IntelBroadwell
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Intel unveils 'Broadwell' processors, starting with dual-core chips only
CES is happening this week, and as far as Intel goes, that can only mean one thing. The chip maker has just unveiled its next generation of processors, the ones that will power most mainstream PCs for the next 12 months. We've known for some time that these CPUs were codenamed "Broadwell" and that they would use a 14nm process, down from 22nm on last year's Haswell chips, allowing for even thinner and lighter designs. Indeed, we've already gotten a bit of a preview with Intel's 14nm Core M series, which have made possible some very skinny machines indeed. But whereas Core M is all about mobility, Intel's fifth-generation Core processors are geared toward performance.
Intel wants to have conflict-free processors by the end of 2013
Intel had already promised that it would avoid using conflict minerals, and now it's giving itself a more concrete timetable for that to happen. It wants to have at least one processor that's proven completely conflict-free across four key minerals -- gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten -- by the end of 2013. Lest you think Intel's not taking swift enough action, it wants to reach the tantalum goal by the end of this year. The effort's part of a wider array of goals that should cut back on the energy use, power and water use by 2020. Sooner rather than later, though, you'll be buying a late-generation Haswell- or Broadwell-based PC knowing that the chip inside was made under nobler conditions.
