Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve already heard about the launch of the 3rd-generation Intel® Core™ processors (formerly codenamed “Ivy Bridge”). But do you know what these new chips can do for you? Before we answer that question, let’s review the basics: The new processors are the first to use Intel’s 22nm fabrication process, which provides up to 20% better performance in the same thermal envelope as the previous generation. The ...Read More

The ATCA (Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture) and smaller-form-factor µTCA (MicroTCA)  standards (collectively referred to as xTCA) for blade-based systems are increasingly popular in applications including telecommunications, military, and industrial automation. Embedded teams have a number of options for connecting multiple processors across xTCA backplanes and that choice can have a significant impact on realized system performance. PCI Express (PCIe) is often the b...Read More

If you’re an embedded geek like me, this year’s Intel Developer Forum (IDF) was a great place to be.  I saw a ton of cool products and demos that got me excited about the future of embedded.  The launch of the new Intel® Atom™ processor E6xx series was at the top of my list.  I think this new processor—which is the first Intel® architecture chip designed specifically for embedded—will enable for a whole new generation of highly connected, h...Read More

Low power is a tough subject to tackle. You have active and standby power issues that come into play. And you must always think system power rather than component power. The Intel® Atom N450 isn't the lowest-power member of the Atom family. But if you consider power along with feature integration and system power and performance, the new N450 may be the very best choice for your low-power embedded system design. The processor is already finding use in products destined for automotive, indu...Read More

The range of CPU performance afforded by Intel® Architecture (IA) processors has continued to grow and the Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series will further stretch the capabilities at the high end of the IA family. Members of the 5600 series integrate as many as 6 processing cores. Moreover the products support the Intel® QuickPath Technology that launched on prior Nehalem microarchitecture Xeon processors. The new processor also comes with new support ICs including the Intel...Read More

In January Intel introduced ten new Intel® Core™ processors for the embedded market.  These new processors—the Intel® Core™ i7, Intel® Core™ i5, and Intel® Core™ i3 families—are the successors to the Intel® Core™ 2 family.  The new processors offer a number of major upgrades and features that benefit embedded applications, including:   Integration of graphics and memory controller onto the CPU, which reduces the...Read More

Maximizing embedded computation performance depends on creating an optimal processor configuration using the right combination of variables including processor core count, socket count, processor operating frequency, thread count, and FSB speed. Because the fastest configuration does not always meet budget, thermal, or power constraints, you need to understand how these various factors contribute to overall computing performance to make the right design decisions. This blog entry explores perfo...Read More