Intel is launching its fourth-generation system-on-chip for set-tops and media gateways that it claims can produce graphics comparable to a PlayStation3.

Based around the Intel Atom CE5300, which was code-named "Berryville," is the chip maker's first 32-nanometer SoC,  It is a dual core with hyperthreading and virtualisation, a 3D/2D graphics engine, integrated power management, and an H.264 hardware encoder.

Keith Wehmeyer, general manager for Intel's set-top box platforms group, says the Berryville processor  is 30 to 40 per cent better than Broadcom's most recently announced SoC solutions. Wehmeyer said he had doubled the CPU performance with the CE5300 and initial testing by Intel indicates the chip delivers performance comparable to a PlayStation3 game console.

He claimed that the  CE5300 enables gesture controls, high-performance gaming, two-way videoconferencing and "sync-and-go" video transcoding for viewing on tablets or other mobile devices.