Much like those involving shaving razors and social networks, the Processor Wars are escalating. That's good for us, especially gamers, but maybe things are getting ridiculous considering how hard multicore programming still is.
Take, for example, the recently unveiled 12-core processor (code-named Mangy-Cours) AMD's got planned for 2010. Not only that is it updating its chips, but AMD is releasing a new socket, called G34, made to accommodate the new processor, as well as the new 8-core (Sao Paolo), which will launch about the same time. Oh, and the new procs will include 12MB of L3 cache. Let the arms race continue!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
AMD Phenom™ X4 Quad-Core Processors
The industry's first true Quad core x86 processor
* True quad-core designed from the ground up for better communication between cores.
o BENEFIT : Cores can communicate on die rather than on package for better performance
AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture
* Helps improve system performance and efficiency by directly connecting the memory controller and I/O to the CPU.
* Designed to enable simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing
* Integrated DDR2 Memory Controller
* BENEFITS :
o Increases application performance by reducing memory latency
o Scales memory bandwidth and performance to match compute needs
o HyperTransport™ Technology provides up to 16.0GB/s peak bandwidth per processor—reducing I/O bottlenecks
o Up to 33.1GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus)
AMD Balanced Smart Cache
* Shared L3 cache
* In addition to the 512K L2 cache per core, up to 2MB of L3 cache shared by up to 4 cores.
o BENEFIT : Shortened access times to highly accessed data for better performance.
AMD Wide Floating Point Accelerator
* 128-bit floating point unit (FPU)
* High performance (128bit internal data path) floating point unit per core.
o BENEFIT : Larger data paths for quicker floating point calculations and better performance.
HyperTransport™ technology
* One 16-bit link up to 4000MT/s
* Up to 8.0 GB/s HyperTransport™ I/O bandwidth; Up to 16.0GB/s in HyperTransport Generation 3.0 mode
* Up to 33.1GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus)
o BENEFIT : Quick access times to system resources for better performance.
Integrated DDR2 DRAM Controller with AMD Memory Optimizer Technology
* A high-bandwidth, low-latency integrated DDR2 memory controller
* Supports PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066); PC2-6400 (DDR2-800), PC2-5300 (DDR2-667), PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) or PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered DIMMs
* Support for 64-bit DDR2 SDRAM memory
* Up to 17.1GB/s memory bandwidth
o BENEFIT : Quick access to system memory for better performance.
AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) With Rapid Virtualization Indexing
* Silicon feature-set enhancements designed to improve the performance, reliability, and security of existing and future virtualization environments by allowing virtualized applications with direct and rapid access to their allocated memory.
o BENEFIT : Helps virtualization software to run more securely and efficiently enabling a better experience when dealing with virtual systems
AMD Cool'n'Quiet™ 2.0 technology
* Enhanced power management features which automatically and instantaneously adjusts performance states and features based on processor performance requirements
* For quieter operation and reduced power requirements
o BENEFIT : Enables platform designs providing less heat and noise efficient performance and energy usage.
AMD CoolCore™ Technology
* Reduces processor energy consumption by turning off unused parts of the processor. For example, the memory controller can turn off the write logic when reading from memory, helping reduce system power.
* Works automatically without the need for drivers or BIOS enablement.
* Power can be switched on or off within a single clock cycle, saving energy without comprimised performance.
o BENEFIT: Helps users get more efficient performance by dynamically activating or turning off parts of the processor.
Dual Dynamic Power Management™
* Enables more granular power management capabilities to reduce processor energy consumption.
* Separate power planes for cores and memory controller, for optimum power consumption and performance, creating more opportunities for power savings within the cores and memory controller.
o BENEFIT Helps improve platform efficiency by providing on demand memory performance while still allowing for decreased system power consumption .
* True quad-core designed from the ground up for better communication between cores.
o BENEFIT : Cores can communicate on die rather than on package for better performance
AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture
* Helps improve system performance and efficiency by directly connecting the memory controller and I/O to the CPU.
* Designed to enable simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing
* Integrated DDR2 Memory Controller
* BENEFITS :
o Increases application performance by reducing memory latency
o Scales memory bandwidth and performance to match compute needs
o HyperTransport™ Technology provides up to 16.0GB/s peak bandwidth per processor—reducing I/O bottlenecks
o Up to 33.1GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus)
AMD Balanced Smart Cache
* Shared L3 cache
* In addition to the 512K L2 cache per core, up to 2MB of L3 cache shared by up to 4 cores.
o BENEFIT : Shortened access times to highly accessed data for better performance.
