A segunda geração dos processadores Core da Intel: máquinas megamídia

Os novos modelos dos processadores Core não são exatamente um segredo guardado a sete chaves. Mas apesar de as especificações terem vazado meses atrás, o que fica claro no Sandy Bridge é que a Intel está preocupada com o conteúdo.

A nova leva de processadores i3, i5 e i7 – vinte novos produtos ao total, incluindo chipsets e adaptadores – procuram resolver reclamações contra a placa de vídeo integrada do ano passado. De acordo com Erik Reid, da Intel, com o Sandy Bridge você pode esperar uma melhora de quase duas vezes no benchmark 3DMark06, intensivo em gráficos, em relação aos processadores Core atuais. Enquanto StarCraft 2 roda em ridículos 14FPS no seu computador atual com processador Intel Core, com o Sandy Bridge o desempenho sobe para jogáveis 29FPS. A Intel conseguiu essa melhora colocando o processador e a placa de vídeo integrada no mesmo die (circuito integrado), dando a ambos acesso a toda a memória cache do sistema.

Os benefícios não são sentidos apenas por gamers. A transcodificação de vídeos também ganhou uma grande melhora com o que a Intel chama de Quick Sync Video, que Reid diz resultar numa redução de 17x no tempo de transcodificação. Isto significa converter um vídeo de cinco minutos para H.264 em apenas 18 segundos. Quem tem câmera de vídeo portátil vai gostar da notícia.

Quanto ao consumo de conteúdo, a tecnologia Wi-Di (Wireless Display) da Intel também teve um ganho nas especificações, e agora transmite vídeo de 1080p do seu PC para a televisão. O Wi-Di 2.0 requer um processador Sandy Bridge, mas a tecnologia é compatível com o adaptador da geração anterior.

Está cada vez mais claro o papel que a Intel quer que o Wi-Di represente: a empresa de componentes está se voltando para transmissão de vídeos, com sua nova iniciativa Intel Insider. Com parceiros incluindo CinemaNow, Warner Bros. e outros, o Intel Insider é um sistema que fornece filmes em HD para PCs nos EUA na data do lançamento do DVD, ou mesmo antes, com encriptação e desencriptação por hardware. O preço ficará por conta dos estúdios, e a Intel promete um “ambiente portegido” para o conteúdo deles.

Então o aumento na velocidade com certeza chegou, além das melhoras na eficiência. Mas o Sandy Bridge está aqui na verdade como uma resposta da Intel à era do vídeo, um mundo onde enviamos 35 horas de vídeo para o YouTube a cada minuto. E agora poderemos fazer isso e mais, de forma muito mais rápida.

Press release:

Intel Brings ‘Eye Candy’ to Masses with Newest Laptop, PC Chips

Intel® Core™ Processor Features Create New Visual Experience, Lifestyle

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Introduces much anticipated, game-changing 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ processor

family. Adds a number of visually stunning features built right into the chips through

processor graphics.

• Includes surprising and exciting new features such as, Intel® Quick Sync Video, Intel®

HD Graphics, Intel Wireless Display 2.0, and Intel® Insider™ including collaborations

with CinemaNow*, Dixons Retail plc*, Hungama* Digital Media Entertainment, Image

Entertainment*, Sonic Solutions*, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution* and others.

• Offers stunning video technology that converts a 4 minute HD video to play on an iPod

in only 16 secondsii or securely download HD movies for viewing on their local screen or

beaming from their laptop to their HDTV.

• 20 new processors, new chipsets and new wireless chips including new Intel® Core™ i7,

i5 and i3 processors, Intel® 6 Series Chipsets, and Intel® Centrino® Wi-Fi and WiMAX

adapters will power more than 500 new PC systems from all the major manufacturers

worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW, Las Vegas, Jan. 5, 2010 – With more than one million computers selling each day, Intel Corporation introduced its game-changing 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ processor family today. Intel highlighted several surprising new features, services and partnerships that combine to deliver an entirely new visual experience with processor graphics built in. More than 500 desktop and laptop PCs are expected from all major OEMs worldwide throughout the next year.

New features include Intel® Insider™, Intel® Quick Sync Video, and a new version of the company’s award-winning Intel® Wireless Display (WiDi), which now adds 1080p HD and content protection for those wishing to beam premium HD content from their laptop screen to their TV. The company also revealed arrangements with CinemaNow*, Dixons Retail plc*, Hungama* Digital Media Entertainment, Image Entertainment*, Sonic Solutions*, and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution*.

