Intel's Ivy Bridge chips launch using '3D transistors'

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17785464

by pshken • 14 years ago

39 16 14 years ago

wmf• 14 years ago

It must be midnight somewhere; the embargos are expiring. Personally, the BBC is the last place I'd look for coverage of processors; you'd probably be better off waiting a few hours for AnandTech or something.

(Also, they're called FinFETs.)

ajross• 14 years ago

No, they're called "Tri-Gate" transistors if you want to nit. FinFET is an industry term, not one Intel uses for this particular process. Both/either are examples of 3D transistor structure, so the linked article isn't wrong.

vgnet• 14 years ago

With some images of each (which I can't judge for accuracy): http://semiaccurate.com/2011/08/18/intel-moves-transistors-f...

dethstarr• 14 years ago

I'll be waiting for my nano-microchip in the near future, thank you very much. Enough of this silicon-based stuff!

sliverstorm2• 14 years ago

Silicon is here to stay for the foreseeable future, and for a very simple reason. While we have many advanced possibilities with germanium or carbon nano-tubes or other such advanced processes, silicon is still the cheapest by such a magnitude that it wins out in performance per dollar.

nnnnni• 14 years ago

Blank CDs were pretty expensive at one point.

unwind• 14 years ago

Nano-what? "Microchip" isn't a material ... But silicon is, and you can have as many nano-silicon microchips you want!

rbanffy2• 14 years ago

> my nano-microchip

Are you quoting some really obscure science-fiction story?

BTW, wouldn't a nano-micro-something be a femto-something?

VigUi7vv8G2• 14 years ago

The gates on these chips are 22 nanometers. "microchips" have been measured in nanometers for a while.

spicyj• 14 years ago

Hopefully we see a new MacBook Pro release soon…

kzrdude2• 14 years ago

Rather Air or something to rival it. Thin, silent, energy efficient.

rbanffy2• 14 years ago

My bet is on the Pro and Air lines converging. There is not much reason for an optical drive anymore in the Pros and, without it, they could be thinner.

I expect the 13" MBP to vanish or be turned into an Air with a spinning metal disk and beefier battery and GPU.

Intel's Ivy Bridge chips launch using '3D transistors'

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