Event Coverage

Intel @ Computex 2011

By Dr. Jimmy Tang - 1 Jun 2011

Ivy Bridge Demo and Thin Mini-ITX motherboard

Ivy Bridge Demo

At Mooly Eden's PC Client event at Computex, Intel demonstrated a fully operational system based on the next processor codenamed Ivy Bridge. This next iteration of the Sandy Bridge core will be based on their latest 22nm process technology which is also the first product to incorporate their recently announced 3D transistors. We expect Ivy Bridge to run at much cooler temperatures and possibly at lower power. Although this is going to be a die shrink step for the Sandy Bridge, Intel made significant enhancements to the core in order to meet future computing demands. In particular, we can expect to see Ivy Bridge with much improved media and graphics processing, promising even faster 3D graphics and significant speed enhancements to media encoding, decoding and much more. 

Intel's technical demo of an Ivy Bridge laptop running Starcraft 2. It does not seem like much, but it shows that the processor is more or less ready for launch later this year.

Here's another demonstration of Ivy Bridge processing media like HD movies. Although it doesn't look impressive on the surface, the laptop is actually processing 12 full HD streams at the same time. The task manager window on the lower right corner of the screen shows a total of 8 processing threads, indicating that the Ivy Bridge could either be a 4 core processor with Hyper Threading or a pure 8 core processor.

Thin Mini-ITX Form Factor

Intel is expecting All-in-One (AIO) systems to increase in popularity as more of such innovative AIO designs make its way into the market. The highly integrated nature of these desktop systems make it extremely simple and approachable for users. In order to accelerate the adoption of such systems, Intel showcased the new Thin Mini-ITX form factor motherboard, which is a standardized building block for AIO PCs. The aim is to make off-the-shelf components more accessible to channel system integrators and local resellers worldwide. We wonder if it's possible to have DIY versions of AIOs in the future.

The new Thin Mini-ITX board form factor for AIO desktop systems.

Examples of All-in-One desktop systems integrated using the new Thin Mini-ITX board.

Intel expects more innovative AIO systems to dominate the desktop market as such highly integrated systems gain user acceptance. Performance of AIOs today is equivalent to most desktop systems thanks to the powerful Sandy Bridge processor .

 

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