AMD Wide Floating Point Accelerator
* 128-bit floating point unit (FPU)
* High performance (128bit internal data path) floating point unit per core.
o BENEFIT : Larger data paths for quicker floating point calculations and better performance.
HyperTransport™ technology
* One 16-bit link up to 4000MT/s
* Up to 8.0 GB/s HyperTransport™ I/O bandwidth; Up to 16.0GB/s in HyperTransport Generation 3.0 mode
* Up to 33.1GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus)
o BENEFIT : Quick access times to system resources for better performance.
Integrated DDR2 DRAM Controller with AMD Memory Optimizer Technology
* A high-bandwidth, low-latency integrated DDR2 memory controller
* Supports PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066); PC2-6400 (DDR2-800), PC2-5300 (DDR2-667), PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) or PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered DIMMs
* Support for 64-bit DDR2 SDRAM memory
* Up to 17.1GB/s memory bandwidth
o BENEFIT : Quick access to system memory for better performance.
AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) With Rapid Virtualization Indexing
* Silicon feature-set enhancements designed to improve the performance, reliability, and security of existing and future virtualization environments by allowing virtualized applications with direct and rapid access to their allocated memory.
o BENEFIT : Helps virtualization software to run more securely and efficiently enabling a better experience when dealing with virtual systems
AMD Cool'n'Quiet™ 2.0 technology
* Enhanced power management features which automatically and instantaneously adjusts performance states and features based on processor performance requirements
* For quieter operation and reduced power requirements
o BENEFIT : Enables platform designs providing less heat and noise efficient performance and energy usage.
AMD CoolCore™ Technology
* Reduces processor energy consumption by turning off unused parts of the processor. For example, the memory controller can turn off the write logic when reading from memory, helping reduce system power.
* Works automatically without the need for drivers or BIOS enablement.
* Power can be switched on or off within a single clock cycle, saving energy without comprimised performance.
o BENEFIT: Helps users get more efficient performance by dynamically activating or turning off parts of the processor.
Dual Dynamic Power Management™
* Enables more granular power management capabilities to reduce processor energy consumption.
* Separate power planes for cores and memory controller, for optimum power consumption and performance, creating more opportunities for power savings within the cores and memory controller.
o BENEFIT Helps improve platform efficiency by providing on demand memory performance while still allowing for decreased system power consumption .
AMD releases Phenom II X4 and Dragon desktop platform
AMD took the opportunity to use the CES 2009 forum to officially release its latest update to its 64-bit line of 45nm microprocessors. Phenom II X4 and Dragon platform for desktop PCs represent an "elite-level" of computing performance for about $900. But what do the benchmarks say?
The new Phenom II X4 sports a new numbering convention. The 940 model relates more directly to Intel's number scheme, and runs at 3.0 GHz. The quad-core Phenom II X4 is built on a 45nm process technology, Deneb core, contains 758 million transistors, is Socket AM2 compatible. It has proven easily overclockable so far. HotHardware.com has gotten the 940 model to 3.73 GHz (a 24.3% overclock).
A 920 model was also released at 2.8 GHz. Both models sport a 6 MB shared L3 cache. Power consumption drops from previous high-end 140W TDP to a more common 125W TDP at 3.0 GHz. L1 cache remains the same, 64KB data, 64KB instruction; with an L2 cache of 512KB per core. It includes an update to Cool'n'Quiet 3.0, though most other specs remain the same as previous high-end Phenoms.
AMD's Dragon PC platform sports an ATI Radeon 4800 GPU and AMD 790GX chipset, with HyperTransport 3.0, support for DDR2-1333 (and DDR3 memory on Socket AM3 versions with 880G chipset - due out later, probably in February), DirectX 10.1 (DisplayPort available in future 880G chipset), Cool'n'Quiet 3.0 support along with platform idea concepts, such as a call for quieter fans. The previous Spider platform used a Radeon 3800-series GPU and 700-Series chipset, including 790FX or 790GX.
Additional conceptual features include AMD's Fusion for Gaming - which is a feature allowing users single-click access to suspend background tasks thereby increasing performance for gaming; AMD's OverDrive utility which helps with overclocking (though AMD indicates overclocking of any kind voids the warranty); ATI Catalyst 8.12 and ATI Stream technology for GPGPU acceleration of several popular apps; and a new AMD Fusion Media Explorer Beta which "Simplifies the entertainment experiencing by enabling a simple but powerful way for consumers to interact with their music, photos, movies, TV and social media on their PC. This utility offers one-button postings of photos to Facebook™ accounts as well as automatic related media searches when the system is online, etc."
