Tag Archives: intel

Thunderbolt 3 – Borrowing and Improving Other Standards

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Thunderbolt 3 CableThunderbolt is an often under appreciated connector. It originally started out as an optical connector called LightPeak developed by Intel but morphed into the Thunderbolt standard with the input from Apple, the company that primarily uses the interface. There are a few other PCs that offer it but generally only for those that consumers build themselves. The connector has offered some nice features and now Intel has announced the third version of the connector and it is a huge improvement but also likely going to cause confusion as well. So what exactly is changing and how might it impact computers in the coming years? Continue reading →

Intel Broadwell Desktop CPUs Probably Worth Skipping

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After many months of waiting, it looks like Intel is finally poised to release the Broadwell desktop CPUs otherwise known as the 5th generation Core processors to the market. The transition to the 14nm processor has not been easy for Intel with many delays due to yield problems that pushed back the initial mobile release and even greater for the desktop. It seems like we have been on the 4000 series Core processors forever. With the rumored release of the Skylake or 6th generation Core processors for the end of the year, does the fact that Intel is even releasing the 5000 series processor even matter? Continue reading →

Will the Intel RealSense Technology Really Change Computing?

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Intel CES RealSense AnnouncementsBack at CES, Intel’s big announcement was their new technology. This solution is just now starting to roll out to consumers in the form of new tablets and computers. Intel keeps touting the feature as the future of computers but is it really all that new? What exactly can the RealSense technology bring to consumers? Let’s find out and see if you might want to get it on your next computer, tablet or smartphone. Continue reading →

Intel’s Upcoming Processor to Allow Ultra-Thin Fanless Tablets

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Intel Core M Reference Tablet

Intel Core M Reference Tablet

One of the problems that Intel has faced over the past couple years has been the migration of users from traditional Windows based laptops to more compact mobile platforms often based on competing processors. They have worked hard on improving efficiencies such that the tablets can get quite small like the Microsoft Surface 3 Pro but they have also been plagued by requiring active cooling with the fans and ports to move the air over the chips that results in unwanted noise. Sure, there is the Intel Atom lineup that can go with passive cooling that has been used in a number of Android tablets but they don’t have the performance really for a true laptop level of performance in an extremely thin profile.

So what if you could get the level of performance of a traditional laptop but in a tablet that was as thin as the iPad Air? That is precisely the goal of the new Intel . At Computex last week, the company showed off a reference tablet design that was roughly as thin as an iPad Air but still capable of running Windows 8.1 without any cooling fans. Why is this so important? Well, if you have ever used the Surface tablets with the Core i processors, you tend to notice the cooling fans when the system is under any sort of load. Continue reading →