Computer Shopper - UK (2019-10)

ISSUE 380|COMPUTERSHOPPER|OCTOBER 2019

DOWEREALLYNEEDMOREPROCESSORS?

Afair question. Not only does Intel have afrankly dizzying range of
chips in its Core processor line-up,theyall seemingly have relatively
minor improvements from generation to generation. The firm has been
promising to make the move to the 10-nanometre (nm) process node
foryears, yet has had to delaythe release of 10nm CPUs multiple times,
owing to the challenges of producing them at scale.

WHAT’SAPROCESSNODE?
OK, that needs some explanation, so here’s abriefsummary.
First of all, processors are made up of millions upon millions of
transistors etched on to silicon slices. These transistors are either in off
or on orientations, which translates intothe binary of 0or1,when a
charge is passed over them, and are assembled in logic gates, which
allow processors to handle complex calculations.
More transistors basically translates intomore powerful and
efficient processors when it comes to,well, processing.
While you might be used to sizable transistors in DIY circuits
from physics and DT classes at school, the transistors in processors
are microscopic. A‘nanometre’isone
millionth of amillimetre and is used to
describe the gap between transistors on
aprocessor.Soincase you haven’t figured
it out, amodern processor has amind-
boggling number of transistors.
However,these days ‘process node’is
usually used more as apseudo-marketing
termtodenotethenodeonwhichaprocessorisbuilt,whichitselfmeans
the process fabrication technology used to make an x-nanometre CPU.
The actual use of nanometres is no longer used to accurately denote
the distance between transistors in aprocessor; forinstance,Intel’s
10nm process is similar to GlobalFoundries’ 7nm process.
So really,Intel’s 10nm is used to noteanext-generation step in
Intel’s processor architecture that has forafew years been stuck on
the chipmaker’s 14nm node,which has been improved from one Core
CPU generation to another but hasn’t fundamentally changed.

WHATWILLTHEFRUITSOFTHISACHIEVEMENTBE?

Intel has officially said its first 10nm processors will be laptop-grade
silicon slices rather than desktop parts, as would traditionally be the
case.These chips will be codenamed Ice Lake and promise aboost not
only in performance compared to current laptop CPUs, but also ahike
in efficiency,which in turn promises better battery life.
“The Ice Lake platform will take full advantage of 10nm, along with
architecture innovations. It is expected to deliver approximately three

times faster wireless speeds, two times faster video transcode speeds,

two times faster graphics performance,and two-and-a-half to three

times faster artificial intelligence performance over previous-generation

products,”Intel explained when it first made asong and dance about

getting its 10nm process ready forcommercial chip-making.

As is the case with such next-generation processors, there are alot

of leaks that come before their official release,some of which seem to

point towards impressive laptop processor performance.Better on-chip

graphics performance and speedier wireless speeds aren’t to be sniffed

at, either,ifIntel’s silicon stands up to its claims.

WHATABOUTDESKTOPPARTS?

We can’t sayfor sure,but sadly it looks as though 10nm desktop

processors are still acouple of years away, at least according to

leaked Intel chip roadmaps.

In the meantime,Intel will crank out new-generation Core processors

based on refinements of its current 14nm node,some of which will not

only offer better clock speeds and efficiency but will also bring in more

cores, which should help Intel fend off AMD’s core-heavy third-

generation Ryzen CPUs.

AMD’SON7NM,RIGHT?

That’s right, but as we noted earlier,the

nanometre labelling is abit of amisnomer.

However,AMD’s latest Ryzen processors are

astepupfrom their predecessors and can

put in some impressive results, so AMD is

certainly benefiting from its 7nm-based Zen2architecture.

But while Intel might seem to be behind, its 10nm node could bring

in pretty gutsy processors that tap intoIntel’s previous leadership when

it came to clock speeds, instructions per clock and energy consumption.

However,this is all speculation forthe time being, so we’ll just have

to waitandseewhathappenswhenIntel’s10nmprocessorsfinallymake

their debut and get intothe hands of our reviews editor James Archer.

SOTHERESULTSCOULDBEINTERESTING?

Theycertainly should be.However,Intel has another mild ace up its

sleeve in that its 10nm chips will debut with Intel’s Gen11 integrated

graphics, which the chip maker claims are “designed to break the

1Tflops barrier”.

In laptops, this promises not only ahike in processor performance

but also aboost in pixel-pushing prowess. Gen11 graphics also appear

to be the precursors to Intel’s Gen12 GPUs, which will see the chip-

maker segue intomaking discretegraphics cards that could challenge

the likes of AMD’s Radeon and Nvidia’s GeForce GPUs.

Intel10-nanometreCPUs

What’s next forIntel processors?

The chips will be codenamed

IceLakeand promise aboostin

performanceand efficiency

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