Intel unveils the Compute Card at CES 2017. The business-card-sized module was supposed to allow for easy upgrades or repairs of modular computers by inserting the Computer Card in a proprietary socket without having to open the computer or device. Linuxium posted a review of the Compute Card and dock back in 2018, and noted that while performance was good, the price was really excessive for most applications. The Intel Compute Card was eventually discontinued, and an article on PCMag does confirm one of the reasons was price: According to the Intel rep we spoke with, that sealed design and extra durability added nominally to the card cost but about $50 to each unit on the OEM side to incorporate the module, which stunted its adoption. The Compute Card was easy to insert and replace, but OEM’s have long had another option for upgrades: Computer-on-Modules. In x86’s world, this often […]
9W Intel Ice Lake Y-Series Processors Coming with Gen11 Graphics, 10nm Process
Intel has provided a few more details about their upcoming Intel Ice Lake Y-Series processor that will succeed their Amber Lake Y-Series family comprised of Core m, and Core i5/i7 processors with 5W to 7W TDP. Ice Lake Y-Series processor will come with the latest Intel Gen11 graphics with up to 64 EU (Execution Units), have a higher 9W TDP, configurable up to 12 Watts, and be manufactured with Intel’s 10nm process. Highlights of Intel Ice Lake Y-Series processors: CPU – 10nm+ quad-core processor, 14nm Platform Controller Hub (PCH ) GPU – Gen 11 Intel Graphics Engine, up to 64 EUs; Open GL 4.5, DirectX 12, and OpenCL 2.2 API support AI – Intel GNA (Gaussian Network Accelerator) Memory I/F – LPDDR4/x-3733 Camera – IPU4p: 16MP, 4K30, 4x cameras, RGB+IR camera Video Output eDP 1.4b up to 4K120/5K60 (10-bit) resolution DisplayPort 1.4 up to 4K120/5K60 (10-bit) resolution HDMI 2.0b up […]
Project Athena Specification 1.0 – Fast Response Times and Long Battery Life
Project Athena innovation program aims to provide a set of guidelines for Windows or Chrome OS always-on always-connected laptop powered by Intel processor. At the time of the first announcement at CES 2019 few details were provided, but Intel has now released Project Athena 1.0 target specification which gives clearer details of what such laptops will have to offer. Intel also introduced new “key experience indicators” (KEI) aligned with real-world conditions in order to provide to best experience to end-users. Project Athena 1.0 target specification defines six key areas of innovation: Instant Action – Modern Connected Standby and Lucid Sleep (feature of Chrome OS) features implement fast wake with a simple lid-lift, push of a button or quick fingerprint recognition. System wake from sleep must occur in less than 1 second Performance and Responsiveness – Systems based on Intel Core i5 or i7 processors with Intel Dynamic Tuning Technology, a […]
More Intel Processor HW Security Flaws. Meet Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS)
2018 did not start so well for processor vendors, especially Intel, but also AMD, Arm and others as some of their processors leveraging speculative execution were impacted by Spectre and/or Meltdown hardware security bugs. The workarounds to improve security had a downside as they affected performance in some specific use case. Panic ensued as the bug was revealed to the public a bit too early, so companies were not fully ready with their mitigations / workarounds. Then in summer of 2018, another hardware security flaw known as Foreshadow or L1 Terminal Fault came to light. The new flaw potentially enabled the attacker to access data stored in L1 cache. Provided you have updated your operating systems to the latest version, your computers and devices should be protected against those vulnerabilities, and you can even check with a script working in Linux or FreeBSD. But this now looks like a never […]
Intel adds Three 7W Amber Lake-Y Processors
Intel announced their Amber Lake family of low power high performance processors, officially known as Intel Core Y-Series processor last year with three SKUs: Core m3-8100Y, Core i5-8200Y, Core i7-8500Y which are all dual core/quad thread processor offering different base and boost CPU frequencies, and sporting the same UHD 615 graphics. As I browsed Intel’s Ark “previously Amber Lake Y” page this morning, I found out the company added three more processors to the family in Q1 2019. The new processors also come with two cores and four thread, but at higher frequency, and TDP is fixed to 7W, while the first three model at a 5W TDP configurable up to 7 or 8 Watts or down to 3.5 or 4.5 Watts. They are also equipped with Intel UHD Graphics 617 graphics that appears to only offer a higher boost frequency to 1.05 GHz instead of 900/950 MHz for UHD […]
ASRock IMB-1216 Industrial mini-ITX Motherboard is Powered by Intel Whiskey Lake-U Processor
ASRock has introduced what may be the first mini-ITX motherboard based on Intel Whiskey Lake-U processor. ASRock IMB-1216 motherboard comes with a choice of low power Intel’s 8th Gen Whiskey Lake-U SoCs, supports for up to 32GB DDR4 memory through two SO-DIMM sockets, 2.5″ SATA storage and M.2 SATA or PCIe storage, cam drive up to three independent, and is equipped with plenty of other I/Os. ASRock IMB-1216 specifications: SoC- Intel’s 8th Gen Core “Whiskey Lake-U” SoC (Core i7-8565U / Core i5-8265U / Core i3-8145U) with Intel UHD Graphics 620; 15W TDP System Memory – 2x SO-DIMM DDR4-2400 slots up to 32 GB RAM Storage 1x M.2-2280 Key M SSD with SATA or PCIe 3.0 x4 interface 2x SATA interfaces for 2.5″ HDDs or SSDs Video Output / Display Interface 1x DisplayPort 1.2 up to 4096×2160 @ 60 Hz 1x HDMI 2.0 up to 4096×2160 @ 60 Hz LVDS connector […]
One Mix 2S Yoga Platinum Mini Laptop Gets a 5W Core i7-8500Y Processor for $1,200
One Mix 2 Yoga mini laptop with a 7″ display and an Intel Core M3-7Y30 Kaby Lake processor launched almost at the same time as the One Mix 2S Yoga mini laptop with the same features except it got upgraded to a more recent Intel Core M3-8100Y Amber Lake Y-Series processor. The company has now introduced a limited edition of the device with One Mix 2S Yoga Platinum featuring the most powerful Amber Lake processor so far: the Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core / four thread processor also with a 5W power budget. One Mix 2S Yoga Platinum Edition specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core / quad thread Amber Lake-Y processor @ 1.5 GHz (base) / 4.2 GHz (Turbo) with 4MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics 615 @ 300 MHz / 900 MHz (Turbo); 5W TDP System Memory – 8GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 512GB PCIe SSD, micro SD […]
UP Xtreme Board to Feature Intel Whiskey Lake Processor
AAEON launched their UP board family back in 2015 with the original board featuring an Atom X5 Cherry Trail processor. Since then they’ve launched other models all based on processors with 10W or lower TDP (Thermal Design Power) such as UP Squared Apollo Lake development board. But the company has now upped the ante by going with Intel Core-U series Whiskey Lake processors (15W TDP) in their upcoming UP Xtreme single board computer (SBC) that will feature some of those Core i3/i5/i7 processors. UP Xtreme specifications: SoC- Intel Dual/Quad Core “Whiskey Lake” Core i3/i5/i7 processor @ 1.8 GHz (Boost frequnecy up to 3.9GHz for i3/i5, up to 4.6 GHz for i7) with Intel UHD graphics 620; 15W TDP System Memory – Up to 16GB dual-channel DDR4 memory (soldered on-board) Storage – 16GB to 128GB eMMC 5.1 flash, 1x SATA connector with power connector Video Output 1x eDP with backlight control […]