Intel is launching a new brand for its eighth-generation Core processors and the hope is that it could boost PC sales.
Chipzilla said that the new brand is an Intel Core platform extension that will promote the bundling of the i5, i7 and i9 processors with the performance-boosting Optane memory module that Intel announced a little over a year ago. These processors that come with Optane memory bundled are receiving a modified naming convention: i5+, i7+ and i9+.
Optane memory was previously only compatible with Kaby Lake.
The company showed off the first eighth-generation Core i5, i7 and i9 processors for laptops and a new set of 300-series motherboards. In addition, the company announced Coffee Lake processors for Intel’s vPro platform that provides PC remote management and other features for enterprises.
Intel has been pitching the new Core i+ products as a complete new brand which will be promoted as a retail box that comes with the processor and Optane memory that bears the Core i+ brand. Intel will also promote the brand by offering Core i+ badges to system builders and other solution providers who are selling systems that come with either an i5, i7 or i9 CPU and Optane memory.
The brand could ultimately help partners, because it will force customers to badger the channel with questions about how it will help them. Intel appears to be putting a lot of emphasis into trying to drive the replacement cycle and Optane is a way to do that.
Chipzilla appears to be chucking a lot of cash into the Core i+ brand.
Optane memory is based on the 3D XPoint nonvolatile memory technology developed by Intel and partner Micron Technology that can speed up the performance of hard drive disks. With a 32 GB Optane memory module running on the Core i7, Intel promises speeds of up to three times faster for opening large media files, up to 3.9 times faster for loading video games and up to 2.1 times faster for everyday tasks.
