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Intel talks up work on 22nm SoCs with Tri-Gate tech geared for mobile devices
Now that Ivy Bridge processors with Tri-Gate tech are in the wild humming away inside PCs, Intel's used the 2012 International Electron Devices Meeting to discuss its work on SoCs that also use the 22-nanometer 3D transistor tech. The processor giant didn't rattle off much in the way of specs or name the product lines that'll make use of the mobile-centric silicon, but it expects the hardware to handily outperform its 32-nanometer SoCs by 20 percent to 65 percent. Ballpark estimates on price are also MIA, so it's still unclear how the folks in Santa Clara will fare against ARM-based solutions with the new chips under their belts. In any case, Intel anticipates the fresh components will find their way into smartphones and tablets once they're ready to roll. [Image credit: huangjiahui, Flickr]
Intel finishes crossing the Ivy Bridge with new desktop Core i3 models
Intel has been staggering the rollout of its Ivy Bridge processors over the space of nearly half a year, starting with its higher-end quad-core chips; it's finally time for the company to complete the story and ship some budget Core i3 desktop parts. The semiconductor giant is coy about the new roster at this stage, but it does promise both regular (s-series) and low-power (t-series) Core i3 chips at clock speeds between 2.8GHz and 3.4GHz. If the past is an indicator, the new components will be mostly or exclusively dual-core and lack extras like Hyperthreading -- they will get Intel's newer integrated graphics and other perks through the upgrade, however. Bulk pricing and other details haven't yet been aggregated in one place, although we're seeing that even the faster 3.3GHz Core i3-3220 is selling at retail for $130. We wouldn't expect anything from Intel's new offerings to break the bank.
Intel announces plans to spend up to $8 billion on U.S. factory upgrades
Apple and Google may be sitting on their piles of cash, but Intel sure is dipping into its reserves in a big way these days -- the company has just announced that it's following up its nearly $8 billion acquisition of McAfee with a multi-billion dollar investment in upgrades to its factories in Arizona and Oregon. That investment will total between $6 billion and $8 billion, and include the development of an entirely new fabrication plant in Oregon, in addition to upgrades at the two existing facilities that will allow Intel to move forward with its 22-nanometer manufacturing process. As you can no doubt guess, the investment will also be quite a boon to both areas -- Intel says that the upgrades, which will take place over "several years," will create as many as 8,000 construction jobs and between 800 and 1,000 permanent jobs at the facilities. Head on past the break for the full press release.