Reviews out at Tom's Hardware, The Tech Report and HotHardware.com indicate that at idle the CPU throttles down to 800 MHz and 0.992 volts with Cool'n'Quiet 3.0, resulting in a CPU energy consumption of 10.3 watts for 940, 10.0 watts for 920, and a platform energy consumption of 113.4 and 112.5 watts, respectively - which is currently "best in class" platform-wise.
Under heavy loads power consumption increases to 93.3 and 87.9 watts for CPU alone, and 204.8 and 199.4 watts for 940 and 920, respectively, which is only bested by Phenom X4 9350's 127.7 watts and Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 (which Intel discontinued yesterday) at 203.1 watts.
On benchmarks, Phenom II X4 940 is roughly 15% to 19% faster than Phenom X4 9950 across the board in gaming and compute applications, with the highest differences coming in Mainconcept H.264 compression which is 19.8% faster, Unreal Tournament 3 which is also 19.8% faster. The slowest increase came in Supreme Commander, which was 1.5% and Studio 12 which was 6.9%. 18 other benchmarks on Tom's Hardware were at least 15% faster.
In a break from tradition, Tom's Hardware is showing a relative percentage comparison for comparable platforms and applications, but is not doing full graphs with individual specs. For example, on average Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 (now discontinued) is 9% slower on average than Phenom II X4 940 (faster on all benchmarks, min is 0.7%, max is 22.6%). With Core i7 920 systems, Intel's offering performs 22% better on average. Some benchmarks include better performances of 60.5% and 43.3%.
Products are immediately available. Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, 3.0 GHz, 6 MB L3 sells for $275. 920 2.8 GHz version sells for $235. AMD claims the following system can be purchased for approximately $900: "Dragon platform technology consisting of the new AMD Phenom II X4 processor, ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 1GB graphics card, the AMD 790GX motherboard and 4 GB of DDR2-1066 memory."
The new Phenom II X4 sports a new numbering convention. The 940 model relates more directly to Intel's number scheme, and runs at 3.0 GHz. The quad-core Phenom II X4 is built on a 45nm process technology, Deneb core, contains 758 million transistors, is Socket AM2 compatible. It has proven easily overclockable so far. HotHardware.com has gotten the 940 model to 3.73 GHz (a 24.3% overclock).
A 920 model was also released at 2.8 GHz. Both models sport a 6 MB shared L3 cache. Power consumption drops from previous high-end 140W TDP to a more common 125W TDP at 3.0 GHz. L1 cache remains the same, 64KB data, 64KB instruction; with an L2 cache of 512KB per core. It includes an update to Cool'n'Quiet 3.0, though most other specs remain the same as previous high-end Phenoms.
AMD's Dragon PC platform sports an ATI Radeon 4800 GPU and AMD 790GX chipset, with HyperTransport 3.0, support for DDR2-1333 (and DDR3 memory on Socket AM3 versions with 880G chipset - due out later, probably in February), DirectX 10.1 (DisplayPort available in future 880G chipset), Cool'n'Quiet 3.0 support along with platform idea concepts, such as a call for quieter fans. The previous Spider platform used a Radeon 3800-series GPU and 700-Series chipset, including 790FX or 790GX.
Additional conceptual features include AMD's Fusion for Gaming - which is a feature allowing users single-click access to suspend background tasks thereby increasing performance for gaming; AMD's OverDrive utility which helps with overclocking (though AMD indicates overclocking of any kind voids the warranty); ATI Catalyst 8.12 and ATI Stream technology for GPGPU acceleration of several popular apps; and a new AMD Fusion Media Explorer Beta which "Simplifies the entertainment experiencing by enabling a simple but powerful way for consumers to interact with their music, photos, movies, TV and social media on their PC. This utility offers one-button postings of photos to Facebook™ accounts as well as automatic related media searches when the system is online, etc."
Reviews out at Tom's Hardware, The Tech Report and HotHardware.com indicate that at idle the CPU throttles down to 800 MHz and 0.992 volts with Cool'n'Quiet 3.0, resulting in a CPU energy consumption of 10.3 watts for 940, 10.0 watts for 920, and a platform energy consumption of 113.4 and 112.5 watts, respectively - which is currently "best in class" platform-wise.
Under heavy loads power consumption increases to 93.3 and 87.9 watts for CPU alone, and 204.8 and 199.4 watts for 940 and 920, respectively, which is only bested by Phenom X4 9350's 127.7 watts and Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 (which Intel discontinued yesterday) at 203.1 watts.
