Intel announced at CES 2021 vPro platform update to processors Eleventh Generation Core , codenamed Tiger Lake . vPro is the company’s hardware and software suite designed to guarantee companies the security of their systems and easier management of the same, even remotely, in case of problems or need for updating.

The new vPro offering consists of four models, all with 4 cores and 8 threads : we find the Core i5 – 1140 G7 (1.1 GHz base, 4.2 GHz turbo) and the Core i5 – 1145 G7 (2.6GHz base, 4.4GHz turbo) together with two models Core i7 , the 1180 G7 (1.3 GHz base, 4.6 GHz turbo) and the 1185 G7 (3 GHz base, 4.8 GHz turbo). All chips are equipped with latest generation Intel Xe integrated graphics, in versions with 96 or 80 EU depending on the model, therefore quite powerful.

UP3 series models (12 – 28 W)
	Core / thread	L3 cache (MB)	Freq. base (MHz)	Freq. Turbo 1T (MHz)	Freq. Turbo nT (MHz)	EU GPU	Freq. GPU	DDR4	LPDDR4x
i7 – 1185 G7	4C / 8T	12	3000	4800	4300	96	1350	3200	4266
i5 – 1145 G7	4C / 8T	8	1350	4400	4000	80	1300	3200	4266
UP4 series models ( 7 – 15 W)
i7- 1180 G7	4C / 8T	12	1300	4600	3700	96	1100	–	4266
i5 – 1140 G7	4C / 8T	8	1100	4200	4500	80	1100	–	4266

From a performance perspective, these processors should offer results comparable to those of traditional Tiger Lake CPUs that Intel introduced in the notebook sector last year. The company, during its conference, emphasized productivity, indicating performance with Office 365 on 23% higher and a progress of 50% if you work in multi-tasking, with a video conference session in parallel. This data was obtained by comparing a Core i7 – 1185 G7 with a Ryzen 7 Pro 4750 U .

In terms of security , Intel recalled how Tiger Lake CPUs provide additional protection thanks to Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology (Intel CET). This is a solution designed to repel, thanks to countermeasures integrated directly into the hardware, a series of “control-flow hijacking” attacks, commonly used by many types of malware (further details here).

The new vPro platform therefore offers protection – through indirect branch tracking and shadow stack – from attack methods based on jump / call-oriented programming (JOP / COP) and return-oriented programming (ROP). During the conference, Intel showed a “visual” demo of an attack of this type, even if in reality it all happens without the user’s knowledge, under the radar: well, while the Tiger Lake vPro platform blocked the attack attempt in the bud , while the competing AMD platform was holed.

There is also the addition of additional “CPU counters” in hardware. What does it mean? With this innovation, Intel wants to make life more difficult for cryptominers and ransomware that, unbeknownst to users, use processor resources for their purposes, draining performance and battery. Adding additional CPU performance counters should allow security software to more easily identify spikes in telltale CPU usage and react quickly to stop the threat.

In terms of products, on the market in addition to the portable vPro canonicals we will also see the Evo vPro solutions, capable of respond to the dictates of the Evo certification program, including responsiveness and high performance, extended autonomy and updated and comprehensive connectivity options. According to Intel they will arrive on the market beyond 60 new models from major manufacturers this year , also equipped with “ Clover Falls “, a chip that supports the processor in the management of AI loads and in some operations (more details here).

Among related announcements, Intel stated that Chromebooks with Evo certification will be available within the quarter : we will therefore see higher-end Chrome OS solutions, equipped with Thunderbolt ports and more powerful hardware, able to offer 2.5 times better performance in multi-tasking and web browsing on 28% faster.