Intel SSD

Picked up a new Intel SSD lately? If it's the SSD 320, you're in for some good news. While solid state drives are best known for being more reliable and durable than HDDs, there have been some fragmenting issues and performance-related issues along the way. Now, those who purchase an SSD 320 will have a little less to worry over. Intel has just revealed that they will be extending their limited warranty for the SSD 320 Series from three years to five years. That's a pretty significant increase, and the extended warranty term will apply to all Intel SSD 320 Series drives, including those already purchased.


Of course, this only applies to consumer-level disks; enterprise usage levels will have other strings attached. Now, how long before every Intel SSD matches this?

Intel Logo

Intel still isn’t taking the wraps off of their Ivy Bridge architecture, but yesterday’s 3D Tri-Gate announcement certainly changes the expectations.
Ivy Bridge

Ivy Bridge will be a die shrink of Sandy Bridge and represents a “tick” in Intel’s product line. That means the micro-architecture is mostly the same as Sandy Bridge, but it will be manufactured using 22nm process instead of 32nm. That will bring lower power consumption and thus less heat while keeping the same performance level. Unfortunately, we don’t have any information on core counts, clock speeds, model numbers, cache sizes, or the IGP. At the same core counts as SNB, we might see some fairly high clock speeds (>4GHz, anyone?) since current quad-core Sandy Bridge CPUs already offer Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz, and adding additional cache to the design is almost a given. Intel is putting additional resources into their IGP as well, so we expect to see some healthy performance and capability improvements.
Sandy Bridge versus Ivy Bridge
Sandy Bridge Ivy Bridge
Manufacturing process 32nm 22nm
Transistor technology 2D (Planar) 3D (Tri-Gate)
PCI-Express (version) 16 lanes (2.0) 16 lanes (3.0)
Turbo Boost version 2.0 2.0
Memory support Up to DDR3-1333 Up to DDR3-1600
Quick Sync 1.0 2.0 (?)
DirectX 10.1 11
IGP shader count Up to 12 EUs Up to 16 EUs (?)
OpenGL 3.0 3.1 (?)
OpenCL N/A 1.1 (?)

The table above summarizes most of the currently known differences. Ivy Bridge will have enhanced AVX support, the on-die PCI-Express graphics links become version 3.0 instead of SNB’s 2.0, and official memory speed support from the IMC gets bumped to DDR3-1600. While we won’t know about the power consumption until we actually get to test an IB CPU, the roadmap lists TDPs that are the same as SNB (95W, 65W, 45W, 35W). The shrink to 22nm and 3D transistors (FinFET) almost represents a two-node process technology jump, so we expect performance at various power levels to increase quite a bit. A final interesting point for many users is that Ivy Bridge is pin compatible with Sandy Bridge, and it will work on current LGA1155 motherboards with the appropriate chipset and a firmware and BIOS update (H61, H67, P67, and Z68 are capable of support IB). Intel will also launch new 7-series chipsets, which we’ll get into below.

Wrapping up the discussion of improvements, let’s focus on the IGP a bit more. As with Sandy Bridge, we expect Intel will have several IGP variants with Ivy Bridge’s graphics. We don’t know what they will be, but we do know that Intel is calling it their “next Gen Intel HD Graphics” and the core GPU will be DX11 capable. It also looks like Intel will add OpenCL 1.1 support and increase the maximum number of EUs from 12 to 16, though either of those elements may change. Intel lists “Next Gen Quick Sync” as another feature, and with the increase in EU count and additional functionality Ivy Bridge might be double the speed of SNB when it comes to transcoding video.

Intel Table

Intel plans to showcase more than 10 tablet computer models running its processors at the Computex computer show in Taiwan, according to the Wall Street Journal. A spokesperson said that there was "no more to say on this ahead of Computex." The computer show opens May 31.


Intel's reported introduction of new tablet designs that would use its low-power Atom processors comes on the heels of the company's announcement Tuesday that it is shifting its design direction towards ultramobility products.

"This shift that we're making today is as fundamental as [earlier Intel shifts] to the Pentium and Centrino," Intel CEO Paul Otellini said at an analyst meeting at the company's Santa Clara, Calif. campus.

"We are aiming our center point for all of our design activities at sort of the 35 and 40-watt midpoint today in the notebooks that most of us use. We're shifting that down, substantially, to 15 or so watts. We're still going to build products that scale up that dynamic range, for other market needs, obviously. But the center point is going to be about ultramobility."

Intel has seen its x86 architecture for central processors challenged in recent years by makers of ARM-based chips, which have been far more popular for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets due to their ultra-low power consumption, small footprint and low thermals.