On benchmarks, Phenom II X4 940 is roughly 15% to 19% faster than Phenom X4 9950 across the board in gaming and compute applications, with the highest differences coming in Mainconcept H.264 compression which is 19.8% faster, Unreal Tournament 3 which is also 19.8% faster. The slowest increase came in Supreme Commander, which was 1.5% and Studio 12 which was 6.9%. 18 other benchmarks on Tom's Hardware were at least 15% faster.
In a break from tradition, Tom's Hardware is showing a relative percentage comparison for comparable platforms and applications, but is not doing full graphs with individual specs. For example, on average Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 (now discontinued) is 9% slower on average than Phenom II X4 940 (faster on all benchmarks, min is 0.7%, max is 22.6%). With Core i7 920 systems, Intel's offering performs 22% better on average. Some benchmarks include better performances of 60.5% and 43.3%.
Products are immediately available. Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, 3.0 GHz, 6 MB L3 sells for $275. 920 2.8 GHz version sells for $235. AMD claims the following system can be purchased for approximately $900: "Dragon platform technology consisting of the new AMD Phenom II X4 processor, ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 1GB graphics card, the AMD 790GX motherboard and 4 GB of DDR2-1066 memory."
AMD 580X CrossFire™ Chipset
General
* The worlds first single chip 2x16 PCI-E chipset
* Enhanced support for over-clocking, and PCI Express performance
* Fastest multi-GPU interconnect
* Coupled with SB600 for performance
CPU Interface
* Support for all AMD CPU’s: Athlon™ 64, Athlon™ 64 FX, Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core, and Sempron™ processors
* Support for 64-bit extended operating systems
* Highly overclockable and robust HyperTransport™ interface
PCI Express Interface
* 2 x16 PCI Express lanes to support simultaneous operation of graphics cards
* Additional 4 PCI-E General Purpose Lanes for peripheral support
* Compliant with the PCI Express 1.0a Specifications
Power Management Features
* Fully supports ACPI states S1, S3, S4, and S5
* Support for AMD Cool‘n’Quiet™ technology for crisp and quiet operation
Optimized Software Support
* Unified driver support on all ATI Radeon PCI Express discrete graphics products
* Support for Microsoft® Windows® XP, Windows® 2000, and Linux
Universal Connectivity
* A-Link Xpress II i/f to ATI northbridges; providing high bandwidth for high speed peripherals
* 10 USB 2.0 ports
* SATA Gen 2 PHY support at 3.0Ghz with E-SATA capability
* 4 ports SATA AHCI controller supports NCQ and slumber modes
* ATA 133 controller support up to UDMA mode 6 with 2 drives (disk or optical)
* TPM 1.1 and 1.2 compliant
* ASF 2.0 support for manageability control
* HPET (high precision event timer), ACPI 3.0, and AHCI support for Windows Vista
* Power management engine supporting both AMD and Intel platforms and forward compliant to MS Windows Vista
* UAA (universal audio architecture) support for High-Definition Audio and MODEM
* PCI v2.3 (up to 6 slots)
* LPC (Low Pin Count), SPI (new flash bus), and SM (System Management) bus management and arbitrations
* “Legacy” PC compatible functions, RTC (Real Time Clock), interrupt controller and DMA controllers .
* The worlds first single chip 2x16 PCI-E chipset
* Enhanced support for over-clocking, and PCI Express performance
* Fastest multi-GPU interconnect
* Coupled with SB600 for performance
CPU Interface
* Support for all AMD CPU’s: Athlon™ 64, Athlon™ 64 FX, Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core, and Sempron™ processors
* Support for 64-bit extended operating systems
* Highly overclockable and robust HyperTransport™ interface
PCI Express Interface
* 2 x16 PCI Express lanes to support simultaneous operation of graphics cards
* Additional 4 PCI-E General Purpose Lanes for peripheral support
* Compliant with the PCI Express 1.0a Specifications
Power Management Features
* Fully supports ACPI states S1, S3, S4, and S5
* Support for AMD Cool‘n’Quiet™ technology for crisp and quiet operation
Optimized Software Support
* Unified driver support on all ATI Radeon PCI Express discrete graphics products
* Support for Microsoft® Windows® XP, Windows® 2000, and Linux
Universal Connectivity
* A-Link Xpress II i/f to ATI northbridges; providing high bandwidth for high speed peripherals
* 10 USB 2.0 ports
* SATA Gen 2 PHY support at 3.0Ghz with E-SATA capability
* 4 ports SATA AHCI controller supports NCQ and slumber modes
* ATA 133 controller support up to UDMA mode 6 with 2 drives (disk or optical)
* TPM 1.1 and 1.2 compliant
* ASF 2.0 support for manageability control
* HPET (high precision event timer), ACPI 3.0, and AHCI support for Windows Vista
* Power management engine supporting both AMD and Intel platforms and forward compliant to MS Windows Vista
* UAA (universal audio architecture) support for High-Definition Audio and MODEM
* PCI v2.3 (up to 6 slots)
* LPC (Low Pin Count), SPI (new flash bus), and SM (System Management) bus management and arbitrations
* “Legacy” PC compatible functions, RTC (Real Time Clock), interrupt controller and DMA controllers .
