New 'Haswell' Chips to Boost Battery Life, Intel Says

Intel says its new line of Core processors, tentatively known as 'Haswell' chips, will completely change the way we think about laptop battery life. The firm says its new chips could extend laptop battery life by up to 50 per cent.

Intel says that it focused exclusively on laptops and tablet computers when designing the new Haswell chips.

Rani Borkar, Intel Architecture Group's corporate vice president and general manager, insists that the goal all along was to produce processors that simply consume less power.

Intel Seeks Tricky Balance Between Power Consumption and Performance

However, Borkar says Intel was also careful to ensure that lower power consumption did not result in lower performance. (Source: pcworld.com)

In fact, Intel says that laptop computers using a Haswell processor will see graphics performance double. For desktop users, the improvements could be even greater.

For users, the major improvements in battery life will be visible when a mobile computing device is placed in sleep or standby mode. There, a device could see its battery life extended by up to 20 times, Borkar said. (Source: extremetech.com)

So, how is Intel striking this balance between performance and power consumption?

The firm says it all has to do with the introduction of a new power management unit designed to maximize the efficiency of a processor.

In effect, this unit makes the chip smarter, allowing it to adjust power consumption based on the processes being carried out by the user.

Intel also points to more effective voltage regulators and faster interconnects as key factors in the improved power / performance relationship.

Haswell Chips Key to PC Sales Revival

Analysts believe these improvements are critical for a sliding PC market. By extending laptop battery life, consumers have less reason to make the switch to tablet computers or smartphones.

That could be huge for a market that saw sales decline nearly 14 per cent during 2013's first quarter. (Source: pcworld.com)

It's expected that Intel will unveil its Haswell chips, which the firm has been working on for two years now, at the Computex trade show next month.