2014 brings a new family of processors to the fore from Intel, codenamed Bay Trail

The new Intel Bay Trail processor product family is the first system on-chip (SoC) designed for intelligent systems, delivering outstanding computing, graphics and media performance whilst operating to extended temperatures. The family consists of 5 Atom and 2 Celeron processors which use the low power SoC processor microarchitecture called Silvermont.

This new microarchitecture features significant improvements in computing performance and energy efficiency. Highlights include high I/O connectivity, integrated memory controller, virtualisation, Error Correcting Code (ECC), and built-in security capabilities within a thermal design power (TDP) range of 5W to 10W. This product family is ideal for efficient imaging workflows, digital signage with secure content delivery, visually appealing interactive clients (interactive kiosks, intelligent vending, ATM and point-of-sale (POS) terminals), portable medical devices, industrial control systems, and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. One of the biggest changes is support for out-of-order execution, which Intel says will make the new processors between 50 and 100 percent faster than Cedar Trail chips. The move to Intel HD graphics will also add support for DirectX 11 and screen resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 pixels.

Platform Highlights
Advancements in visual processing capabilities over previous-generation Intel Atom processors: Enables faster media conversions, stereoscopic 3D, immersive web browsing, enhanced HD video transcoding with Gen 7 graphics, and highly efficient image processing.

Outstanding integration of I/O interfaces:
Supports display interfaces with graphics processing, camera interfaces with image processing, audio with digital signal processing, multiple storage types, and legacy embedded I/O. Provides interface expansion capabilities through industry-standard high-bandwidth interfaces such as PCI Express* Gen 2.0, Hi-speed USB 2.0, and USB 3.0 connectivity.

Security enhancement and content protection:
Hardware-assisted capabilities include Intel AES New Instructions3 (Intel AES-NI) and Secure Boot.

Integrated 64-bit memory controller:
Features either one or two channels of up to 8 GB DDR3L system memory and optional ECC memory.

Options for industrial temperature range:
Excellent reliability for rugged designs and extreme environments, such as industrial control and automation applications found in factories and in-vehicle infotainment systems in consumer and commercial vehicles.

Solution scalability:
Product line features multiple SKUs with quad-, dual-, and single core offerings that are pin compatible.

Embedded ecosystem support:
From modular components to market-ready systems, Intel and the 250+ global member companies of the Intel Intelligent Systems Alliance (intel.com/go/intelligentsystems-alliance) provide the performance, connectivity, manageability, and security developers need to create smart, connected systems.

Extended life cycle product support:
Protects system investment by enabling extended product availability for embedded customers.

None of these processors will offer the kind of performance of an Intel Core i3, but for the first time Intel is getting serious about giving its low power, inexpensive Atom chips a big performance boost. According to some leaked product slides from 3DCenter, the next-generation of Intel chips could offer up to twice the performance and 3 times the graphics power of previous Atom chips.

Intel have been doing some SPEC CPU2006 testing which is an industrial standard benchmark designed to provide performance measurements that can be used to compare compute-intensive workloads on different computer systems. Below we see the comparison of the new Bay Trail E3845 CPU with its’ Cedar Trail predecessor the D2550. The new E3845 is the first Atom processor with a quad-core so the comparison to the dual-core D2550 is unsurprising, nevertheless the benefits of having an Atom chip with these performance figures must open up new applications for inexpensive embedded computing.

About Assured Systems
Assured Systems is a leading technology company offering high quality and innovative applied computing solutions to the embedded, industrial, and digital-out-of-home markets around the world via offices in Europe and the Americas.

Our impressive product portfolio includes a full range of Panel PCs, Human Machine Interfaces, Single Board Computers, Fanless Computers, Rugged Laptops & Tablets, Digital Signage solutions, LCD Displays & Touchscreens, Rackmount Servers, and Digital & Analogue Data Acquisition solutions. Our technology can be found in a diverse range of applications throughout our key verticals including energy, transportation, automation, process control, defence, medical, asset tracking, narrowcasting, gaming and multimedia.