Intel demonstrates low-powered CPU that draws power from red wine

The closing day of Intel’s annual Developer Forum is typically reserved to highlight future-looking projects and this year was no different. In-house anthropologist Dr. Genevieve Bell demonstrated a processor that is so efficient that it can draw the power it needs from a glass of red wine.

The wine glass in question used two electrodes that reacted with the acetic acid in the red wine to power a low-powered processor and accelerometer. It’s similar in theory to the potato battery that children have used in science fairs for years although Bell wanted to show that even the slightest bit of power could run Intel silicon.

Through the demonstration Bell said it is possible to start to imagine a world of incredibly low-power devices that also offer high performance. This will help unburden people – especially those in developing countries – and give us a pathway to wearable technology with the ability to power things like constant sensing, communication and computing – all of which are necessary for our mobile future, she said.

Elsewhere, Lama Nachman, principal engineer at Intel Labs, joined Bell to demonstrate a few other nifty ideas in mobile. One involved voice recognition to unlock a phone while the other used the accelerometer in a handset to record a user’s gait while walking which was then used to unlock the phone. When movements were mimicked by another person, the phone noticed the subtle differences and locked the system down.

Technology like this is still likely years away but it’s neat to get a glimpse into what the future may hold.

Artificial Intelligence at your service

Intel has quietly scooped up natural language recognition firm Indisys just two months after purchasing gesture-based specialist Omek. It wasn’t revealed how much Intel paid for the 10-year-old Spanish start-up but reports peg the value at just north of €20 million ($26 million).

An Intel spokesperson confirmed the acquisition with multiple publications, noting that the agreement to acquire the company was signed on May 31 and has now officially closed. It’s a bit interesting that news of the acquisition didn’t come down sooner as Chipzilla just wrapped up their annual IDF conference.

The spokesperson further pointed out Indisys has a deep background in computational linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science and machine learning.

Intel said they aren’t disclosing any details about how they might use the technologies but based on the list of attributes mentioned above, the chip maker will likely get a lot of mileage for their money. The majority of Indisys employees have since joined Intel including CEO Pilar Manchon who is now working in Intel’s R&D department.

News of the acquisition wasn’t terribly surprising as the chip maker’s venture capital arm, Intel Capital, led a $5 million Series A investment in Indisys back in November 2002 to help bolster international efforts.

Indisys’s dialog-based technology has earned a solid reputation among Spanish companies like El Corte, banking giant BBVA, Boeing and insurance group Mapfre. The company specializes in natural language technology and intelligent assistant services like Siri.

Intel's 14nm Skylake platform to support DDR4, PCIe 4.0, SATA Express

A leaked Intel Xeon roadmap purportedly sheds some light on what the chip maker has in store for Skylake, the successor to the yet-to-be-released Broadwell platform. Chips aren’t slated to hit the market for a couple more years but when they do arrive, they’ll be carrying an array of new tech with them.

Intel 9-series chipsets may not be backwards compatible with Haswell

Intel's current generation of 'Haswell' processors, as well as the upcoming 'Broadwell' processors, will share the same LGA1150 CPU socket. However, the upcoming 9-series chipsets designed specifically for Broadwell may not be backwards compatible with Haswell, and the current 8-series chips designed for Haswell may not support Broadwell, which could cause a headache for motherboard manufacturers.

According to documentation obtained by VR-Zone, there are slight changes in the implementation requirements of the two processor families. Specifically, Broadwell processors require slightly different connections between the socket and chipset, mostly to facilitate a new power source called VCCST. If motherboard manufacturers implement these changes in their boards with 9-series chipsets, Haswell processors will likely be incompatible.

Leaked Intel roadmap pegs Broadwell for 2H 2014

A leaked Intel roadmap has revealed the company's next line of processors, codenamed 'Broadwell', are scheduled for release in the second half of 2014. Broadwell is the 14 nm shrink of the current 'Haswell' fourth-generation Core processors, however according to this roadmap Intel will be focusing on mobile parts at the expense of desktop.

Asus launches Z87-Deluxe/Quad motherboard, first with Thunderbolt 2

It was only in June that Intel finalized Thunderbolt 2, the second generation of their data interconnet technology, with Intel promising it would enter production by the end of the year. In keeping with that promise, Asus has announced the first Thunderbolt 2-certified motherboard, the Z87-Deluxe/Quad.

