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Intel Shares New Details on Low-Power Core M Broadwell Processors

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Intel today released new details on its next-generation 14-nanometer Broadwell processors, which are designed to combine high-performance and low power to allow for more efficient devices. Haswell ushered in an era of impressively long battery life, which is expected to improve even further with Broadwell.

In a list of features on the new chips, Intel says Broadwell will usher in "new form factors" with systems that are thinner and run both silently and cool, with two times reduction in thermal design point.

Broadwell_Package_Diagonal1.jpg
Intel's 14-nanometer Broadwell package​
​
- The combination of the new microarchitecture and manufacturing process will usher in a wave of innovation in new form factors, experiences and systems that are thinner and run silent and cool.

- Intel architects and chip designers have achieved greater than two times reduction in the thermal design point when compared to a previous generation of processor while providing similar performance and improved battery life.

- The new microarchitecture was optimized to take advantage of the new capabilities of the 14nm manufacturing process.

- Intel has delivered the world's first 14nm technology in volume production. It uses second-generation Tri-gate (FinFET) transistors with industry-leading performance, power, density and cost per transistor.

- Intel's 14nm technology will be used to manufacture a wide range of high-performance to low-power products including servers, personal computing devices and Internet of Things.
Click to expand...
As has been previously announced, the 14-nanometer Broadwell-Y Core M chip will be the first of the Broadwell processors to hit the market, with retailers releasing Core M devices in the fall. Designed specifically for low power devices such as two-in-one tablet/computer hybrids, the Core M's low wattage allows for fanless operation and its smaller physical size means it can fit comfortably in devices that are "razor-thin."

AnandTech has released a detailed look at the Broadwell architecture with a preview of Core M, pointing towards "substantial" GPU increases for the Broadwell line of chips and limited CPU performance improvements.

Apple is said to be working on a 12-inch Retina MacBook that has a slimmer form factor than the existing MacBook Air and a fanless design that aligns with some of the properties of the Core M Broadwell chip, but existing MacBook Air computers utilize the Haswell-U series chips that run at 15 watts while the Core M operates at approximately 5 watts, making it unclear whether it would be possible for a Retina MacBook to be powered by the Core M chip.

Intel's Core M processors are expected to ship during the 2014 holiday season, with additional Broadwell chips becoming available in early and mid-2015. The first devices utilizing Core M processors will be shipping before the end of the year.

Article Link: Intel Shares New Details on Low-Power Core M Broadwell Processors
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/08/11/intel-core-m-broadwell-processors/
X

xVeinx

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2006
361
0
California
This won't have near the performance of the Haswell-U series, so it's unlikely that it would be used in a Macbook Air variety.
 
The Barron

The Barron

macrumors 6502a
Mar 5, 2009
857
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Fanless Design

Yikes, no fan? I sure hope they get this right because I've noticed a tad bit of heat in past Apple products. I love them all, but they do keep me warm year round. :)
 
H

herocero

macrumors regular
Jan 23, 2003
148
127
down on the upside
i would not be surprised if apple gets the convertible two-in-one form factor down before the competition, assuming component parts reach the appropriate power envelope and dimension. the picture in the anandtech piece with the Broadwell-Y package next to earlier ones is pretty impressive. a 10" iPad retina/macbook air with a new thunderbolt monitor/dock would be pretty epic.
 
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barkmonster

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2001
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Lancashire
Anyone reckon there'll be a Mac/iPad hybrid eventually once these are available?

Not some surface-like compromise, iOS and Mac OS X integrated properly and with iOS8 and Yosemite being the building block of the integration on a Retina MBP/iPad Air system.
 
Moonjumper

Moonjumper

macrumors 68030
Jun 20, 2009
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herocero said:
i would not be surprised if apple gets the convertible two-in-one form factor down before the competition, assuming component parts reach the appropriate power envelope and dimension. the picture in the anandtech piece with the Broadwell-Y package next to earlier ones is pretty impressive. a 10" iPad retina/macbook air with a new thunderbolt monitor/dock would be pretty epic.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the best way to approach a convertible two-in-one form is to not do it. If so, Apple already has it right.
 
C

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,576
1,691
Redondo Beach, California
5 Watts is the point I've been waiting for. I've been wanting to build a file server using FreeNAS. i tried and Atom CPU and it was not enough for the performance level I wanted.

(FreeNAS is BSD based, just like Mac OS X)
 
ricci

ricci

macrumors 6502
Aug 21, 2012
259
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Another Intel Broadwell tease! This is killing me! Intel needs a swift kick In the rear already. It's late , it's back on track, oh it's delayed again but now it may come by the holidays ?! Aahhhhhhhhhh!!! I need two things , MacPro with this next Gen proccessors and a MacBook Pro with this amazing next Gen Processors! Go to Intel or Google too see what is so exciting about this next Gen Processor !! Bring it already!
 
usamaah

usamaah

macrumors regular
Sep 23, 2008
190
287
Chicago
sputnikv said:
macbook air with retina
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You have the right idea, given the GPU improvements.

ricci said:
Another Intel Broadwell tease! This is killing me! Intel needs a swift kick In the rear already. It's late , it's back on track, oh it's delayed again but now it may come by the holidays ?! Aahhhhhhhhhh!!! I need two things , MacPro with this next Gen proccessors and a MacBook Pro with this amazing next Gen Processors! Go to Intel or Google too see what is so exciting about this next Gen Processor !! Bring it already!
Click to expand...