AMD Sempron™ Processor
Get affordable performance that redefines everyday computing
* Get to fun, fast, with a system that boots and loads applications quickly and easily
* Enjoy reliable, responsive performance on thousands of software applications—including those that let you communicate with family and friends
The AMD64 core provides leading-edge performance for both 32-bit and 64-bit applications
* AMD64 technology provides full-speed support for x86 code base without compromising performance
* 40-bit physical addresses, 48-bit virtual addresses
* Sixteen 64-bit integer registers
* Sixteen 128-bit SSE/SSE2/SSE3 registers
* AMD Digital Media XPress™ provides support for SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and MMX instructions
A high-bandwidth, low-latency integrated DDR memory controller
* Supports PC2-5300 (DDR2-667), PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) or PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered DIMMs
* Support for 64-bit DDR2 SDRAM memory
* Up to 10.6GB/s memory bandwidth
HyperTransport™ technology for high speed I/O communication
* One 16-bit link up to 2000MHz bidirectional
* Up to 6.4GB/s HyperTransport™ I/O bandwidth
* Up to 17.0GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus)
Large high performance on-chip cache
* 64KB Level 1 instruction cache
* 64KB Level 1 data cache
* Up to 256KB Level 2 cache .
* Get to fun, fast, with a system that boots and loads applications quickly and easily
* Enjoy reliable, responsive performance on thousands of software applications—including those that let you communicate with family and friends
The AMD64 core provides leading-edge performance for both 32-bit and 64-bit applications
* AMD64 technology provides full-speed support for x86 code base without compromising performance
* 40-bit physical addresses, 48-bit virtual addresses
* Sixteen 64-bit integer registers
* Sixteen 128-bit SSE/SSE2/SSE3 registers
* AMD Digital Media XPress™ provides support for SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and MMX instructions
A high-bandwidth, low-latency integrated DDR memory controller
* Supports PC2-5300 (DDR2-667), PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) or PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered DIMMs
* Support for 64-bit DDR2 SDRAM memory
* Up to 10.6GB/s memory bandwidth
HyperTransport™ technology for high speed I/O communication
* One 16-bit link up to 2000MHz bidirectional
* Up to 6.4GB/s HyperTransport™ I/O bandwidth
* Up to 17.0GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus)
Large high performance on-chip cache
* 64KB Level 1 instruction cache
* 64KB Level 1 data cache
* Up to 256KB Level 2 cache .
Intel Atom N280 processor coming in Q2/Q3
A faster and more expensive Intel Atom processor will be arriving in Q2/Q3 this year, to be available in 10-inch netbooks from Asustek, Acer, and Gigabyte. The Atom N280 has a 1.66GHz clockspeed and 667MHz FSB, and will make use of Intel's GN40 chipset. The N280 will go for $60-65 in thousand-unit quantities; the current N270 and 945GSE chipset goes for $46.
Posted by Pinky........ at 7:50 AM 0 comments
Intel's new Atom N280 expected in second half of 2009
Netbooks using the forthcoming Intel Atom N280 are expected to tip up between the second and third quarters of 2009. The N280 is the follow-up to the Netbook class leading N270 Atom CPU that finds its home in practically every netbook on the market today.
The Atom N270, used in netbooks like the MSI Wind U100, uses the 945GSE chipset and has a core frequency of 1.6GHz. The unit price for the older N270 is $46 in lots of 30,000. The new Intel Atom N280 uses the GN40 chipset and offers a core frequency of 1.66GHz with a front side bus running at 667MHz. The CPU is expected in the first half of 2009 at $60 to $65 per tray of 30,000 units.