Intel readying Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition for Q4

Intel is preparing a new flagship processor for Q4 2012, according to report by DonanimHaber. The upcoming Core i7-3970X is based on the 32nm Sandy Bridge-E architecture and will pick up where the current i7-3960X left off, offering the same six cores with a dozen threads but with slightly higher clock speeds at 3.5GHz stock and 4.0GHz turbo.

Being an Extreme Edition processor it will also ship with an unlocked base-clock multiplier for easy overclocking. The rest of its feature set is consistent with the 3960X, including the LGA2011 package, 15MB shared L3 cache, and quad-channel DDR3 controller supporting up to 64 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz memory. The new chip will likely replace the current 3960X flagship at the $1,000 price point.

Intel launched LGA 2011 as a replacement for LGA 1366 for the performance segment in November 2011. There are currently three Sandy Bridge-E processors available for the platform: an entry-level quad-core Core i7-3820, a mainstream Core i7-3930K with six cores and the top-of-the-line Core i7 Extreme 3960X.

Although Intel’s Ivy Bridge architecture was launched earlier this year, enthusiast-level Ivy Bridge-E parts are not expected to arrive until sometime in the first half of 2013. At that point they’ll likely overlap with new Haswell desktop parts, just like 22nm Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge-E platforms coexist right now.

Mainstream SSD prices plummeted nearly 50% in the past year

Finally dipping below the heralded $1 per GB mark, it appears overall SSD prices have been on a precipitous decline over the past year. This observation comes from The Tech Report who analyzed data fromcamelegg.com, a website dedicated to tracking prices at Newegg.

Their overall findings show that Crucial, Corsair, OCZ and Samsung SSDs have been mostly in line with price cuts for their 240GB and 256GB offerings. In many cases, these SSDs have shed more than half their original cost since launch. Meanwhile, 120GB and 128GB SSDs also fell at similar although slightly more modest rates. As of the past week, many 120GB and 128GB SSDs are now hovering under the $120 mark, making them viable alternatives to traditional hard drives for a growing segment of consumers.

Despite the overall trend of falling prices, Intel has continued to treat their SSDs quite differently than competitors. Prices on Intel's drives have come down only slightly and remain stagnant for long periods of time.

Well-known industry vendors like OCZ have typically based their designs on third-party controllers, like those by Sandforce and Marvell. Many of those offerings come in 4-channel and 8-channel configurations with varying numbers of chips, typically in multiples of 8. Intel, on the other hand, is the only company I'm familiar with that offers its own proprietary controller with a 10-channel design. But, even Intel has begun using third-party controllers in some of its SSDs, so maybe we'll see better overall prices from Intel in the future.

Another statistical peculiarity are smaller and monstrously large SSDs. Drives which were 60GB or less are markedly more expensive per gigabyte -- many hit $100 for half the storage of a slightly higher priced 128GB SSDs.

Although The Tech Report doesn't touch on 480GB+ SSDs, some anecdotal price checking reveals that, overall, there is a premium to be paid for solid state drives with unusually high-capacities as well. For now, 128-256GB seems to be the sweet spot.

LG set to show Intel smartphone at CES 2012

The annual Consumer Electronics Show is fast approaching, and in true form, rumors and information are starting to appear. The latest news of interest comes from LG and Intel, who look set to show off a new Intel powered smartphone at this year's CES held January 10th-13th at the Las Vegas Convention Center, according to sources speaking to the Korea Times.

The phone will likely feature Intel's new Medfield chipset coupled with Android's mobile OS, and could hit store shelves as early as March according to Intel Korea's chief Lee Hee-Sung. "Intel’s chief executive Paul Otellini will release Intel’s first Android smartphone using our own platform at the CES," he commented.

"LG Electronics will produce Intel’s first Android smartphones that use Intel’s own mobile platform. The device will be shown at the CES," a top ranking LG official also told the newspaper.

At CES 2010, both manufacturers showed off a jointly developed phone prototype. Ultimately, the smartphone (video above) never made it to store shelves but the Intel dual core Atom based Moorestown chipset displayed impressive performance when demonstrated at the show.

Reports are conflicting though, with an LG executive speaking on the condition of anonymity saying he doubts the phone will be released, adding that in his personal opinion "it is somewhat possible that LG might push the reference of Intel mobiles but that this will include huge subsidies on the part of Intel for promotional purposes."