“The new 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ processors represent the biggest advance in computing performance and capabilities over any other previous generation,” said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager, PC Client Group, Intel. “The built-in visual capabilities enabled by these new processors are stunning. This combined with improved adaptive performance will revolutionize the PC experience in a way that is obvious for every user to see and appreciate – visibly smarter performance.”

New Visual Experience for Today’s Lifestyles

The 2nd Generation Intel Core processor family is the first “visibly smart” microarchitecture to combine visual and 3D graphics technology with performance-leading microprocessors on a single chip. Incorporating the newly architected Intel® HD Graphics on each 32nm die enables significant graphics performance improvements over previous generation graphics, for both HD media processing and mainstream gaming. The chips improve performance and yet still offer great battery life and the ability to design thinner, lighter and more innovative laptops and all-in-one PCs.

New processor graphics technology will focus on the areas where most people are computing today: high-definition (HD) video, photos, mainstream gaming, multi-tasking and online socializing and multimedia. Enhanced visual technologies like next-generation Intel® HD graphics are built into every 2nd Generation Intel Core processor. For consumers, this means a dramatically improved PC experience, with better overall power management, greater efficiency and great battery life.

Additionally, a surprise new feature of the next-generation PC and laptop processors, Intel® Insider™, will give consumers access to movies on their PCs in true high definition that were not available before. To show this feature, Eden used a clip from the feature film Inception* from Warner Bros.* and demonstrated how easy it would be to get the movie from CinemaNow* and watch it in full HD on a laptop.

In collaboration with Hollywood and Bollywood studios along with leading content distributors such as CinemaNow*, Dixons Retail plc*, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment*, Image Entertainment*, Sonic Solutions*, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution* and others, Intel creates a protected environment for the distribution, storage and playback of premium content.

This enables content owners and video services to release more movies in high definition on the same date as DVD/Blu-ray* releases. Commercial distribution of HD premium content using the Intel Insider technology is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2011. and services will be available in Q1.

Building upon this Intel Insider innovation, Eden then demonstrated how consumers can now also use Intel® WiDi 2.0 to beam content like the Inception film to their big screen HDTVs. Additional Intel® WiDi 2.0 improvements include support for 1080pHD as well as protected content either streaming from the Internet or played locally from a Blu-ray* or DVD player.

Another unique element of the visual experience built into the 2nd Generation Intel Core processor family is Intel® Quick Sync Video. This built-in hardware acceleration takes the wait out of editing and sharing videos with astonishing performance that completes in minutes what used to take hours. Now faster than ever, consumers can edit, convert, and share videos with friends and family. Intel estimated that a four minute HD video could now transfer to an iPod* for example in just 16 secondsii.

The power of the 2nd Generation Intel Core processors for immersive mainstream gaming was demonstrated with a teaser from Valve’s* Portal 2*, one of the most anticipated game releases of 2011. Eden did the demonstration with precision Hydra motion controllers from Razer* using Sixense* MotionTouch* technology.

Smart Performance, Energy Efficiency and Intelligence Merge

The Core i3, i5 and i7 processors also include the enhanced Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0. This feature automatically reallocates processor core and processor graphics resources to accelerate performance, giving users an immediate performance boost when and where it’s needed.

Other new chip features include Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), Intel® InTru™ 3-D, and Intel® Clear Video Technology HD. Intel® InTru™ 3-D enables immersive stereoscopic 3D to 3D-capable HDTVs or monitors via HDMI 1.4, making movie excitement almost come out of the screen.

Intel® AVX increases performance for demanding visual applications like audio processing and professional video image editing like stitching together multiple photographs. Intel® Clear Video improves the visual quality and color fidelity during video playback for a spectacular screen experience.

To make it easy for users to find a 2nd Generation Core-based system that is just right for their particular needs, Intel is also announcing a wide array of SKUs including Intel vPro™ enabled processors.

The chips are made on Intel’s 32 nanometer manufacturing process on the company’s second-generation high-k metal gate transistors. These unique advantages further boost performance; reduce power consumption for better battery life and smaller designs, and lower overall manufacturing costs.

Intel announced more than 20 processors, wireless adapters and chipsets, including new Intel® Core™ i7, i5 and i3 processors, Intel® 6 Series Chipsets, and Intel® Centrino® Wi-Fi and WiMAX adapters. More than 500 laptop and desktop PC platform designs are expected from allmajor computer makers worldwide based on these products.

The quad core (four processors inside one chip) based systems will be available on January 9 and additional dual-core versions in February. Video, benchmarks, photos and more details www.intel.com/newsroom/CES