Intel vPro® with Intel® Core™ Ultra Processors (Series 2) Product Brief

The future of business computing is AI-infused applications across both the user and IT domains. To maximize value from AI, organizations must deploy powerful and efficient PCs optimized for the next wave of productivity, security, and device management applications. The new Intel vPro® platform is built for modern business and the age of AI.

A New Computing Portfolio

Intel aims to meet all organizational computing needs with a portfolio of processors offering different levels of performance and a wide range of AI experiences across mobile and desktop form factors. All processors feature an AI-optimized architecture, where the CPU, GPU, and NPU execute AI tasks as orchestrated by software developers.

Mobile Processors

The new mobile computing portfolio (Table 1) offers solutions for thin and light notebooks, premium thin and light notebooks, high-performance notebooks, and mobile workstations. This enables system manufacturers to deliver AI PCs in scale, with product lines that address multiple price points and various computing personas¹.

• On-the-go workers can benefit from thin and light notebooks (Intel® Core™ Ultra Processors 235U/265U) with enhanced CPU cores and integrated Intel® Wi-Fi 7 (5 Gig).
• Knowledge workers can be more productive on premium thin and light notebooks (Intel® Core™ Ultra 200V Series Processors) with a new CPU architecture, next-generation Intel® Arc™ graphics, and a higher capacity NPU. These new processors also feature memory on the package and Intel® Wi-Fi 7 (5 Gig).
• Power users and analysts may upgrade to new high-performance notebooks (Intel® Core™ Ultra 200H Series Processors) featuring re-designed cores, Intel® Arc™ graphics, integrated Intel® Wi-Fi 7 (5 Gig), and optional Thunderbolt™ 5.
• Technical creators with the greatest computational demands can depend on new mobile workstations (Intel® Core™ Ultra 200HX Series Processors) with re-designed CPU cores, support for hybrid graphics, and optional Thunderbolt™ 5.

All products support Thunderbolt™ 4 for high-speed connectivity to peripherals and elegant workspaces via modern docks. In addition, Intel® Dynamic Tuning Technology enables manufacturers to deliver optimized power and performance for any given mobile PC.

Desktop Processors

Intel is bringing its NPU to desktop form factors with a new computing portfolio (Table 2). All processors feature these new NPUs, along with integrated Intel® Graphics, plus wired and wireless connectivity solutions including integrated Intel® Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+), integrated Thunderbolt™ 4, and the Intel® Ethernet Connection with 1 GbE and 2.5 GbE options². 

As with previous desktop processor generations, the portfolio is organized around three core-count options and three power offerings. Each version of the Intel® Core™ Ultra processor (5, 7, or 9) is available at low power (35 W), standard power (65 W), or higher power (125 W), thus enabling small form factor desktops, all-in-ones, and towers of different sizes:

• Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 processor: Up to 14-core processors offering the right performance for most users
• Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor: Up to 20-core processors for power users
• Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor: Up to 24-core processors for technical creators using entry workstations

Intel® Arc™ GPU cards, which are also certified with many popular engineering, science, and design applications, can benefit power users and technical creators.

AI for Business

AI empowers people to achieve new levels of productivity no matter the task. Visual and audio effects help employees look and sound their best while collaborating remotely. Personal assistants and large language models promise to streamline daily workflows, meeting preparation, and project management. AI facilitates higher quality work to be done fast in the areas of content creation, data visualization, design, research, and similar tasks common to business professionals. Thus, Intel’s latest offerings can enable better business outcomes everywhere AI PCs are deployed¹.

AI for Security, Security for AI

As security threats become more sophisticated, the need for advanced defense technologies grows as well. While machine learning has been part of security software for a few years, bad actors are now also using AI to attack PCs. Endpoint security solutions must continue to evolve both above and below the OS.

Intel® Threat Detection Technology

Intel® Core™ Ultra processors extend the NPU to third-party security software vendors, enabling their applications to become more effective and efficient at detecting and responding to threats. This can be achieved via native programming or via Intel® Threat Detection Technology.

