Article content

Intel Corp., the biggest maker of semiconductors, said its new processors are going to deliver the biggest bump in performance that personal computer users have experienced in years.

The eighth generation of its Core line will provide as much as a 40 per cent jump over its predecessor, according to the Santa Clara, California-based company. That’s a leap in performance that arguably only happens once in a decade, Intel said. New laptops built on the chips will come to market in September.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Intel says its new Core chip will be 'once-in-a-decade' performance boost for PCs Back to video

Intel, whose chips are the heart of more than 80 per cent of the world’s PCs, has been remarkably successful in a market that’s been declining since it peaked in 2011 and is now more than 100 million units smaller than it was. In the second quarter, Intel’s PC chip unit posted a 12 per cent increase in sales even as overall shipments of PCs continued their slide.

Intel’s winning strategy — one that the new lineup will try to keep going — has been to persuade consumers that they need to buy up, spending extra on computers with more expensive chips even though they’re not replacing their old PCs as often as they did. The challenge the new Core systems will face is that Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel’s only remaining rival in PC processors, is bringing its own new design to market this year. Chips built on its Zen are able to challenge Intel parts on performance for the first time in years, AMD has said, and they’re cheaper.