Intel Launches Four Core M Broadwell CPUs for 2-in-1 Devices

Back in September, at IFA 2014 in Berlin, Germany, Intel officially revealed its long-term plans and what it would do to start them out in the short term. In a nutshell, the Broadwell micro-architecture would be the key, starting with the Core M series.

Broadwell is a core logic set designed on the 14nm fabrication technology. Intel would often unveil desktop PC models first and follow up with laptop and other special models. This time, however, the company is starting from the other end, having set 2015 as the ETA for desktop/laptop parts but having already launched the low-power ultramobile version. We are, of course, referring to the Intel Core M CPU series. A series that started off with three members but has now grown to seven.

Intel releases four new Core M central processing units

While all four stick to the same TDP (thermal design power) of 4.5W, making them as well suited for tablets and 2-in-1 devices as their brethren, they don't offer the same performance, obviously. The best chip in the collection is the Core M 5Y71, whose both cores work at 1.2 GHz, or 2.9 GHz if the Turbo Boost technology kicks in. Since Hyper-Threading is supported, the operating system of the PC/tablet/hybrid will see four threads though (logical cores). That said, the chip also includes HD 5300 graphics (300 MHz / 900 MHz) and 4 MB of L3 cache memory.

The other three are quite similar in their memory, TDP, and use of Hyper-Threading technology, but they are set apart by the rest. The Core M 5Y51, for example, is a 1.1 / 2.6 GHz chip with HD 5300 graphics at 300 / 900 MHz, so almost identical to the one above. The Core M 5Y31, on the other hand, works at 900 MHz / 2.4 GHz and runs the iGP at 300 / 850 MHz. Finally, the Core M5Y10c operates at 800 MHz / 2 GHz and the HD 5300 iGP at 300 / 800 MHz. LPDDR3-1600 and DDR3L-1600 memory is supported on all these chips, along with Vpro features, AES, and AVX/AVX2 instructions.

Availability and pricing

Since these are BGA-packaged chips that won't be found outside of mobile devices, their individual prices don't matter much, which is probably why even CPU World didn't dig them up. Not to worry though, the 2-in-1 devices powered by these processors are bound to sell for five hundred dollars/euro or less.

Intel Core M CPU
Image credits to Intel

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