不久，芯片制造商们将会发布笔记本和台式电脑驱动技术多年来取得的一项最大进展。但有多少消费者以及芯片公司能从中得益还是个问题。
The design trend, expected to be the focus of announcements by Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. at the Consumer Electronics Show early next month, is based on bringing together two long-separate classes of products: microprocessors, the calculating engines that run most PC software; and graphics processing units, which render images in videogames and other programs.
这种设计趋势预计将会是下个月初举行的消费电子产品展（Advanced Micro Devices Inc.）上英特尔公司（Intel Corp.）和高级微设备公司（Advanced Micro Devices Inc.）宣布的重点内容。它基于将长期以来独立存在的两种产品融合于一体：微处理器，即大多数计算机软件的计算引擎；以及为视频游戏和其他程序渲染图像的图形处理单元。
Putting the two technologies on one piece of silicon reduces the distance electrical signals must travel and speeds up some computing chores. It also lowers the number of components computer makers need to buy, cutting production costs and helping to shrink the size of computers. Such integrated chips are expected to allow low-priced systems to carry out tasks that currently add hundreds of dollars to the price of a personal computer, such as the ability to play high-definition movies and videogames and to convert video and audio files to different formats quickly.
将这两种技术融入到一个芯片中，能缩短电子信号的传输距离并加快某些计算任务的速度，同时还能减少电脑制造商需要购买的元件数量，降低生产成本，有助于缩小电脑尺寸。这种整合芯片预计将会使低价计算机能够执行目前价格高出数百美元的计算机才能完成的任务，例如播放高清电影和玩高清视频游戏，迅速将视频和音频文件转成不同格式。
The approach is going to change the way people build PCs and buy PCs,' Paul Otellini, Intel's chief executive, predicted at an investor conference early this month.
英特尔首席执行长欧德宁（Paul Otellini）本月初在一次投资者会议中预测说，这种设计将会改变人们生产和购买个人电脑的模式。
But the benefits won't be measurable until after the CES show, when computer makers are expected to disclose their plans for using the technology. And some industry executives insist that many PC users will continue to seek even better performance by picking systems with separate graphics-processing-unit chips.
但是这种技术的好处还不可衡量，直到电脑制造商在消费电子产品展展示他们使用这项技术的计划才能知道。一些行业高管坚持认为，许多个人电脑用户会继续选择独立的微处理器和图形处理单元芯片系统以寻求更好性能。
