Intel Unveils New Line of More Efficient Chips

Intel unveiled a new line of processors that shrinks the dimensions to 45 nanometers. That's 45-billionths of a meter, and on top of that, Intel stated that it has eliminated lead from the microprocessors and also expects to make them halogen-free by next year making them friendlier for the environment.

The Penryn chip's key feature is actually the use of hafnium which is a silvery element that is most commonly used to control rods in nuclear reactors in order to reduce the power leakage. This element makes these chips 30 percent more energy efficient and also boosts the performance by about 20 percent.

This family of shipc is geared toward higher end PCs, including desktop monster-machines used by PC gamers and heavy PC users, plus PC servers. This rollout is said to highlight an industry-wide shift to 45-nm chip manufacturing technology. Other chip companies including AMD are also shifting to this new technology as well.