Intel's 16 New Processors Based on 45nm Silicon Technology

Intel kicked off this year's CES in a big way, introducing 16 new processors all 

based on the chipmaker's 45 nanometer (nm) process technology. We've been hearing a 

lot about 45 nm lately and, admittedly, it's kind of hard to get excited about 

semiconductor fabrication -- especially when there's all manner of shiny new gizmos 

vying for your attention.

While AMD is expected to move the 45 nm sometime in the second half of 2008, Intel 

began mass-producing these chips in November 2007. In a general sense, 45 nm fans 

the flames of Moore's law, allowing Intel to double the number of transistors in the 

same silicon space. According to the chipmaker, it also allows the company squeeze more 

performance out of smaller transistors and increases the overall energy efficiency of a 

given processor.