Reputed as the world's most famous semiconductor company, Intel Corp. offers several brands of central processing units. The most common application is personal computers, which is divided into desktop and laptop PCs. However, Intel also makes CPUs for workstations, embedded systems and servers, as well.
Desktop CPUs
The desktop CPUs from Intel Corp. are divided into three brands. The Intel Core represents the company's flagship brand of consumer-oriented CPUs. It is further split into the low-end i3, mid-level i5 and top-tier i7. In 2006, the Core took the premier title from Pentium, which is now relegated to mid-range status. The Celeron has always been the company's CPU brand for low-budget desktops.
Laptop CPUs
The laptop CPUs adhere to the Core/Pentium/Celeron format of the desktop variants. However, they are denoted with the "Mobile" prefix to set them apart. The Mobile Intel chips tend to have less processing speed than the desktop CPUs. However, they generally preserve more energy, as they consume less power. Also included with the Intel laptop CPUs is the Intel Atom. Designed for the smaller version of the laptop called the netbook, the Atom are even less powerful but more energy efficient.
Workstation and Embedded System CPUs
Intel also designs CPUs for high-performance computer system traditionally used at the workplace: aptly called workstations. Intel's premier workstation CPU brand is the Xeon, which is divided into the entry-level E3, 3000 and 5000 series. For embedded systems, Intel provides a version of the Intel Core i7 called the vPro, which amalgamates certain motherboard-integrated technologies such as multi-threading, execute disable bit for anti-virus protection, network connection and virtualization for integrating multiple computing environments into a single PC.
Server CPUs
Intel also manufactures Xeon CPUs for servers, which centralize the activities or functions of a computer network, which include data requests, email messaging and file transfers. However, in addition to the E3 series, the server CPUs have the higher-level E7, 5000, 6000 and 9000 series. Also included is the Itanium, which is a newer family of server and high-performance computer-oriented CPUs than the Xeon.
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