Additional details concerning Intel’s next generation Atom processor platform have surfaced online more than a year ahead of its scheduled arrival. Codenamed Bay Trail, the new platform will be a true single chip SoC built on Intel’s latest 22-nanometer process with Tri-gate transistor technology, according presentation slides posted to German technology forum 3DCenter.org.
The slides indicate that the quad-core chips will offer a performance improvement of 50 to 100 percent over previous generation Atom processors on the CPU side and up to three times better graphics performance courtesy of Intel Gen7 graphics. The platform will run DirectX 11 with support for resolutions up to 2,560 x 1,600. DDR3L memory and a native USB 3.0 controller come standard as well.
The quad-core x86 chip will now support out-of-order execution which, as TechPowerUp points out, is glaringly missing from current Atom chips. The Bay Trail platform will also have a new feature called Burst which operates much like Turbo Boost does today by ramping up clock speeds under heavy load.
Another key component to the next generation Atom’s success is the graphics subsystem. In addition to the aforementioned features, there’s also support for two TMDS links.
It’s worth noting that Intel is classifying the platform into three different categories based on how the chips will be used. Bay Trail-D will find homes in low-cost desktops, nettops and set-top boxes, Bay Trail-M will show up in lower-end notebooks and Bay Trail-T will be designed exclusively for tablets.
We’ll keep an eye out for more details about Bay Trail at this year’s CES.