Intel® TDT helps developers optimally use endpoint computing resources (CPU, GPU, and NPU) to achieve AI-assisted anomaly detection and identification of sophisticated attacks such as ransomware or crypto-jacking. Security software executing locally can lower the latency for threat detection and mitigation. Offloading operations to the NPU frees up CPU bandwidth, which can improve the user experience or create further opportunities to move security functions from the cloud to the endpoint. This end-to-end approach to attack surface reduction helps deliver on the promise of the AI PC.
 

New Security Engines

All Intel® Core™ Ultra processors incorporate the Intel® Silicon Security Engine for hardware-based authentication of system firmware, and additional security functions will move to the Intel® Silicon Security Engine over time.

Specific products in the new processor portfolio (Intel® Core™ Ultra 200V Series Processors) also integrate the Intel® Partner Security Engine, which is configurable by system manufacturers to support the Microsoft Pluton security processor. Microsoft Pluton targets to deliver hardware-based root of trust, attestation, identity, and other security services to be defined by Microsoft².

Windows 11 Security

All Intel® Core™ Ultra processors continue to support the Intel® Converged Security and Management Engine, which houses legacy capabilities such as Intel® Boot Guard for cryptographically verified boot and Intel® Platform Trust Technology, an integrated TPM 2.0 solution compatible with the Trusted Computing Group standard. Both a cryptographically verified boot and a TPM 2.0 solution are Windows 11 requirements.

To achieve Microsoft Secured-core PC compliance, all Intel® Core™ Ultra processors support:

• Intel® Trusted Execution Technology for dynamic root of trust
• Intel® System Resources Defense for robust system management mode (SMM) protections
• Intel® System Security Report for communicating implemented protection policies to the Windows OS

The Intel vPro® platform provides a more secure computing foundation for AI apps and data with a robust set of security features that PC manufacturers must design into every PC bearing the Intel vPro® badge. Table 3 includes a list of all key platform security features.

Services-Ready Endpoints

Intel vPro® platforms support in-band and out-of-band manageability for greater endpoint visibility and availability for remote maintenance.

In-Band Management
Device management applications rely on endpoint data to make the right configuration, maintenance, and servicing decisions. Intel® Device Discovery provides a method for local and remote applications to obtain greater visibility into endpoints, with a robust dataset spanning device profile, history, and capabilities. This includes an inventory of Intel vPro® platform features present and their configuration state. The wealth of data generated by Intel® Device Discovery may be used to generate PC health assessments, determine the security posture of a PC, or learn how to best configure and maintain a device. Greater visibility into endpoints becomes vital as IT operations embrace AI and automation.

Out-of-Band Management
Intel® Active Management Technology helps customers reduce onsite PC repairs via remote access even when a PC is powered down, the OS is unavailable, or the user is not present³. Use cases such as wake and patch, boot to BIOS, and OS/image upgrades help customers efficiently manage computing fleets. Keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) remote control allows technicians to remotely manipulate a PC as if they were seated right in front of the machine. Intel® AMT is complemented by Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant and new cloud-native remote management solutions that accelerate the adoption of out-of-band use cases via third-party and stand-alone tools.

Table 4 provides a list of Intel vPro® platform manageability technologies.

The Power of Choice

Organizations that choose Intel® powered AI PCs also benefit from the power of choice, with over 100 AI-infused applications and over 300 features optimized for Intel® Core™ Ultra processors¹. Intel offers the most robust platform for AI PC development with more AI models, frameworks, and runtimes enabled than any other processor vendor⁴. Organizations that need to create custom applications can lean on over 500 AI models optimized for Intel® Core™ Ultra processors, spanning AI inferencing categories such as natural language processing, diffusion, and computer vision. 

Summary

Intel vPro® helps organizations maximize value from AI. Featuring Intel® Core™ Ultra processors, the Intel vPro® platform addresses all levels of AI computing, fuels operational excellence, and helps organizations achieve better business outcomes.

For more information, please visit www.intel.com/vpro.

Product and Feature Tables