Like previous architectures, Haswell should increase performance relative to Ivy Bridge while consuming similar or lower levels of power. This time around, Intel is actually much more interested in telling us about that lowered power consumption, as is evident in the use of phrases like "biggest [generation-to-generation] battery life increase in Intel history. We'll need to wait for actual systems to bear that supposition out, though. It's entirely possible that OEMs will choose to keep battery life level while reducing the size of the battery and thus, their devices' weight and thickness or adding other power-hungry features like high-resolution displays.
Some of these power savings come because Haswell is the first architecture tailored specifically for the 22nm process rather than being designed for a larger process and then shrunk down, as Ivy Bridge was. Others come from improvements that Intel has made it to idle power usage and the amount of power used when switching between those active and idle states. A new "active idle" power state, also dubbed S0ix, allows the system to continue sending and receiving data without powering the CPU and GPU all the way up.
This increases the amount the system can do without being "active" and reduces the amount of power needed to switch to a fully active state.
A side effect of Haswell's low-power leanings is that the architecture will find itself in more form factors than ever, from workstations and servers at the top end to Ultrabooks, convertibles, and tablets at the low end.
There will even be some overlap with Atom processors, as we've already seen in some Ivy Bridge-based Windows 8 tablets. That area of overlap will only get larger as Atom continues to get faster see: Bay Trail , due later this year. Intel has been pushing Ultrabooks and convertibles hard through the life of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge architectures and expect that push to continue with Haswell—a source at Intel even told Ars that Haswell-powered Android tablets and laptops are in the cards as the company refines its Android strategy.
Of course, most of this information applies to dual-core, Ultrabook-ready CPUs that haven't yet been announced. Given that Ultrabooks and low-power CPUs are a large and growing piece of Intel's pie, we doubt we'll make it past Computex without those CPUs making an appearance as well. Well, keep your expectations in check, but yes, both tablets and ultrabooks and laptops and desktops with Intel's newest integrated graphics should handle gaming, video encoding, and graphics-based tasks a lot better.
Keep in mind, though, that different fourth-gen processors have different levels of Intel graphics. The Iris-level pro graphics aren't the same as what you'll be getting on a new Haswell tablet. Last year's Intel HD integrated graphics were a nice bump up from the previous HD graphics, but weren't as good as higher-end dedicated graphics options from Nvidia and AMD. How good will battery life on new ultrabooks and tablets be?
A full day? We hope so, but stay tuned for actual tests. Intel claims between 2 and 3 hours of battery life gain in its test slides. Will these new processors add any new features to ultrabooks? A few. Wi-Di 4. Wi-Di, Intel's wireless display technology for beaming video and sound to a TV or monitor, has been around for several years, but the latest version features less lag and a new touch-friendly interface for touch PCs. Of course, you'll still need to find a TV or plug-in adapter that's compatible with Wi-Di.
Also, according to Intel, fourth-gen Haswell ultrabooks will have faster wake-from-sleep times under 3 seconds and perceptual computing interfaces built in, using the Webcam and microphone to record gestures and voice. How those will work remains to be fully seen, but were teased at CES. Will all new ultrabooks have touch?
Intel is making touch screens a requirement on all fourth-gen Intel Core i-series ultrabooks. Now, that doesn't mean all slim laptops will be touch-enabled; it just means that those that don't won't be called "ultrabooks. Should I wait to get a PC with one? If you're considering an ultrabook or tablet and want really good battery life or graphics, then yes, those gains could be worth waiting for. For mainstream laptops, that remains to be seen.
Intel acknowledged USB 3. PC makers decided to go ahead with PC shipments as the issue is minor, an Intel spokesman said. For example, if a video is being played directly off a USB drive and a laptop goes idle, the corrupted data will automatically be recalibrated when the system awakens. Intel has broken down its quad-core laptop chips into M-series, which has three new processors, and the H-series, which has two new parts.
The prices mentioned are in units of 1, The chips include Intel graphics, and the company expects 13 new M chips to be introduced this year. The chips draw 47 watts of power and have the high-end Iris Graphics. Intel said it would release six new H chips this year. The chips are clocked between 3. Follow Agam on Twitter at agamsh.
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