The chip giant has shrugged off the competition from ARM to some extent—claiming, for instance, that because data centers require at least one x86-based server per 400 mobile devices serviced, it's really Intel that has profited the most from the rise of tablets and smartphones despite the fact its chips aren't in them.

But Intel is clearly not content with populating servers alone. In an effort to finally become competitive with ARM, Intel said it will accelerate the pace of its process shrinks for its Atom chips to twice the pace of what Moore's Law usually predicts: that transistor counts will double every 18 to 24 months, delivering corresponding increases in performance or else lower voltages and longer battery life.

Intel thinks it can start to match ARM watt-for-watt as it accelerates its process technology, and the company has no plans to use its licenses and build an ARM-compatible chip, Otellini said.

Intel Tables

Computex was heavily focused on tablet introductions last year, and it looks like some things actually don't change with time. This year, the June event will be home to over 10 new tablets that run on Intel chips; that's according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. The show, which is held annually in Taiwan, could be a major launch pad for a slew of slates that use Intel's chips instead of one of the many ARM iterations that have cluttered the market today.


Intel's been all over the map in recent years. Oak Trail for tablets, Moorestown for smartphones, etc. But their mobile plans have been just that: plans. Very little has actually shipped, and it's about time to put up or shut up. Oak Trail may actually be the key the company has needed in the mobile realm, and "Intel's general manager for Asia-Pacific, Navin Shenoy, said more than 35 of Intel's chip-based tablet models are on track to be shipped through the year."

Intel also confirmed that the Japan earthquake has had no impact on their supply chain, which is most certainly good to hear. We're still awaiting details on what tablets will be introduced, but either way, ten new options should be just enough to make your head spin. And we're guessing these guys will run the latest version of Android...or is Microsoft actually planning a legitimate tablet OS?

Tri-Gate Transistor

Earlier this week Intel sent us a cryptic message:

I wanted to invite you to an Intel press conference on Wednesday May 4th at 9:30am Pacific time. Intel will be making its most significant technology announcement of the year. No further details will be provided in advance. The event will be held in San Francisco so for those of you are local in the SF Bay Area please attend in person if you like. It will also webcasted live. Tune-in details and logistics are below. Please let me know if you can attend.
A while ago Intel decided that a nice way to drive up its stock price would be to behave more like Apple, keeping major announcements under wraps and introducing them on its own terms to hopefully build up anticipation and excitement for Intel's announcements. You've seen examples of this with how closely Intel held Sandy Bridge's architectural details before its presentation at IDF, and how little we knew about Quick Sync (Sandy Bridge's hardware video transcoder) until Intel decided it was time to talk about it.

Apple can get away with it since most of its products are tangible, consumer facing devices. Intel's technologies are arguably even more important, but they're just not as easy for the general populace to get excited about. Today's announcement is the perfect example of just that.

Earlier today Intel announced that its 22nm process would not use conventional planar transistors but rather be the first time Intel is using 3D Tri-Gate transistors. This is a huge announcement that fuels Intel's leadership in the mobile/desktop/server CPU space and makes it a lot more attractive in the SoC space, let's understand why.
The Transistor

Here's a simple diagram of a standard 32nm planar transistor, exactly what you'd find in a Sandy Bridge CPU:

I spent a couple of semesters as a computer engineering student a few years ago studying how these things work. There's a lot of math and it's not fun to do over and over again so we'll ignore all of that for now. The basics are thankfully much more fun to understand.

The goal of a transistor is to act as a very high speed electrical switch. When on, current flows from the transistor's source to the drain. When off, current stops. The inversion layer (blue line above) is where the current flow actually happens.

Ideally a transistor needs to do three things:

1) Allow as much current to flow when it's on (active current)
2) Allow as little current to flow when it's off (leakage current)
3) Switch between on and off states as quickly as possible (performance)

The first item impacts how much power your CPU uses when it's actively doing work, the second impacts how much power it draws when idle and the third influences clock speed.

In conventional planar transistors it turns out that voltage in the silicon substrate impacts leakage current in a negative way. Fully depleted SOI (silicon on insulator) is an option to combating this effect.

The smaller you make the transistors, the more difficult it is to make advancements in all three of these areas all while increasing transistor density. After all not only do you have to worry about keeping power under control, but the whole point to shrinking transistor dimensions is to cram more of them into the same physical die area, thus paving the way for better performance (more cores, larger caches, higher performance structures, more integration).
The 3D Tri-Gate Transistor

A 3D Tri-Gate transistor looks a lot like the planar transistor but with one fundamental change. Instead of having a planar inversion layer (where electrical current actually flows), Intel's 3D Tri-Gate transistor creates a three-sided silicon fin that the gate wraps around, creating an inversion layer with a much larger surface area.

