Intel's Medfield benchmarks leaked

SAN FRANCISCO--Purported specifications and benchmarks of Intel Corp.’s upcoming 32nm Medfield platform have been leaked online, detailing performance figures set to rival if not beat current chip market leaders in the tablet space.

According to tech site and forum TR-Zone, the Medfield tablet platform will sport a 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radios and a GPU. A source at Intel confirmed that the specifications were accurate and added that the GPU was a top of the line offering from its partner Imagination Technologies ltd.

Imagination’s current fastest GPU is the PowerVR SGX543MP2 dual core graphic processor, used by Apple Inc. in the latest iteration of the iPhone. Analysts agree that Imagination currently has the most sophisticated graphics core on the market, outpacing both Qualcomm’s Adreno and Nvidia Corp.’s Tegra offerings.

Initial benchmarks on the Medfield chip, using Java-based CaffeineMark 3, purportedly give Intel’s upcoming tablet platform a score of 10,500, significantly higher than the 7500 scored by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip, the 8000 scored by Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon MSM8260 or the 8500 chalked up by Samsung’s Exynos chip. It’s important to note, however, that the aforementioned competitive platforms have all been out for the best part of a year already, while Intel’s is still a powerpoint slide.

Critics have long been skeptical of Intel’s abilities to reduce power sufficiently to be a viable mobile contender, but VR-Zone is reporting the Medfield tablet platform should have an idle TDP of 2.6-watts, with a peak TDP of 3.6W when playing 720p video. An Intel source confirmed that the numbers sounded accurate. If the figures prove to be correct, they would place Intel firmly within ARM’s comfort zone.

In addition, with Intel and Google working closely on Android Ice Cream Sandwich optimization together, the chip firm could finally find itself standing a real chance in the tablet market in 2012.
Intel's Medfield benchmarks leaked