Gizmos

Intel Unveils New Chip Design

Will be smaller, faster than any before.

Intel announced Wednesday a major breakthrough in computer processing: The company is building a chip that will be smaller, faster, and will use less power than any previous design—and rises above the standard flat surface. Since the creation of the microchip, the flat transistor has been customary. But the increase of the amount of space needed to store information and create even less power usage has caused developers to start to think about creating another dimension. Intel has already begun using a 3-D transistor design called a Finfet in its microprocessors, and they plan to enter production with this technology sometime later this year. They did not give technical details in their announcement.