CES 2021: Intel Debuts Four New Processors

At the all-digital CES 2021, Intel announced four new processor families for business, education, mobile, and gaming computing platforms. Can these processors help the chipmaker regain its supremacy in the silicon industry?

At the all-digital CES 2021, Intel took the centerstage to announce a raft of new processor families across all sectors, including business, education, mobile, and gaming. The four-processor families will have 50 unique variants and will be used in more than 500 PCs in 2021. This announcement is a strategic move by Intel as it faces mounting pressure from rivals AMD, NVIDIA, and Apple.

Bob Swan, CEO of Intel, saidOpens a new window , “Our intentions are, in this CPU to XPU world where there are multiple architectures required, whether it’s gaming or whether it’s in a data center, we’re going to invest to extend our graphics capabilities from entry-level all the way up the stack over time. We expect to have real innovation rolling out during the course of the next couple of years.”

Let’s dive into Intel’s top announcements at the CES 2021.

11th Gen Intel Core vPro for Business

The company launched the 11th Gen Intel Core vPro platform for business which the company claims to be “an unrivaled business platform delivering the industry’s highest performance and world’s most comprehensive hardware-based security.” 

Powered by Tiger Lake, the new 11th Gen Intel Core vPro processors offer high performance, security, and remote management technologies. Built on 10nm SuperFin technology to deliver high performance, the new processors pack Iris Xe integrated graphics, Wi-Fi6/6E support, and better AI performance. 

According to an AT&T reportOpens a new window , 44% of cybersecurity experts cite ransomware attacks as a top security concern. To combat these growing threats, Intel has baked in ransomware detection capabilities in the new processors. With hardware shield and threat detection technology (TDT), the company aims to prevent ransomware and crypto-mining attacks. Intel said that in 2021, more than 60 new laptops will be powered by vPro processors.

According to Daniel NewmanOpens a new window , principal analyst of Futurum Research, “The vPro platform is really about the company setting a strong foundation for hardware security, powerful performance focusing on graphics and improved Wi-FI, exponentially more capable AI performance, and finally greater productivity and battery life. These are all among the demands of discriminating users looking for designs that meet technical and ergonomic demands.”

The company has also launched the Intel Evo vPro platform for business users. 

Stephanie Hallford, VP of client computing group and general manager of business client platforms at Intel, saidOpens a new window , “It (Evo vPro platform) brings together business-class performance, hardware-enhanced security features, superior remote manageability, and PC fleet stability. It’s all the things IT needs a PC to be.”

Read more: Apple Could Beat Intel Chips With Its New Mac Processors

11th Gen Intel Core H-series Mobile Processor for Gaming

11th Gen Intel Core H-series Mobile Processor
Source: IntelOpens a new window

Addressing the booming gaming market, Intel debuted 11th Gen Intel Core H-series mobile gaming processors. The processors are built on Intel’s Tiger Lake H35, 10nm SuperFin architecture which adds support for Wi-Fi 6/6E, Thunderbolt 4, PCIe Gen 4.0, and Iris Xe graphics engine. 

The company saidOpens a new window , “Led by the Intel® Core™ i7 special edition 4-core processor with up to 5 gigahertz (GHz) Turbo, these H35 processors are specifically targeted for ultraportable gaming.”

The chipmaker also plans to ship an 8-core processor later this quarter with 5 GHz speed, 20 lanes of PCIe Gen 4.0 architecture, and Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E. At CES 2021, major OEMs such as Acer, ASUS, MSI, and Vaio launched new models powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core H35-series processor.

Read more: AMD Pushes the Boundaries of Multi-Chip Module GPUs With New Patent

N-Series Intel Pentium Processors for Education

For the education sector, the chipmaker revealed new N-Series Intel Pentium Silver and Celeron processors. Designed on Intel’s 10nm architecture, the processors are 35% faster and provide 78% better graphics performance than the predecessor. The new processors support gigabit Wi-Fi, faster storage, 4K media support, and enhanced camera interfaces for better collaboration and remote learning experience.

Preview of Rocket Lake and Alder Lake Technologies

On the desktop side, Intel showed the next-generation 11th Gen Intel Core S-series, desktop processors, code-named Rocket Lake-S. The company claims it will deliver up to 19% instructions per cycle (IPC) improvement over the company’s 10th Gen Comet Lake-S CPUs. The Rocket Lake S desktop CPUs will deliver up to 50% better integrated graphics performance, support faster DDR4-3200 RAM, PCIe 4.0 for a better gaming experience.

Additionally, Intel unveiled Alder Lake, a successor to the Lakefield processor launched last year. Built on 10nm SuperFin architecture, it showcased a design similar to Apple’s M1 chips, combining both high-performance cores and high-efficiency cores into a monolithic package. The processor is expected to arrive in the second half of 2021.

The company saidOpens a new window , “It will serve as the foundation for leadership desktop and mobile processors that deliver smarter, faster, and more efficient real-world computing.”

2020 was a challenging year for Intel. From supply chain issues to AMD blunting the chip maker’s dominance in the CPU space, Intel faced several headwinds that dampened its stocks. But now with the launch of four new processors, Intel is trying to regain its position and show the silicon industry that it still holds a sizable share in the PC market.

Which of these new processors gauged your attention? Comment below or let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!