Requests for more information via official channels have resulted in both firms declining to confirm any information unfortunately, so we will have to wait until CES to see if the phone makes it to the show floor.

Intel's 32nm Medfield handset chip benchmarked early

Fresh specifications and performance figures for Intel's upcoming handset platform have slipped out this week. Codenamed Medfield, the Atom-branded system-on-a-chip is expected to challenge ARM's grip on the mobile segment and based on the new details, it seems chipzilla right on track. VR-Zone received performance stats for a 10.1-inch (1280x800) reference tablet powered by Intel's 32nm SoC, which contains a 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB of LP-DDR2 RAM, a GPU, as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FM radios.

The chip scored a healthy 10,500 in Caffeinemark 3, outpacing popular solutions such as Nvidia's Tegra 2, which scored 7,500. For reference, Qualcomm's Snapdragon MSM8260 scored 8,000, while an unnamed model of Samsung's Exynos hit 8,500. Although Medfield's performance seems solid at first glance -- and it's certainly an achievement for Intel -- that gap will likely be closed when ARM's partners release their next-gen parts. SoCs based on ARM's 28nm Cortex-A15 are due in the coming year.

Assuming Medfield is on par with the performance of its rivals, users will focus on their power consumption. Unfortunately, it seems Intel might still be lagging behind in that department. The prototype chip reportedly consumed 2.6W at idle and about 3.6W when playing 720p Adobe Flash videos and other strenuous tasks. The final Medfield parts are expected to improve those figures, pushing idle and load consumptions down to 2W and 2.6W. Even if Intel meets that target, it might not beat ARM's offerings.

Nonetheless, Medfield proves that Intel is serious about entering the mobile segment -- something that would have been difficult to say about Moorestown, the company's previous attempt at busting into the handset market.Speaking with Reuters, Mike Bell of Intel's Mobile and Communications division recently said Medfield would be "very competitive" when it ships and noted that Intel already has the next three generations in the making. Medfield is expected to receive a 22nm die shrink in late 2012.

Intel to launch 22nm Ivy Bridge processors on April 8

Intel is reportedly preparing to launch the upcoming 22nm Ivy Bridge series of processors on or around April 8. The company is expected to release a total of 25 Ivy Bridge chips during this time frame, according to PC makers in Taiwan as reported by DigiTimes.

17 of the CPUs set for launch are desktop models while the remaining eight will be designated for notebook and ultrabook use. Desktop parts include quad-core Core i7-3770K, 3770, 3770S, 3770T, and Core i5-3570, 3550 and 3450 models with prices ranging from $184 to $332. The Core i5-3470T should be available in May for $184. Desktop chipsets on the agenda include Z77 ($48), H77 ($43), Z75 ($40) and B75 ($37), with Q77 ($44) and Q75 ($40) coming on May 13, the sources said.

Notebook processors Core i7-3920Qm, 3820QM and 3720QM will be ready in April for $1,096, $568 and $378, respectively. Other models including Core i5-3520M, 3360M, 3320M and ultrabook-specific Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U will be unveiled at a later date. Accompanying notebook chipsets HM77 ($48), UM77 ($48), HM76 ($43) and HM75 ($40) are coming in April. QS77 ($53) and QM77 ($48) are expected in May.

Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors were originally rumored for a March 2012 release, according to a tip from motherboard manufacturers but it seems that Intel (or board makers) weren’t able to meet that deadline. The chips are expected to offer a 20 percent overall performance boost over comparable Sandy Bridge CPUs on the processing side. A reworked internal GPU will produce 30 to 60 percent better overall graphics performance with DirectX 11 and OpenCL 1.1 support.a

Intel ships 'Cedar Trail' Atom processors for netbooks

Intel has officially started shipping its next-generation low-power Atom processor for netbooks. Part of the Cedar Trail platform, which already saw two chips released in September for low-powered desktop solutions, the new Atom N2600 and N2800 processors are based on Intel's 32nm Cedarview architecture and will replace the existing N455 and N475 Pine Trail models on small and cheap laptops.

This third generation of Intel Atom processors reportedly offers double the graphics performance of its predecessor thanks to a new PowerVR SGX 545 engine sourced from Imagination Technologies. There's only mention of DirectX 9 support on the press presentation for the new chips, which seems to validate rumors that they failed Microsoft's certification for DirectX 10.1.

