![]() This is the first time Intel has crammed four full-fat cores into power-efficient 15W chips designed for ultrabooks and other low-profile computers. Though these new CPUs share a codename with last year’s seventh-gen chips, make no mistake, Kaby Lake-R is a big upgrade over the vanilla variant powering most of today’s laptops. The new Deluxe’s Core i7-8550U is one of the first chips from Intel’s eighth generation of Core processors. Now there’s a new model, and while it appears all but identical from the outside, looking closely at the spec sheet reveals one major difference: the dual-core CPU at the heart of the original has been swapped for a new quad-core chip based on Kaby Lake-R. If déjà vu is kicking in, that’s probably because the debut version of the ZenBook 3 Deluxe also boasted all of the above. Humming away under the hood is an Intel Core i7 processor, along with 16GB of RAM and half a terabyte of solid stage storage. But there’s more to this ultraportable than a classy exterior and compact chassis. ![]() ![]() The striking exterior highlights a razor-thin profile that takes home the title for thinnest 14” laptop available, and the Deluxe is lighter than most of the competition, too. Future processes require more complex manufacturing and more exotic technology-IBM recently demoed a 7nm chip, though the commercial viability of this manufacturing process is less than clear-so these delays may become a common feature of the future.Wrapped in a stunning royal blue aluminum with gleaming gold trim, it’s easy to see how our ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490 got its name. ![]() Krzanich indicated that this may not be the end of tick tock forever and that a more regular two year-per-process timeframe was still the long-term desire, but Intel's difficulties and changed plans show the continuing challenges with keeping pace with Moore's Law: the rule of thumb coined by Intel's Gordon Moore that transistor density will double every 18 to 24 months. Little concrete is known about Kaby Lake, but it's likely to be available in a range of lines from a 4.5W laptop part up to 80W dual-socket server and workstation parts. News of this processor appeared to leak last month along with its full name: Kaby Lake. Like Skylake, this processor will continue to use the 14nm process. Cannonlake is being pushed back, from 2016 to the second half of 2017, and in the interim, a third "lake" generation processor will be released in 2016. Transitioning to 10nm isn't expected to be any better, so Intel is extending the timelines. The migration to 14nm was more challenging than anticipated, and there were issues too with the previous migration to 22nm. In a call to shareholders after announcing its financial results today, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich confirmed that this plan has been derailed. This was to be the next tick the processor architecture would be minimally changed, but the manufacturing process would switch to 10nm. The original plan was for Skylake to be succeeded by Cannonlake. ![]() Later this year Intel will release the first Skylake processors these will continue to be built on 14nm, but will contain a range of architectural improvements, and as such are a "tock." Since 2007, Intel has been operating on a staggered release schedule that alternates manufacturing process shrinks-"ticks"-with major microarchitectural improvements-"tocks." For example, the current generation Broadwell processors are a "tick," being the first processors built on the 14nm process. Intel has confirmed today that it will build a third generation of processors on its 14nm process, and that the switch to 10nm manufacturing has been delayed until the second half of 2017, showing the challenges that Moore's Law is under and bringing an end to the company's "tick-tock" strategy. ![]()
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