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Intel's Shrinking Processors: What It Means For Your Next Computer

by Terrence O'Brien on January 9, 2008 at 04:42 PM

Intel's Shrinking Processors and What It Means for You
The fact that Intel has started using a 45-nanometer manufacturing process may not mean much to you. In fact there's a chance you're staring at your computer screen right now, head titled, with a perplexed look on your face. But it's ok, we at Switched are here to help clear up what the new processors mean for you.

45 nanometers refers to the smallest possible features a processor can have. This is made possible by a new manufacturing technique. By comparison, the human hair can be as thick as 181 micrometers, or about 4000 times larger than the smallest features on the new Intel processors. Intel also introduced new a new transistor technology called high-k which reduces the amount of leakage, or wasted electricity. This new technology has been applied to processors across the Intel lineup, from laptop chips, to servers, to the company's new Menlow processors (pictured above) for tiny Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPC) and Mobile Internet Devices (MID).

So what exactly does this mean for you, the consumer? It means faster, smaller, cooler computers that use less energy. Laptops that you can actually use in your lap because they no longer get hot enough to cook an egg on, MIDs that will approach the iPhone in size, and computers so fast that most current games won't put a strain on them are all on their way. Intel started shipping processors based on the new manufacturing process back in November, but many companies waited until this week's Consumer Electronics Showcase to unveil products based on them. The bottom line is that this new technology is good for the consumer, but bad for AMD, Intel's main rival.

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Tags: 45 nm, 45Nm, computers, cpus, high-k, intel, Laptop News, LaptopNews, processors

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