Intel enters New Era of Technology with 45nm Penryn Chips

Intel Corp., the world’s largest chip maker, today (Monday, Nov. 12) officially entered the 45-nanometer era with its newest generation of computer chips that the company boasts would give users a new experience by boosting the capabilities of their PCs in terms of faster speed and low power consumption.

During his opening remarks on Sunday at the 2007 Developer Forum, Intel CEO Paul Otellini declared that the company will bring its new 45- nanometer (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter) chips, code-named Penryn, to market on Monday.

Churned out at the company's new $3 billion fabrication facility in Chandler, the Penryn family of 45-nanometer processors is made with new techniques that can cut circuitry nearly 200 times smaller than a red blood cell.

The Silicon Valley company is initially releasing16 Penryn chips, including 12 quad-core Xeon 5400 series processors (previously code-named Harpertown), three dual-core Xeon 5200 series chips (formally called Wolfdale DP) and one Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor especially designed for high-end desktops and gaming computers.

Based on the state-of-the-art 45-nanometer technology, about one-third smaller than current 65-nanometer technology, the new chips are the fastest and most energy efficient available, the chip maker said.

Touted by the Santa Clara, California-based company as the first in the world to be mass-produced with a 45-nanometer process, the new line of processors will process data as much as 20 percent faster than older products, while requiring as much as 30 percent less electricity.

The chips contain 820 million transistors, 40 percent more than current models, yet are 25 percent smaller. The chips using the existing standard technology contain 582 million transistors.

Intel, which according to the market analysts has already taken a big leap in the computer industry and has marched way ahead of its rivals, boasts the ‘Penryn’ chips as the greatest step forward for the company and claims that the chip will put Intel a year ahead of the competition.

"It's a very important new chip and it's all coming out of Chandler," said Intel spokesman Bill Kircos.

Currently, the new chips will be showing up in servers and desktop and laptop computers, but the chip maker said the advanced technology-based chips will eventually follow for regular-strength desktops, laptops, ultra-mobile computers and handtops.

Intel expects to launch the majority of its processors on 45 nanometer designed for mainstream desktop and laptop computers in the first quarter of 2008. It also plans to release three more server models in December. The server chips will sell for $177 to $1279 in quantities of 1,000, while a version for high-end consumers such as gaming enthusiasts will sell for $999 in quantities of 1,000.

The advancement of technology has added fuel to the ongoing war between Intel and its arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc., which also plans to roll out 45 nanometer technology in 2008.

Sunnyvale-based AMD has set up itself along with its partner International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) for aggrandized competition with Intel in the chip market.

The Armonk, New York-based IBM is planning to use Immersion lithography for its 45 nm chips, a process that uses highly purified water during the lithography process, but Intel believes that the technique will not be ready until 2009 when it plans to switch to a 32nm production process.