Intel may move up the launch of its Ivy Bridge processors by nearly a week. Notebook builders claimed early Thursday to Digitimes that the formal release would occur April 23, six days earlier than widely leaked. Why wasn’t mentioned, but it would imply better supply than anticipated.
While they wouldn’t need to wait for the later date, Acer, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo were all said to be preparing ultrabooks based on new low voltage processors. Apple should base the next MacBook Pros on the chips.
Ivy Bridge is Intel’s first 22-nanometer architecture and uses a 3D transistor design that keeps it energy efficient. Most processors in the family will run at only slightly higher clock speeds but will typically be faster at the same clock rate. Graphics may be the largest boost for lower-end systems, as Intel’s HD 4000 is known to be much faster than the 3000 it replaces.
