CNET reports Intel will make a limited-run of Ivy Bridge chips with a sub-10W TDP, these processors will go into select ultrabooks and tablets.
"Limited SKUs" of Intel's 3rd Generation processor, aka Ivy Bridge, will have a power rating below 10 watts, allowing the processor to throttle down to a sub-10-watt power envelope, an Intel spokesperson told CNET. This "will enable new ultrabook designs" and the chip is "coming very soon," he added.
That power-efficiency rating is an important yardstick because Intel's mainstream Core series processors currently have ratings no lower than 17 watts -- those versions are used in ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air laptops today. And anything below 10 watts from Intel has historically been limited to its lower-performance Atom chips used in tablets and smartphones.
