Nanometres ahead
Intel certainly isn't worried about being the first to jump off the leading edge. Bill Kircos, director of Intel's product and technology PR emphasised to HEXUS how, in the past, nanometer shrinks had delivered "great performance, lower power and battery life, and more chip real estate to integrate features like graphics or Turbo technology."
Now, he told us: "with our reinvented transistor formula and shift to 32 nanometers and onwards, we still enjoy these benefits, but can take advantage of our manufacturing strengths even more so."
So confident is Intel, it is even creating two different 32 nanometer manufacturing versions. The first will focus on transistor and chip performance for servers and clients whilst the second will purportedly prioritise energy efficiency, for smaller devices like smart phones, digital TVs, ultra-thin laptops and in-car computers.
This, Kircos told HEXUS, would allow Intel to pursue its System on Chip growth ambitions in the most cost effective manner. "As long as we continue to manufacture at Moore's Law speed, we will have a tremendous opportunity to expand what Intel Inside means today, and do so in a profitable manner for us and our customers," Kircos concluded.
Meanwhile, AMD's first 32nm product will be the single chip "Llano" APU, integrating a CPU and GPU on a single piece of silicon. Of course, Intel's Dales chips will also be integrating graphics onto the firm's processors for the first time, but Silcott told HEXUS AMD was confident it held the advantages in this approach, noting "we believe the quality of AMD graphics vs. what is available from Intel will be a primary differentiator for that product in a market where graphics, gaming and video processing are increasingly important."
