Intel: 10nm Ice Lake CPUs are now shipping and offer iGPU on-par with AMD

During the firm's Computex keynote, Intel announced that 10nm "Ice Lake" 10th Gen Core processors are now shipping to clients. These new chips feature Iris Plus Gen11 integrated graphics with AI acceleration. Intel promises an approximately 5x boost in AI performance and about 2x higher graphics performance.

According to Intel, the graphics found in the 10th Gen Core CPUs are on-par with what's delivered by AMD's current-generation Ryzen 7 series APUs. Intel's slides also talk about a 18 percent increase in IPC versus Skylake.

OEM system availability is expected for holiday 2019. The firm also talked about Project Athena, an innovation program that aims to deliver higher mobile battery life.

10th Gen Intel Core Processors: Highly Integrated; Broad-Scale AI to the PC
Intel announced the first 10th Gen Intel Core processors, bringing high-performance AI to the PC at scale with Intel® Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost). The processors are built on the company’s 10nm process technology, new “Sunny Cove” core architecture and new Gen11 graphics engine. 10th Gen Intel Core processors will range from Intel Core i3 to Intel Core i7, with up to 4 cores and 8 threads, up to 4.1 max turbo frequency and up to 1.1 GHz graphics frequency.

10th Gen Intel Core processors will take thin-and-light laptops and 2 in 1s to the next level, offering:

Intelligent performance: Intel’s first processors designed to enable high-performance AI on the laptop, delivering approximately 2.5x AI performance1 with Intel DL Boost for low latency workloads. The new graphics architecture delivers up to 1 teraflop of vector compute for heavy duty inference workloads to enhance creativity, productivity and entertainment on highly mobile, thin-and-light laptops. For low-power AI usages on the PC, Intel® Gaussian Network Accelerator (GNA) is built into the SoC.

A leap in graphics capabilities: New Intel Iris Plus graphics, based on the Gen11 graphics architecture, nearly doubles performance for stunning visual experiences. Reach pro-level content creation capabilities on the go with approximately 2x HEVC encode; watch 4K HDR in a billion colors5; game with up to 2x faster FPS and play thousands of popular titles in 1080p.

Best-in-class connectivity: Delivering both integrated Thunderbolt™ 3 and integrated Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) for the first time to enable nearly 3x faster wireless speeds alongside the fastest and most versatile port available. Intel’s Gig+ implementation of Wi-Fi 6 connectivity delivers greater than 1 Gbps wireless speeds with enhanced reliability and performance.

Intel’s highly integrated 10th Gen Intel Core processors give OEM partners the freedom to innovate on design and aesthetic by reducing the silicon footprint while still delivering the latest and greatest standards and world-class performance. The new 10th Gen Intel Core processors are now shipping, with OEM systems expected to be available for holiday 2019.

Project Athena: Accelerating the Pace of Innovation
Intel also shared more details on its innovation program code-named “Project Athena,” including the 1.0 target specification that will usher in the first wave of laptops in the second half of this year. The company also previewed some of the first designs to come from partners spanning consumer and commercial including Acer*, Dell*, HP* and Lenovo*.

Project Athena: Introducing the Next Era of Laptop Innovation
Based on years of research to understand people’s needs, challenges and expectations of the laptop, the program prioritizes enabling experiences that are reflective of real-world conditions as measured by “key experience indicators” (KEI).

Intel developed the new KEI engineering metrics, used during the program’s verification process, to test and drive consistent experiences on the laptop. Metrics are based on day-in-the-life research of laptop users at home or at work under real-world conditions. Intel’s goal for the new metrics is to work with the ecosystem to drive innovation that noticeably impacts people’s experiences on the laptop and evolve those capabilities year over year. The first wave of KEI targets includes:

Consistent responsiveness on battery

16 or more hours of battery life in local video playback mode and 9 or more hours of battery life under real-world performance conditions

System wake from sleep in less than 1 second

The specification that will enable these experiences includes platform-level requirements – such as Thunderbolt 3, Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), OpenVINO AI on PC compatibility and modern connected standby – across six areas: instant action, performance and responsiveness, intelligence, battery life, connectivity and form factor. For highlights of the 1.0 target specification, see the Project Athena fact sheet.

As part of Project Athena, Intel is providing co-engineering support across the ecosystem – with more than 100 companies signed on – and new tools and Open Labs facilities to support verification and testing of laptops.

Project Athena is a multi-year journey, with today’s announcement on the 1.0 target specifications and design previews representing just the beginning.