The front side bus speed of the old N270 is 533MHz, making the N280's front side bus much faster despite the mere 60MHz difference in clock speed. The netbook world can certainly use more performance, but dual-core Atoms (or higher-frequency parts) are much more likely to deliver it than FSB jumps. We're also hoping to see the NVIDIA Ion platform hit the market this year.
Posted by Pinky........ at 7:50 AM 0 comments
Intel's new Atom N280 expected in second half of 2009
Netbooks using the forthcoming Intel Atom N280 are expected to tip up between the second and third quarters of 2009. The N280 is the follow-up to the Netbook class leading N270 Atom CPU that finds its home in practically every netbook on the market today.
The Atom N270, used in netbooks like the MSI Wind U100, uses the 945GSE chipset and has a core frequency of 1.6GHz. The unit price for the older N270 is $46 in lots of 30,000. The new Intel Atom N280 uses the GN40 chipset and offers a core frequency of 1.66GHz with a front side bus running at 667MHz. The CPU is expected in the first half of 2009 at $60 to $65 per tray of 30,000 units.
The front side bus speed of the old N270 is 533MHz, making the N280's front side bus much faster despite the mere 60MHz difference in clock speed. The netbook world can certainly use more performance, but dual-core Atoms (or higher-frequency parts) are much more likely to deliver it than FSB jumps. We're also hoping to see the NVIDIA Ion platform hit the market this year.
Atom N280 and GN40 to be expensive
According to details on Digitimes, the upcoming Atom N280 and the GN40 chipset for Netbooks are expected to be a lot more expensive than the current N270 processor with the 945GSE chipset. Although we'd expect much better performance from the new chipset, the CPU is unlikely to add that much extra performance for the money.
The price difference is said to be anything between US$14 and $19, possibly because Intel gives different pricing to its various partners. For the extra money the Atom N280 doesn't seem to have much on offer compared to the N270, as according to Digitimes, it's expected to be clocked at 1.66GHz, a mere 60MHz faster than the N270. Some reports have suggested that the N280 will be clocked at 1.86GHz, but in this case, we think that Digitimes is closer to the mark.
The GN40 chipset is still something of a mystery, as all we know so far is that it'll support the faster 667MHz bus speed of the N280. We still believe the GN40 is a single package chipset solution, as this makes sense for the target market of this chipset and it will also reduce manufacturing cost for Intel.
The new CPU and chipset will most likely be detailed during IDF Shanghai and we'd dare to guess that the platform will launch at Computex in early June.
The price difference is said to be anything between US$14 and $19, possibly because Intel gives different pricing to its various partners. For the extra money the Atom N280 doesn't seem to have much on offer compared to the N270, as according to Digitimes, it's expected to be clocked at 1.66GHz, a mere 60MHz faster than the N270. Some reports have suggested that the N280 will be clocked at 1.86GHz, but in this case, we think that Digitimes is closer to the mark.
The GN40 chipset is still something of a mystery, as all we know so far is that it'll support the faster 667MHz bus speed of the N280. We still believe the GN40 is a single package chipset solution, as this makes sense for the target market of this chipset and it will also reduce manufacturing cost for Intel.
The new CPU and chipset will most likely be detailed during IDF Shanghai and we'd dare to guess that the platform will launch at Computex in early June.
AMD Offers New Semprons for Embedded Markets
Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices, recently announced the immediate availability of two new processors designed for the embedded systems, namely the Sempron 210U and 200U. According to the chip maker, the new processors have been provided with a lidless BGA packaging, featuring the low-power and high-performance capabilities that are provided by the company's Direct Connect Architecture.
“These new lidless BGA packaged processors can help customers significantly shrink their embedded design into new smaller, flatter form factors without having to sacrifice any computing performance,” said Buddy Broeker, director, Embedded Product Marketing, AMD. “Retail touch screens, self-service kiosks and digital signage are a growing part of the consumer experience and thin client computing continues to play a strong role in helping businesses become more efficient. These new processor features will help our customers stay on the cutting edge of embedded system design.”
In addition to the new AMD processors for the embedded market, the company also announced that customers could take advantage of the full performance potential of the new Semprons, with the help of the AMD M690E chipset. According to AMD, pairing the two solutions, processors and chipset, will provide for a complete and robust embedded platform that has the potential of boosting performance, while providing the increasingly necessary graphics and display options required by embedded systems.
“Whether it’s clients for cloud computing, virtual desktops, or as a green replacement for a PC, customers turn to Wyse for powerful client solutions that deliver the rich sound and graphics common with today’s applications,” said Curt Schwebke, CTO for Wyse Technology. “The new AMD Sempron 210U processors enable us to deliver high performance in a very low power thermal range, and with the BGA package, we are able to offer increasingly compact designs.”
