Intel came out with a slew of processor architectural details at the recently concluded IDF. Although the details are sketchy, and you need to really see through the marketing campaign, but it’s not too difficult to see what Intel’s been up to in its fabrication facilities.

At IDF, Intel seemed fairly upbeat about computing in general and processors in particular. So much so that it launched three new processors for various computer users, but before we get into them lets first take a look at Intel’s shift in design philosophy.

The new generation processors are said to be an amalgamation of its erstwhile P4 (Netburst architecture) and the Pentium M (Banias) processors. The idea is that more and more users are getting energy conscious and will want processors that are more efficient, but they would not want to compromise on the performance aspect of it. Thus, Intel’s focus at IDF was not just performance but performance/watt.

Some AMD enthusiasts claim that performance/watt came out because Intel couldn’t compete with the newer generation of AMD processors. While this maybe true, I for one, tend to believe otherwise. I don’t want my notebook eating up battery like kids eating candies on Halloween, and I assume that’s the situation with other power conscious users as well, therefore, it makes sense for Intel to move away from a pure performance based strategy to a combination of performance/watt theory.

Intel launched, or rather showcased three new processors: Woodcrest for servers, Conroe for desktops and Merom for mobile segment. It kept fairly mum on their architectural specifics but spoke at length about their capabilities; target audiences and what Intel feels will be the need of consumers in the future.

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