AI Everywhere: Intel plans to make AI-enabled PCs accessible to everyone with its new Core Ultra Processors

During the AI Everywhere event in New York, Intel announced the launch of its latest Core Ultra processors designed for ultrathin laptops. The unveiling comes as part of CEO Pat Gelsinger’s efforts to reenergize the semiconductor giant and regain market share from competitors like AMD while fending off challenges from Qualcomm and Apple.

The Core Ultra processors introduce several innovations for Intel, including a chiplet design and a neural processing unit (NPU). These processors are available in three configurations: Core Ultra 5, Core Ultra 7, and Core Ultra 9. The Core Ultra 5 and Core Ultra 7 are already available in new PCs, while the Core Ultra 9 is expected to be released in the coming months.

The chiplet design, referred to as tiles by Intel, divides the chip into distinct components, allowing for easy customization based on specific requirements. The Core Ultra line comprises a compute tile, graphics tile, I/O tile, and System on a Chip (SoC) tile. This architecture is designed to enhance both the power and power efficiency of Intel’s Core Ultra chips.

Intel and its partner OEMs like Acer, ASUS, Dell, Dynabook, Gigabyte, Google Chromebook, HP, Lenovo, LG, Microsoft Surface, MSI and Samsung etc are ready with over 230 AI PCs, powered by the Intel Core Ultra. Some laptops that are powered by the Intel Core Ultra processors have already been made available.

Notable features of the chiplets include performance cores for power-intensive tasks, efficiency cores for less demanding programs, and the inclusion of Intel’s new Low Power Island in the SoC tile for even lower power tasks.

The SoC tile also incorporates Intel’s NPU, aligning with the event’s theme of “AI Everywhere,” although it is not intended for running resource-intensive AI tasks like ChatGPT directly on laptops.

In terms of performance, Intel claims that its high-end Core Ultra 7165H chip surpasses competitors such as AMD’s Ryzen 7 7840U, Apple’s M3 chip, Qualcomm’s 8cx Gen 3 chip, and its own Core i7-1370P in multithreaded performance.

The Ultra 7165H is also touted to consume less power than AMD’s Ryzen 7 7840U while handling tasks like streaming Netflix, watching 4K video, and web browsing. Gaming performance is expected to improve due to the Ultra’s onboard Arc graphics processing unit.

The Intel Core Ultra boasts up to a 16-core CPU, supporting up to 96 GB of DDR5 or 64 GB of LPDDR5x memory, and includes Thunderbolt 4 support with up to 40 Gbps data transfer speed. Additionally, the processor is fabricated using the cutting-edge 4nm process and utilizes Foveros 3D advanced packaging.

Intel has collaborated with over 100 independent software vendors, optimizing more than 300 AI-accelerated features for the Core Ultra processors.

The company also introduced the Intel Evo Edition for laptops, offering up to 10 hours of real-world battery life, improved performance, fast charging, and instant wake support. Further, Intel plans to reveal the Intel Core Ultra-based vPro platform for commercial devices.

In addition to the Core Ultra processors, Intel announced the launch of the 5th Gen Intel Xeon Processors with enhanced AI performance and teased the upcoming Intel Gaudi3 AI Accelerator, scheduled for an early release next year, designed for deep learning and large-scale generative AI models.