It may not sound like the most exciting part of the tablet PC but for those concerned, it is more compact, it uses less power and it is unique to its neighbours who have up until now been designed by Apple and Cambridge-based Arm Holdings.
Oak Trail Processor Technical Specification
It has been surprising how despite being one of the world's largest manufacturer of microprocessors, Intel has yet to grasp its hold on the tablet market which lets face it, is the new era of computing. However, formally launched for specific use in tablet computers, is the new Oak Trail Processor from Intel.
Kevin O'Donovan who is a marketing manager for the BBC website, stated that Intel now had a "competitive product" whereas before it was not lagging behind, but it did lack something worth marketing in competition with the likes of iPad (for example).
The current high-end microprocessors in production use 32nm (or nanometer node), however this is mainly limited to laptop and desktop computers not tablet PCs.
The Oak Trail (Z670) processors use Intel's 45nm production process and the new platform consists of the following taken from the Intel website:
- Small Form Factor Processor Package Size which is lead-free and halogen-free.
- Micro-Flip chip package which is 60% smaller (13.8min x13 8nun) than the previous generation netbook processors (22min x 22 mm).
- Low Thermal Design Power (TDP) which is 3 watts enables thinner, fanless, more compact with reduced cooling requirements.
- Enhanced Intel Deeper Sleep so it saves power by converting cache data to system memory during periods of inactivity to reduce power consumption and enable longer battery life.
- Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology which involves multiple voltage and frequency operating points, allowing for better matching of performance to application demand.
- Integrated Graphics and Memory Controller. This is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 600 combined with the integrated memory controller which provides enhanced performance and system responsiveness.
- HD Playback – this includes integrated hardware accelerated decoder which enables smooth HD video playback up to 1080p, and streaming at a fraction of the power consumption.
- Enhanced Data Prefetcher and Enhanced Register Access Manager anticipates data the processor is likely to need and stores the information within the processor's L2 cache, which results in improved performance.
A more exhaustive list of information above (not only on the chip but other Intel attributes), can be found on the Intel Newsroom website.
Multifunctional Systems
We have already established that the new chip concentrates on power saving, but it is believed that the Oak Trail's strongest asset will be its ability to run several tablet operating systems, such as Windows 7, Android and Google's upcoming operating system.
At the moment chipsets based on Arm Holding's designs cannot run Windows so this will be a key advantage for Intel to ensure they implement. Microsoft have announced that they will support Arm processors for their next version of operating system, but this is not planned for release until 2012 giving Intel some time.
The first tablets to use Oak Trail technology are expected to be released on to the market in May 2011.
Sources:
- "Intel launches Oak Trail tablet processor" 11 April 2011, BBC Website
- Intel Newsroom Website
Kelly Foxhall - Kelly by trade is an IT Training Manager at a London law firm. She is also an Internet Journalist that writes about technology, law and ...
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