The chip maker said that embedded systems based on its latest Sempron 210U and 200U processors were available from iBASE, aValue, EVOC, Gigabyte, and Inventec.
“These new lidless BGA packaged processors can help customers significantly shrink their embedded design into new smaller, flatter form factors without having to sacrifice any computing performance,” said Buddy Broeker, director, Embedded Product Marketing, AMD. “Retail touch screens, self-service kiosks and digital signage are a growing part of the consumer experience and thin client computing continues to play a strong role in helping businesses become more efficient. These new processor features will help our customers stay on the cutting edge of embedded system design.”
In addition to the new AMD processors for the embedded market, the company also announced that customers could take advantage of the full performance potential of the new Semprons, with the help of the AMD M690E chipset. According to AMD, pairing the two solutions, processors and chipset, will provide for a complete and robust embedded platform that has the potential of boosting performance, while providing the increasingly necessary graphics and display options required by embedded systems.
“Whether it’s clients for cloud computing, virtual desktops, or as a green replacement for a PC, customers turn to Wyse for powerful client solutions that deliver the rich sound and graphics common with today’s applications,” said Curt Schwebke, CTO for Wyse Technology. “The new AMD Sempron 210U processors enable us to deliver high performance in a very low power thermal range, and with the BGA package, we are able to offer increasingly compact designs.”
The chip maker said that embedded systems based on its latest Sempron 210U and 200U processors were available from iBASE, aValue, EVOC, Gigabyte, and Inventec.
INTEL Atom Update Coming Q3
Anyone still holding off a netbook purchase waiting for the Goldilocks system, to coin a phrase, to come along might want to hold off a little longer. We all knew Intel is going to update its Atom line-up at some point, but thanks to DigiTimes' digging at notebook manufacturers, we know that when is a slightly more specific sometime in Q2 or Q3 this year.
Expectedly the Atom N280, as the current N270s successor is to be called, brings improvements with it, both to the CPU itself and, arguably more importantly, the platform in which it resides. Most obvious among the changes is the move from a 533MHz to a 667MHz front-side bus and, as a result, a slight change from a 1.6GHZ to a 1.66GHz clock speed.
Of more significance is the move from the currently used 945GSE chipset to one called the GN40. Intel doesn't seem to be sharing information about this new chipset yet and DigiTimes apparently haven't
Pricing is a bit increased for the N280 at $60-65 (~£41-45) versus $46 (~£32) for the N270. Per CPU, in 1,000 unit trays as ever, of course. If the GN40 chipset can bring the much needed improvements over its archaic predecessor, though, that premium will almost certainly be worthwhile.
Acer, Asus and Gigabyte are apparently signed up to dish out N280 and GN40-fitted netbooks already, so it's just a matter of time, now.
Expectedly the Atom N280, as the current N270s successor is to be called, brings improvements with it, both to the CPU itself and, arguably more importantly, the platform in which it resides. Most obvious among the changes is the move from a 533MHz to a 667MHz front-side bus and, as a result, a slight change from a 1.6GHZ to a 1.66GHz clock speed.
Of more significance is the move from the currently used 945GSE chipset to one called the GN40. Intel doesn't seem to be sharing information about this new chipset yet and DigiTimes apparently haven't
Pricing is a bit increased for the N280 at $60-65 (~£41-45) versus $46 (~£32) for the N270. Per CPU, in 1,000 unit trays as ever, of course. If the GN40 chipset can bring the much needed improvements over its archaic predecessor, though, that premium will almost certainly be worthwhile.
Acer, Asus and Gigabyte are apparently signed up to dish out N280 and GN40-fitted netbooks already, so it's just a matter of time, now.
Atom N280 for mid-2009
The dark satanic rumour mill is predicting that from the second quarter of 2009 there should be shedloads of netbooks based around the Intel GN40 and Intel Atom N280 which can manage speeds from 1.66GHz.
At CES Asus was showing off its Netbook 10.2-inch Asus Eee PC 1004DN which was based around a previously unknown variant of the Intel Atom N280 unknown chipset Intel GN40. According to the Italian IT press Asus, Acer and Gigabyte Technology will produce a new Netbook-based chipset GN40 and Atom N280 processor. This includes the mysterious Asus Eee PC 1004DN.
