is comparable to current CUDA accelerated encoders.

Read the link above from Anandtech