Intel to launch new Corei5 processor line

MANILA, Philippines - Intel is set to unveil its new Corei5 processor line as well as its latest Corei7 models to the local market on Thursday, a few days after the worldwide launch.

Intel Core is the flagship processor brand of the world’s biggest chipmaker. It has launched top-of-the-line Corei7, the first processor line that uses the Intel Nehalem micro architecture and successor to the Intel Core 2 family, in November last year.

While Corei7 is for high-level computing, the new Corei5 is a mid-range processor with key features as adaptable performance, smart multi-tasking capability and new micro-architecture.

Another processor in the Intel Core family — the Core i3 processor for entry-level computing — will be unveiled in 2010. Intel said this would complete the Intel Core family brand to suit the needs of every kind of computer user.

Ricky Banaag, Intel country manager, clarified in a media briefing that the i7, i5 and i3 modifiers to the Intel Core brand provide differentiation and make it easier for the computing public to choose the right processor for their needs. They also integrate the Intel Core offerings into one brand family construct.

“i3, i5 and i7 are not brands but modifiers or identifiers to the Intel Core brand that specify the relative levels of performance and features within the Intel Core processor family,” Banaag said. “Core here does not refer to dual Core or quad Core but refers to the flagship brand.”

The other classic brands remain the same — Intel Pentium for basic computing, Intel Celeron for affordable entry-level computing, and Intel Atom for netbooks, nettops and other devices with small form factors.

“But if you want the latest technology, the flagship is Core for both desktops and notebooks,” Banaag said.

There is a greater demand now for high-end processors, said Jerome Matti, Intel Philippines marketing manager.

In the last four years alone, he said a lot has happened to the industry — YouTube was launched in 2006, Facebook extended beyond college students also in 2006, HD content is now available online via ABC, NBC and Hulu, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) now has 14.7-million users, digital cameras have gone from 2.1 megapixels to 10+ megapixels.

“If you own a machine more than three years old, it’s likely you are not enjoying a great experience,” he said.

Fact is, 37 percent of computers in use in the country are more than three years old, and more people are seeing the need to upgrade their machines. At the heart of an upgrade is the processor, which is the “brain” of the computer.

“The processor is the most fundamental part of the computer because it affects how fast the computer runs and how many applications you can run simultaneously,” Matti explained.

By rationalizing the branding of its processor brand offerings, Intel hopes to enable computers to determine the kind of technology appropriate for their needs and simplify the purchase decision process.

Intel executives, however, are mum on the technical specifications of the Core i5 and the new models of Core i7 that will be unveiled pending the official launch, saying Intel will be introducing new processors on both the existing Nehalem and new Westmere designs.