COMPUTEX 2021: Intel announces new U-series CPUs, and a new NUC; showcases Alder Lake

Semiconductor giant Intel took to the stage at the annual computer expo in Taipei with a pre-recorded keynote address. During the keynote address, the company shared information about some new products that are launching soon including the Alder Lake showcase. These include two new 11th-gen Intel Core U-series processors with Intel Xe graphics, expanded Wi-Fi 6E support, and a 5G M.2 solution. The new processors join the current lineup of U-series processors that landed back in September 2020. It also announced the preview of its Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit or “Beast Canyon NUC”. Here is everything we know about the new Intel announcements at COMPUTEX 2021 including the Alder Lake showcase.

Intel announces two new U-series processors along with Beast Canyon NUC

As noted above, the first thing that Intel announced was two new 11th-Gen Intel Core U-series processors for laptops. The SKUs that this announcement includes Intel Core i7-1195G7 and i5-1155G7. Both these CPUs will come with “up to 5 GHz” clock speed in “thin-and-light” laptops. Intel noted that this is the first to happen in the laptop industry. In addition, the new CPUs will also come with support for Wi-Fi 6 and 6E connectivity. Interested buyers can expect laptops Asus, Lenovo, Acer, and MSI powering these CPUs “this holiday season”.

In addition to the CPU announcement, the company also shared some information about its work on its Intel Evo platform. The platform-verified designs will include Wi-Fi 6E, a better battery, and Intel Optane H20 SSD for faster performance. Highlights of the U-Series powered laptops will likely be better gaming performance using the integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics.

The company also showcased a preview of its Beast Canyon NUC or Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit. These ultra-compact CPUs feature the latest 11th-gen Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 H-Series CPUs along with “full-length” GPUs. Intel claims that this product line can offer “incredible” performance in the small 8L case of the Beast Canyon NUC.

Alder Lake showcase and comparisons with the competition

Besides the new launches, Intel also showcased its upcoming Alder Lake platform during its COMPUTEX 2021 keynote. However, unlike the CES 2021 tease where we saw the platform running on a desktop, this tease also included it on a laptop. The company is currently sampling the platform to its partners and select customers. Interested fans and users can expect more information around Alder Lake “later this year”. This will likely include “two new core architectures” along with “a significant breakthrough in x86 architecture”.

Finally, the company also showcased a comparison between its recently announced 11th-Gen Intel Core H-Series Mobile Processors and competing AMD Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors. We saw the Intel Core i9-11980 HK go head-to-head with AMD Ryzen 9 5900 HX. Unsurprisingly, Intel came on top with an average FPS of 117 in the Crysis Remastered benchmark.