They do offer a dedicated media engine for hardware-accelerated decoding of motion video, including support for 1080p H.264, in addition to support for Intel Wireless Display technology -- though the latter will be available depending on the system and price point according to AnandTech.

The move to a 32nm process allows for reduced power consumption in spite of the more powerful GPU. The N2600 is clocked at 1.6GHz with a TDP of just 3.5 watts, while the N2800 is clocked at 1.86GHz and it has a TDP of 6.5W. Both are dual-core, four-thread parts and are meant to be paired with the company's pre-existing NM10 chipset. Intel claims netbooks based on the new chips will feature up to 10 hours of battery life.

Intel is expecting the vast majority of Cedar Trail netbooks to be sold in the $199 - $229 price point, while models featuring Intel's WiDi and potentially fanless designs could arrive later in 2012 for around $399.

Intel's Thunderbolt to see wider adoption starting April 2012

Intel is reportedly pushing for wider adoption of its high speed Thunderbolt interconnect in 2012. According to DigiTimes, the company will "fully release" its I/O technology in April -- which happens to coincide with Ivy Bridge's launch -- and already several first-tier PC and component manufacturers are looking into adding Thunderbolt support to their motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs.

Sony and Asus are mentioned among the companies expected to adopt the technology in their high-end notebook products, although we should note that the former has been offering a Thunderbolt-equipped Vaio Z notebook for a while. Meanwhile, Gigabyte, which has been aggressively adopting new I/O technologies into its product line, is also expected to add Thunderbolt support to select motherboards in April 2012.

Originally known as Light Peak, Thunderbolt is Intel's high-speed interconnect that can transfer data between host computers and external devices such as displays and storage products at speeds of up to 10Gbps. The interface supports hubs as well as daisy chaining up to seven compatible devices.

Up until now only Apple has implemented the technology across its product lines, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, and LED Display.

Thunderbolt still has a few hurdles to clear, such as the limited availability of supporting devices and the fact that it is more expensive to implement than USB 3.0. However, the hope is that in mass production the cost of adopting Thunderbolt will go down in the second half of 2012 and the technology becomes standard.

Intel 'Ivy Bridge' desktop chip prices leak

We already have a pretty good idea of what the initial Ivy Bridge lineup is going to look like when Intel releases its next chip refresh in the first half of 2012. Now, the folks at CPU World are spilling the beans on yet another piece of the puzzle: pricing. For the most part it looks like Intel will maintain similar pricing to their current Sandy Bridge products. The Core i7-3770K, for example, will replace the Core i7-2700K at the same $332.

This will be the fastest and most expensive Ivy Bridge part at launch. Three remaining SKUs from the Core i7 family -- i7-3770, i7-3770S and i7-3770T -- will be priced at $294 in 1K quantities. Further down the ladder the unlocked-multiplier Core i5 3570K is priced at $225 while the i5-3500 and the energy-efficient i5-3570T and i5-3550S models are all priced at $205. Lastly, the Core i5-3450, i5-3450S, and i5-3470T are listed for $184.

Ivy Bridge i5 processors will continue on from Sandy Bridge offering four physical cores, 6MB of L3 cache and no hyper-threading, except for the i5 3470T which is a dual core unit with two hyper-threaded cores. Their Core i7 siblings are also running four physical cores, but can handle eight simultaneous threads and have 2MB more cache available. The table below contains a summary of the upcoming chips' specs and prices:

Model	Cores	Threads	Frequency	Turbo Frequency	L3 cache	TDP	Price	Sandy Bridge CPU / price
Core i5-3450	4	4	3.1 GHz	3.5 GHz	6 MB	77 Watt	$184	i5-2400 / $184
Core i5-3450S	4	4	2.8 GHz	3.5 GHz	6 MB	65 Watt	$184	i5-2400S / $184
Core i5-3470T	2	4	2.9 GHz	3.6 GHz	3 MB	35 Watt	$184	i5-2390T / $184
Core i5-3550	4	4	3.3 GHz	3.7 GHz	6 MB	77 Watt	$205	i5-2500 / $205
Core i5-3550S	4	4	3 GHz	3.7 GHz	6 MB	65 Watt	$205	i5-2500S / $205
Core i5-3570K	4	4	3.4 GHz	3.8 GHz	6 MB	77 Watt	$225	i5-2500K / $216
Core i5-3570T	4	4	2.3 GHz	3.3 GHz	6 MB	45 Watt	$205	i5-2500T / $205
Core i7-3770	4	8	3.4 GHz	3.9 GHz	8 MB	77 Watt	$294	i7-2600 / $294
Core i7-3770K	4	8	3.5 GHz	3.9 GHz	8 MB	77 Watt	$332	i7-2700K / $332
Core i7-3770S	4	8	3.1 GHz	3.9 GHz	8 MB	65 Watt	$294	i7-2600S / $294
Core i7-3770T	4	8	2.5 GHz	3.7 GHz	8 MB	45 Watt	$294	N/A

