As the world's biggest semiconductor company, Intel Corp. produces several kinds of computer components including graphics processing units, network interface controllers and motherboard chipsets. However, Intel is best known for its brands of computer chips, or processors. They can be split into four broad categories: desktop chips; laptop, or mobile, chips; workstation/embedded system chips and server chips.
Desktop Chips
Intel's chips for desktop personal computers consist of three brands. The Celeron has long represented the company's entry-level, budget-oriented, consumer-oriented processors. The Pentium is Intel's mid-level processor brand. Before Core made its debut in 2006, the Pentium represented the company's premier brand. At the time of publication Core -- which is currently split into the entry-level Core i3, mid-level Core i5 and top-level Core i7 -- is Intel's flagship brand of consumer-oriented chips.
Mobile Chips
Like the desktop chips, the laptop chips from Intel are split into the Celeron, Pentium and Core brands. Also included is the Intel Atom, which is the processor brand that Intel uses for netbooks, which are small, little-adorned laptops. Each of these Celeron, Pentium and Core chips bears a "Mobile" prefix to designate it as laptop PC processor and set it apart from the desktop variants. Mobile Intel and Intel Atom chips are marked by less power but greater energy efficiency than the desktop chips.
Workstation and Embedded-System Chips
Not all Intel chips are for the consumer market. The company also has a brand for workstations, which are ultra-powerful machines specifically made for working environments. The Intel Xeon -- specifically the lower-level E3, 3xxx and 5xxx series -- are manufactured for this purpose. Also offered is a subdivision of the Intel Core i7 especially made for embedded systems and called vPro. This processor is built into the motherboard rather than fitted on a socket like the other Intel chips.
Server Chips
Some Intel Xeon chips also go on servers, which are designed for integrating the functions of computer networks. The variants, however, are more powerful than the ones that go on workstations, belonging to the upper-level series such as E7, 6xxx and 9xxxx series. The Intel Itanium, which appeared after the Xeon, is largely made for servers. In this way the Itanium contrasts with the Xeon, which is split between workstation, embedded system and server applications.
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