Already in August, Intel introduced 10th generation Core mobile processors, i.e. Ice Lake and Comet Lake. However, finding a laptop with one of these systems is a miracle. Actually, there are none at all. There are only a few pre-production copies that they keep an eye on. With one of them I was able to spend less than a quarter of an hour, and in such conditions that I can not reveal to you who and where he gave me this equipment.
However, before you move on to the commentary offensive from the cycle I hide secretlyI feel compelled to calm down. Well, the problem, if you can use this word at all, has a completely different nature. Intel has set laptop manufacturers a terribly ambitious task, the implementation of which necessarily takes time. However, I am not able to tell you if they will do the job.
A few years ago, the concept of ultrabook, a powerful machine for everyday office and multimedia work, was created. Although in the meantime the name ultrabook was abandoned, the idea remained. Meanwhile, the Atena Project concept, implemented with the 10th generation, raises the bar. Now let's talk about a high-performance workstation, which, with the ultrabook in common, actually has only a slim housing. It is not difficult to see how the requirements for engineers are growing.
You need to develop sufficiently effective power and cooling systems to build something that could pass for a mobile workstation. Only on a miniaturized scale.
Mini scale workstation
MSI Prestige 14, because this model I came across, is a 14-inch, highly portable laptop with a mass not exceeding 1.3 kg. Despite this, it offers an Intel Core i7-10710U six-core processor, 16 GB of soldered RAM LPDDR3-2133 memory and a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics card. In addition, it is equipped with M.2 connector for NVMe disk and Full HD IPS matrix, which according to the manufacturer can cover 100 percent. Adobe RGB space.
Little? Then add two TB 3 connectors, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, HDMI 2.0, a microSD card reader and analog audio, and a 82 Wh battery.
This is a specification that laptops for mid-range players, equipped with a 15-inch screen and weighing 2 kg with considerable interest, have so far boasted. Here we get the whole set of rarities in a slightly smaller format than the new MacBook Pro 13, in addition to the factory Nvidia Studio drivers for graphic designers. You understand the idea, right?
I have to admit that the demo of 2D graphics upscaling using an artificial intelligence model for predicting pixels makes a huge impression. Believe it or not, you can make a large format image from a VGA photo. And no, it doesn't scare you with pixels or blur.
Strange way of ultrabooks
On the other hand, however, you can see, at least looking at MSI Prestige 14, that it's still not all playing and buzzing. Well, unless we take these words literally. Because the noise generated by the fans turns out to be quite significant, although apparently this is a matter of profile settings, because with an energy budget limited to 20 W the device does not overheat.
After all, apart from this particular model, this meeting clearly made me aware of the path Intel wants to take. And this is a way of blurring the differences between the high-mobility equipment and mobile workstations line. In the era of progressive miniaturization, I should not be surprised. Only with the laws of physics no one has won yet, and this in turn raises concerns in the context of the final effect. Needless to say, how many laptop manufacturers have had and still have problems with taming the quad-core Core i7-8565U. And the number of transistors increases …