Intel has finished design work on its next-generation processor, a key step in allowing the chip giant to meet a promise to get the product to market in the second half of next year. The processor will feature four processing cores and will be built on the Core microarchitecture, a blue print designed to boost performance while conserving power consumption.
Penryn, the code-name for the new chip, will be Intel's first using a process method that shrinks average chip features to 45 nanometers, or 45 billionths of a meter.
Just as a smaller font size allows more words to be printed on the same size piece of paper, smaller chip features mean more transistors can be crammed onto the same piece of silicon. That, in turn, allows chips to run faster and use fewer watts, a key selling point as the cost of powering large fleets of computers continues to soar. It will also enable additional features to be added, such as larger memory cache.
The timely advent of Penryn's is key to the wellbeing of Intel, which for much of the past three years has lagged behind Advanced Micro Devices. The introduction of Intel's Core 2 Duo has allowed Intel to regain the performance lead, and Penryn could mean that edge won't be short lived.
Intel marketers, who held meet and greets with reporters over the past two days, remained mum on most details, such as the frequency speed of the new chip or the number of transistors it will contain.
Rob Willoner, a technology analyst for Intel, did say Penryn will offer an expanded instruction set that will allow PCs to process audio, video and other media content more efficiently.
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