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Intel unveils fanless 14nm Broadwell Core M processor

At its Computex keynote in Taipei, Intel took the wraps off its new Core M processor, which is squarely aimed at laptop/tablet detachables and premium tablets.
Written by Chris Duckett, Contributor

Intel has taken the wraps off of its Core M processor — a 14 nanometre processor that the company claims is the most energy-efficient in its history.

Speaking at the Computex conference, Intel president, Renee James introduced the fanless Broadwell chip, which is intended to power the detachable laptop/tablet hybrid form factor, as well as premium tablets.

"Fanless, full-Core performance," said James during her keynote address. "It's cool, it's quiet, it's lighter, it's thinner, and it's the most energy efficient processor in Intel's history."

The Core M reference model, a 12.5 inch 2-in-1 detachable that weighs 670 grams and is 7.2mm thick, includes a docking station that provides cooling to allow the chip to increase its performance, as well as a "full desktop" experience.

Intel was not forthcoming on a precise date that the processor will be available for purchase, with the company saying that it is due later this year along with a Core M vPro version. The company said in March that its Broadwell processors would ship during the American "holiday season".

The keynote also saw the unveiling of a new Core i7 chip, codenamed Devil's Canyon, that runs officially at a 4GHz base frequency. Designed for the overclocking crowd, Intel says the chip can safely reach 5GHz, with ZDNet witnessing the chip running at 4.4GHz in a fanless case.

"This processor has robust overclocking capabilities," James said. "I never thought I would be giving a Computex keynote talking about overclocking as a good thing, this is a big breakthrough for us."

Devil's Canyon, officially the Core i7-4790K and Core i5-4690K processors, will enter production this month.

Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president, PC client group at Intel said that the company had recently seen record unit shipments of its Core i7, Core i5, and vPro processors.

"We don't see a sign of this XP refresh falling off a cliff," he said. "Corporate growth remains strong worldwide."

Intel introduced a new family of hardware and software products last week, with the ultimate goal of helping to deliver self-driving cars to the market.

Disclosure: Chris Duckett travelled to Computex as a guest of Intel.

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