Intel's Thunderbolt to see wider adoption starting April 2012

Intel is reportedly pushing for wider adoption of its high speed Thunderbolt interconnect in 2012.According to DigiTimes, the company will "fully release" its I/O technology in April -- which happens to coincide with Ivy Bridge's launch -- and already several first-tier PC and component manufacturers are looking into adding Thunderbolt support to their motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs.

Sony and Asus are mentioned among the companies expected to adopt the technology in their high-end notebook products, although we should note that the former has been offering a Thunderbolt-equipped Vaio Z notebook for a while. Meanwhile, Gigabyte, which has been aggressively adopting new I/O technologies into its product line, is also expected to add Thunderbolt support to select motherboards in April 2012.

Originally known as Light Peak, Thunderbolt is Intel's high-speed interconnect that can transfer data between host computers and external devices such as displays and storage products at speeds of up to 10Gbps. The interface supports hubs as well as daisy chaining up to seven compatible devices.

Up until now only Apple has implemented the technology across its product lines, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, and LED Display.

Thunderbolt still has a few hurdles to clear, such as the limited availability of supporting devices and the fact that it is more expensive to implement than USB 3.0. However, the hope is that in mass production the cost of adopting Thu

Intel set to release Core i5-2550K quad-core unlocked CPU

Intel is planning to release another Sandy Bridge CPU before Ivy Bridge is launched next year. The Core i5-2550K will feature an unlocked clock multiplier and four CPU cores, according to an investigative report from CPU World.

A new entry in the Material Declaration Data Sheets database revealed the BX80623I52550K box part number, CM8062301213000 OEM part number and SR0QH S-spec code. Because the part was just recently added to the database and the i5-2550K isn’t on Intel’s roadmap, it is believed that the decision to launch this processor was only recently made.

Aside from a slightly higher default clock speed, likely 3.4GHz, the chip will be functionally identical to a Core i5-2500K with the aforementioned unlocked multiplier, HD 3000 graphics, 6MB of L3 cache, Turbo Boost support and a 95 watt TDP. One could speculate that the 2550K will be priced slightly higher than existing 2500K models and perhaps overclock higher based on better binning.

No launch date or price has been issued yet but the CPU will likely drop around the same time as the next round of AMD FX-Series CPUs are released. Perhaps Intel didn’t get the recent memo from AMD spokesperson Mike Silverman when he went on record with the San Jose Mercury News proclaiming that AMD is no longer trying to compete with Intel. Either way, more products on the market at different price points means more options for the end user.

Intel reorganizes mobile business to speed up development

Intel has announced a sweeping reorganization that will see four previously separate product groups -- mobile communications, netbook and tablet, mobile wireless, and ultra mobility -- merged into a single one focused on mobile products. The new unit, known as the Mobile and Communications group, will be headed by former Infineon executive Herman Eul as well as Mike Bell, who worked on the iPhone at Apple and came to Intel from Palm in 2010.

The move marks Intel's latest effort to break into the fast-growing mobile market, something it hasn't been able to achieve so far despite its vast network and its expertise in the PC and server markets.

According to the company, the consolidation will reduce duplication of effort and help teams share intellectual property more quickly. This isn't the first time Intel has reorganized business units and shifted executives around small devices, however. They made a similar move a year ago by creating a unit to focus on networks and tablets, and Intel also changed up its wireless leadership this year after Anand Chandraskher, former general manager of the now-defunct ultra mobility group, announced he was leaving to pursue other interests.

Besides focus and leadership, Intel's problem is it hasn't been able to produce a low-power and cost-effective chip that manufacturers actually want to use in their smartphone and tablet designs over an ARM-based solution from companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and others.

