Details of Intel's new processor line-up, codenamed 'Broadwell', have been leaked this week. Most likely to be aimed at the notebook and laptop market, smaller machines would set to gain the most from the changes in efficiency and Thermal Design Power (TDP) that the new Intel generation offers.
Broadwell splits the processor types into three: "H" high performance and "Y" and "U" for ultra low voltage.
"H" type processors (high performance) composed of dual chip and single chip types. The dual chip will include four CPU cores and the single chip two cores.
Dual chip processors will include the GT3e or GT2 GPUs and up to 6 MB of L3 cache. It will support up to 32GB of DDR3L memory at 1600mhz. The TDP will be set at 47 watts, and a new chipset, the 'HM97', will be introduced.
The "U" and "Y" series will be single-chip only platforms and house up to two cores with 4MB of L3 cache. "U" models will be able to support up to 16GB of DDR3L-1600 or 8GB of LPDDR3-1600 memory. Both chip types will have either 15 watt or 28 watt TDP.
High battery life
15 watt models of the "U" and "Y" series will come with GT3 and GT2 graphics, while Celeron and Pentium SKUs will be limited to GT1 graphics. 28 watt chips will only be available with the GT3 GPU and will only be offered as Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 products.
Possibly the most interesting in the Broadwell line-up are the "Y" ultra-low power SoCs. The parts in these will fit into a 4.5 watt thermal envelope and a 3.5 watt configurable TDP. The chips will have two CPU cores, GT2 graphics and up to 4MB of L3. The processors will work with LPDDR3-1600 memory and will support up to 8GB of RAM. With such a low power draw this configuration would give netbooks and tablets extremely high battery life.
The 'Broadwell' generation is set for release in Q2 of 2014.
