CES: New Chips Smaller, Stronger, Faster

They may not be the flashiest or sexiest bits of technology you'll see this week at CES, but a few new processor chips will be making their debut at the big show, according to eWeek.com. Intel and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) will be unveiling their latest chips that will both offer integrated graphics capabilities.
 
After more than a year of talk, Intel will finally reveal their second generation Core i3, i5 and i7 chips, they're calling the "Sandy Bridge" chip.  The "Sandy Bridge" will target mainstream desktops, and laptops and will offer graphics technology integrated right onto the same silicon as the CPU. This will improve features such as high definition video, 3D rendering and gaming graphics. The chip is expected to be both cost and energy efficient, enabling system builders to manufacture thinner, lighter PC's and notebooks.

Rumors have already been circulating that Apple will be using the "Sandy Bridge" technology in their next batch of MacBooks, replacing the Nvidia graphics processing units.

Also expected to hit the CES floor this week, is AMD's "Ontario" chipset, which will be featured on the Brazos platform. Brazos is part of AMD's Fusion program also designed to stick graphics and computing onto the same piece of silicon, in order to create faster, lighter machines.

On January 3rd, Lenovo rolled out several new ThinkPad notebooks, one of which is powered by AMD's "Zacate" processor. According to Lenovo, the ThinkPad X120e is 65 percent quicker graphically, and has a 30 percent better battery life, using the "Zacate" chip.

According to Bob Grim, AMD 's director of client platform marketing, "We're bringing it in at the heart of the mainstream market," hoping to push their new systems in at the $500 range.

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