There are five outcomes of this move:

1) The gate now exerts far more control over the flow of current through the transistor.
2) Silicon substrate voltage no longer impacts current when the transistor is off.
3) Thanks to larger inversion layer area, more current can flow when the transistor is on.
4) Transistor density isn't negatively impacted.
5) You can vary the number of fins to increase drive strength and performance.

The first two points in the list result in lower leakage current. When Intel's 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors are off, they'll burn less power than a hypothetical planar 22nm process.

The third point is particularly exciting because it allows for better transistor performance as well as lower overall power. The benefits are staggering:

At the same switching speed, Intel's 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors can run at 75 - 80% of the operating voltage of Intel's 32nm transistors. This results in lower active power at the same frequency, or the same active power at a higher performance level. Intel claims that the reduction in active power can be more than 50% compared to its 32nm process.

At lower voltages Intel is claiming a 37% increase in performance vs. its 32nm process and an 18% increase in performance at 1V. High end desktop and mobile parts fall into the latter category. Ivy Bridge is likely to see gains on the order of 18% vs. Sandy Bridge, however Intel may put those gains to use by reducing overall power consumption of the chip as well as pushing for higher frequencies. The other end of that curve is really for the ultra mobile chips, this should mean big news for the 22nm Atom which I'm guessing we'll see around 2013.

You'll note that the move to 3D Tri-Gate transistors doesn't negatively impact transistor density. In fact Intel is claiming a 2x density improvement from 32nm to 22nm (you can fit roughly twice as many transistors in the same die area at 22nm as you could on Intel's 32nm process).

It's also possible to vary the number of fins to impact drive strength and performance, allowing Intel to more finely tune/target its 22nm process to various products.

The impact on manufacturing cost is also minimal. Compared to a hypothetical Intel 22nm planar process, the 3D Tri-Gate process should only cost another 2 - 3%

All 22nm products from Intel will use its 3D Tri-Gate transistors.
What Does This Mean

Intel's Ivy Bridge is currently scheduled for a debut in the first half of 2012. Intel is purposefully being vague about the release quarter as Sandy Bridge is doing well and isn't facing much competition at the high end at least.

The impact of Intel's 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors on high end x86 CPUs will be significant. Intel isn't expecting its competitors to move to a similar technology until 14nm. The increases in switching speed at the same voltage could allow Intel to finally hit or exceed that magical 4GHz barrier in a stock CPU. I suspect Intel will likely use the gains to deliver lower power CPUs however there's always the possibility of some very fast Extreme Edition parts.

The bigger story here actually has to do with Atom. The biggest gains Intel is showing are at very low voltages, exactly what will benefit ultra mobile SoCs. Atom has had a tough time getting into smartphones and while we may see limited success at 32nm, the real future is what happens at 22nm. Atom is due for a new microprocessor architecture in 2012, if Intel goes the risky route and combines it with its 22nm process it could have a knockout on its hands.

Intel Atom Inside Logo

Last August in our Atom N550 article, we hinted that Intel will release their next generation Atom platform in mid-2011. As we mentioned in that article, the codename for this platform is “Cedar Trail”, and today we have some further details to share. Cedar Trail (and the Cedarview-D processors) won’t quite make it out in mid-2011 as we previously reported; they are now slated for a Q4 2011 release.
The CPU and GPU are a single die based on Intel's 32nm technology. The smaller process allows Intel to boost the clock speeds while keeping TDP the same or even lowering it. Cedar Trail will continue to use the same NM10 chipset as its predecessor, with two models at its introduction. The following table summarizes the current and near-future Intel Atom lineup.

Intel’s Atom Lineup

Model                        D410        D510       D425         D525       D2500         D2700

Core/Thread Count     1/2           2/4           1/2             2/4            2/2              2/4

Frequency (GHz)       1.66         1.66         1.83           1.83          1.86            2.13

L2 Cache (KB)            512         1024         512           1024         1024           1024

RAM Type                 DDR2      DDR2    DDR2/3      DDR2/3      DDR3         DDR3

TDP (W)                      10            13            10              13              10               10

GPU Type                  DX9         DX9         DX9           DX9         DX10.1       DX10.1

The core architecture remains unchanged, so CPU performance should be the same as previous Atom processors, only with higher clock speeds. We won’t see a new Atom architecture until mid- to late-2012. Interesting to note is that no single-core Atom CPUs are listed at present, so both Pineview-D processors are dual-core, only the D2500 disables Hyper-Threading support. It should be a decent upgrade from the previous single-core + HTT D425, but overall CPU performance will end up lower than the D525 in situations that can leverage four threads. The D2700 on the other hand is a straight 16% clock speed increase over the D525. We’ll have to see how that translates into real-world application performance when the chips arrive.