Intel executives stated at their annual developer conference in September that Android phones featuring Intel chips should be available in the first half of 2012. But seeing how even Microsoft, one of its longest standing partners, is betting on ARM support for Windows 8, Intel's future in the mobile market remains uncertain.

Samsung unveils two new Series 5 Ultrabooks in Korea

Samsung has announced its latest entry into the Ultrabook market, the Samsung Series 5, a thin and light aluminum notebook scheduled to launch in South Korea at the end of this month and elsewhere in early 2012. The Series 5 will be available in 13.3-inch and 14-inch variants, with a thickness of 14.9mm and 20.9mm respectively, slightly stretching the definition of an 'Ultrabook' as per Intel's guidelines.

Starting at 1.49 million won (about $1,300), the 13-inch model will feature an undisclosed second-generation Intel Core processor, up to 8GB of RAM and up to a 500GB HDD or a 128GB SSD -- in addition to a built-in 8GB SSD configured for ExpressCache use to speed up boot and access times. The 14-inch variant will go for 1.54 million won ($1,345) and offers similar specs for the most part, but adds a 1TB hard drive option along with discrete AMD Radeon HD 7550M graphics and an optical disc drive.

Both models include Wi-Fi connectivity, a front-facing webcam, two high-speed USB 3.0 ports, and VGA and HDMI video output. There are no specific details regarding a launch stateside, but we expect to hear more next month as manufacturers announce their latest Ultrabooks during CES 2012.

Intel to discontinue LGA 1366 and LGA 1156 processors in 2012

Intel is reportedly set to discontinue their LGA 1366 and LGA 1156 line of processors in 2012 to make way for new CPUs set to launch next year.

Processors reaching end-of-life status include the Core i7-930, i7-950, i7-960, i7-980 and i7-990X on the LGA 1366 platform. LGA 1156 chips getting the axe include the Pentium G6950 and G6960 as well as the Core i3-540, i5-650, i5-660, i5-670, i5-680, i7-860 and i7-870 parts.

Intel introduced the first Core i7 CPU requiring a Socket 1366 motherboard in November 2008. The power-hungry platform has represented Intel’s high-end desktop solution ever since, even surpassing the leaner Sandy Bridge models in terms of sheer performance. LGA 1366 was replaced by LGA 2011 on November 14, supporting Sandy Bridge E-series processors with four memory channels. LGA 2011 will also be backwards compatible with future Ivy Bridge E models.

LGA 1156 was introduced in 2009 as a more budget-friendly platform, working in conjunction with select Core i3, i5 and i7 chips. Intel removed one of the memory controllers and replaced the high bandwidth QPI link with a slower DMI chip-to-chip interconnect to keep costs down. LGA 1156 was relatively short-lived as it was effectively replaced with LGA 1155 and compatible Sandy Bridge processors.

Intel’s next chip refresh, codenamed Ivy Bridge, is expected in early 2012 and features a 22nm die shrink of Sandy Bridge. These chips will be backwards-compatible with current LGA 1155 platforms but will require a BIOS update from the motherboard manufacturer.

45nm LGA 1366 and 32nm LGA 1156 boxed parts will be available for order until June 29, 2012. Tray SKUs will be available until December 7, 2012 or until supplies are depleted.

Intel adding TRIM support for SSDs in RAID 0 with RST 11.5

Windows 7 and Intel's RST (Rapid Storage Technology) have supported TRIM for quite a while, but this support has always excluded solid-state drives in RAID configurations. Fortunately for owners of multiple SSDs who want to put all their precious GBs to use that may change soon, as the TRIM feature will reportedly be enabled for RAID 0 setups in an upcoming RST 11.5 driver release.

Currently the only way for TRIM to function on an SSD is to operate in AHCI mode. Last year users were led to believe that the Intel RST 9.6 drivers would add TRIM support in RAID volumes, but Intel later clarified that it was only for SSDs acting as single drives in AHCI mode alongside a separate array attached to the same Intel storage controller -- but not if the SSD was part of a RAID volume.

The benefits of TRIM are obvious because the write performance of an SSD significantly degrades with time or as the drive fills out without a feature to properly handle garbage collection overhead. This means that SSDs in high-performance RAID 0 arrays could eventually see the increased read/write speeds neglected.

Intel RST 11.5 is not expected to arrive until sometime in Q2 2012 with support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems. For a more detailed explanation on TRIM, take a look at AnandTech's SSD Anthology article.