Inside Intel's next-gen processors
Intel rang in 2011 with its second-generation Core processors, promising vastly superior performance, better graphics capabilities, and improved energy efficiency. How much of a difference can a new CPU generation really make? If our tests of the first systems to use these revamped CPUs are any indication, the answer is "quite a lot." The new processors -- formerly code-named Sandy Bridge -- deliver stronger performance than their predecessors did, and at palatable prices.