Intel has launched its Core M processors, the first “Broadwell” chips from the manufacturer. The Core M chip, made using a 14-nanometer process, is said to provide high performance for mobile devices and notebooks, in theory allowing computer and tablet producers to create thinner devices with a longer battery life, as well as fanless systems.
The first three Core M chips, the 5Y70, 5Y10a, and 5Y10, all have a thermal design power (TDP) of just 4.5 Watts, lower than half the TDP of the equivalent Haswell versions. This is by default, since the 5Y70 and 5Y10a can be configured to have a TDP of 6 Watts and 3.5 Watts, giving hardware producers more leeway in making devices able to use Intel’s Turbo Boost for longer periods.
While they are low power, the chips are still quick, with the 5Y10 and 5Y10a both possessing a base clock speed of 800MHz which rises to 2GHz under Turbo Boost, and the 5Y70 having base and boosted speeds of 1.1GHz and 2.6GHz respectively. The three all also use Intel HD Graphics 5300, claimed to be 40-percent faster than last year’s HD 4200.
Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are all confirmed as using the Core M processors in products set to ship towards the end of the year. Other Broadwell chips, such as the H and U processors for Ultrabooks and AIO systems, are thought to start shipping in early 2015.