This isn't a tease, this is a, "here's why it's been so hard to get Broadwell right." Look at the yield graphs, they're pretty far behind (especially early in its life) when you compare it with Haswell. (The graph compares both processors at a similar time in its life cycle).

Image here (Anandtech link)


Intel is at the cutting edge of hardware and constantly running into problems with the laws of physics. These are amazing engineering feats but with the current process they're just going to get more and more difficult to come by.
 
Last edited:
Jack Delgado

Jack Delgado

macrumors regular
May 11, 2012
138
347
barkmonster said:
Anyone reckon there'll be a Mac/iPad hybrid eventually once these are available?

Not some surface-like compromise, iOS and Mac OS X integrated properly and with iOS8 and Yosemite being the building block of the integration on a Retina MBP/iPad Air system.
Click to expand...

Nope.

Though there are look-and-feel elements that are the same or similar between OSX and iOS, Yosemite doesn't qualify as a building block towards a merged system. The user experience and software on either system does not lend itself well to a merged OS.

Apple will continue for the foreseeable future to create a uniform look across their products, but they have no interest in merging those products together when they still sell well on their own. Though opinions do differ on the matter, there is no concrete evidence yet (proven by competitors) that a hybrid device is a genuine upgrade from two independent focused devices.

It would take a rethinking of an entire pipeline to make that work. Apple may do it one day, but Yosemite's consumer-oriented major purpose is being a reskinned version of Mavericks. Their is no rethinking of UI and navigation that would lend itself to be "heading towards" an iOS merge or hybrid device.
 
Ronnoco

Ronnoco

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Oct 16, 2007
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I don't think I've ever even heard the fan on my 2013 MBA (13"/17) even when using handbrake or iVi for video encoding. I'm sure it's on, but I don't hear it nor do I feel a tremendous amount of heat emanating from it. It is for sure, one of (if not THE) coolest running notebooks I've ever owned.
 
PowerBook-G5

PowerBook-G5

macrumors 65816
Jul 30, 2013
1,243
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I guess that we'll have to wait until Broadwell hits the market for an all-new, radically thin, light, and fast Mac Mini. The Mini team probably wants to have no fan in it make it quieter than the 2013 Mac Pro (I remember someone in one Keynote said that the nMP was quieter than a Mac Mini. I guess a fanless Mac Pro will come after that...)
 
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barkmonster

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2001
2,134
15
Lancashire
Jack Delgado said:
Nope.

Though there are look-and-feel elements that are the same or similar between OSX and iOS, Yosemite doesn't qualify as a building block towards a merged system. The user experience and software on either system does not lend itself well to a merged OS.

Apple will continue for the foreseeable future to create a uniform look across their products, but they have no interest in merging those products together when they still sell well on their own. Though opinions do differ on the matter, there is no concrete evidence yet (proven by competitors) that a hybrid device is a genuine upgrade from two independent focused devices.

It would take a rethinking of an entire pipeline to make that work. Apple may do it one day, but Yosemite's consumer-oriented major purpose is being a reskinned version of Mavericks. Their is no rethinking of UI and navigation that would lend itself to be "heading towards" an iOS merge or hybrid device.
Click to expand...

iOS within some kind of virtualisation environment that's called on to run touch-based iOS software under Mac OS X the way you can use Windows software with WINE could work. The overall look and feel of iOS is definitely on it's way to Mac OS X with Yosemite.
 
Jack Delgado

Jack Delgado

macrumors regular
May 11, 2012
138
347
barkmonster said:
iOS within some kind of virtualisation environment that's called on to run touch-based iOS software under Mac OS X the way you can use Windows software with WINE could work. The overall look and feel of iOS is definitely on it's way to Mac OS X with Yosemite.
Click to expand...

Yeah it could definitely work but it would only happen during an Apple-era where they're just adding in features to OSX for the hell of it. If you already have OSX, a very mature ecosystem with its own set of apps and capabilities, why do we need to staple iOS apps into it?

My point is that the iPad and iPhone serve their purpose well for the applications they have. The same can be said for the mac products that exist. They serve two different purposes and as competitors have shown, there's something left to be desired when you try and cram the two ecosystems together. You no longer have any one device that does the thing it's supposed to do really well anymore. You've got a B- instead of an A.
 
B

Beliblis

macrumors regular
Dec 31, 2011
241
11
Fanless design

Yeah right... Macbook with fanless design.

I may(!) consider buying that if Apple finally acknowledges the 2011 MBP GPU overheating problem ('radeongate').
Other than that: Who in their right mind would to spend 1k on a laptop that may overheat any moment?
 
H

H2SO4

macrumors 603
Nov 4, 2008
5,651
6,937
Ronnoco said:
I don't think I've ever even heard the fan on my 2013 MBA (13"/17) even when using handbrake or iVi for video encoding. I'm sure it's on, but I don't hear it nor do I feel a tremendous amount of heat emanating from it. It is for sure, one of (if not THE) coolest running notebooks I've ever owned.
Click to expand...

But what fps does Handbrake give you?
 
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