14 DAY TRIAL // The Bay Trail atom platform is the series of processors, or rather SoCs (system-on-chip devices), that Intel will release for tablets, low-end notebooks and entry-level desktops this year.
A user on the 3DCenter.org Forums managed to get a hold of the company's Power Point presentation detailing the new product line.
Indeed, there are three versions of the platform: Bay Trail-T, Bay Trail-M and Bay Trail-D. In that order, they are aimed at tablets, notebooks and desktops.
All of them are built on the 22nm tri-gate manufacturing process technology, have four cores and integrated graphics, use CPU and GPU Burst dynamic overclocking, and integrate Intel Smart Connect, Common Security Framework and McAfee Deep Safe Ready technologies.
Compared to previous-generation CPUs, they have 50-100% better processing performance and up to three times better graphics prowess (DirectX 11 support, 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution, OpenGL 3.2).
Furthermore, the chips have DDR3L-1333 memory controllers for up to 8 GB RAM (Bay Trail-T only handles 4 GB at 1066 MHz though) and higher I/O performance.
Speaking of which, Bay Trail boasts USB 3.0, PCI Express 2.0 compatibility, Gigabit Ethernet, eMMC storage support and many other things.
Bay Trail-T even has some tablet-exclusive perks, like MIPI-CSI and up to 16-24 megapixel stereoscopic video at 1080p quality and 60 Hz frame rate.
As for power consumption, Bay Trail-T runs on under 3W, Bay Trail-M will need 4-6.5W (at most) and Bay Trail-D will rely on 12W.
Intel's partners will release Bay Trail-based devices in the first quarter of 2014, but the first chips will be ready for testing this quarter (Q1 2013). PC and tablet builders will receive samples in June (Q2) or August (Q3).
If AMD’s Z-60 APU successors adopt higher resolutions as well, screen resolutions like 1600p and 1440p could become standard on portable items by next year.