The Intel Atom N280 will have a clock frequency of 1.66GHz with 667MHz FSB. The unit cost will be between $60 and $65. This is pricey in comparison to the $46 Intel Atom N270 will set you back.
But the reports point out that Intel's Pineview chip is due out around the release date of the new Netbook so it is possible to guess that what was being seen at CES was none other than a Pineview prototype.
At CES Asus was showing off its Netbook 10.2-inch Asus Eee PC 1004DN which was based around a previously unknown variant of the Intel Atom N280 unknown chipset Intel GN40. According to the Italian IT press Asus, Acer and Gigabyte Technology will produce a new Netbook-based chipset GN40 and Atom N280 processor. This includes the mysterious Asus Eee PC 1004DN.
The Intel Atom N280 will have a clock frequency of 1.66GHz with 667MHz FSB. The unit cost will be between $60 and $65. This is pricey in comparison to the $46 Intel Atom N270 will set you back.
But the reports point out that Intel's Pineview chip is due out around the release date of the new Netbook so it is possible to guess that what was being seen at CES was none other than a Pineview prototype.
Atom N280 leaked
INTEL IS PREPPING the next small step in netbook computing, according to a report at Dodgytimes.
The release of a tweaked Atom processor, dubbed the N280, will bring along a small speed upgrade, 1.66GHz, and a higher 667MHz FSB. The processor will remain single core but will gain a companion chipset to replace the rather inadequate 945GSE, the GN40. We'll go out on a limb and say it's a stripped-down G4x class chipset/graphics core capable of some 1080p video decode, because that's what Intel really needs.
Already the netbook makers in Taiwan have been confronted with the BOM for this part reporting the new platform will fetch a 30% price premium over the current generation of Atom processors, says Dodgy. A higher >10W TDP is to be expected, but then there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Launch date is said to be 1H09, which isn't too far away. That's likely to get pulled-in depending on how many design wins AMD and Nvidia score this quarter. Knowing the way Intel specs these things up, a 2GHz part is likely to follow close behind.
Intel looks like it's tackling two challenges at the same time: a slight performance bump to counter AMD's Neo and a semi-decent graphics part with HD decode to counter Nvidia's Ion, somewhat. It's been a one-horse race so far, you see.
Asus, Gigabyte and Acer seem to be the early adopters, although Gigabyte has been relatively netbook-shy until now. µ
The release of a tweaked Atom processor, dubbed the N280, will bring along a small speed upgrade, 1.66GHz, and a higher 667MHz FSB. The processor will remain single core but will gain a companion chipset to replace the rather inadequate 945GSE, the GN40. We'll go out on a limb and say it's a stripped-down G4x class chipset/graphics core capable of some 1080p video decode, because that's what Intel really needs.
Already the netbook makers in Taiwan have been confronted with the BOM for this part reporting the new platform will fetch a 30% price premium over the current generation of Atom processors, says Dodgy. A higher >10W TDP is to be expected, but then there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Launch date is said to be 1H09, which isn't too far away. That's likely to get pulled-in depending on how many design wins AMD and Nvidia score this quarter. Knowing the way Intel specs these things up, a 2GHz part is likely to follow close behind.
Intel looks like it's tackling two challenges at the same time: a slight performance bump to counter AMD's Neo and a semi-decent graphics part with HD decode to counter Nvidia's Ion, somewhat. It's been a one-horse race so far, you see.
Asus, Gigabyte and Acer seem to be the early adopters, although Gigabyte has been relatively netbook-shy until now. µ
Intel Atom N280 coming this year
Intel is expected to launch their new Intel Atom N280 processor sometime this year.
This would enable PC manufacturers to offer a slightly more powerful netbooks.
Intel currently offers Atom N270 processor which powers most of the current generation netbooks available in the market.
The new processor Atom N280 would use the GN40 chipset and would offer a core frequency of 1.66GHz with a front side bus running at 667MHz.
Market analysts believe that the company would not launch more powerful editions of Intel Atom in the near future to avoid competing with the existing processor models.
This would enable PC manufacturers to offer a slightly more powerful netbooks.
Intel currently offers Atom N270 processor which powers most of the current generation netbooks available in the market.
The new processor Atom N280 would use the GN40 chipset and would offer a core frequency of 1.66GHz with a front side bus running at 667MHz.
Market analysts believe that the company would not launch more powerful editions of Intel Atom in the near future to avoid competing with the existing processor models.
Intel Atom N280 with HD-capable GN40 chipset coming Q2/Q3 2009
Anybody who has been following the tech world for the past six months will know that netbooks have swarmed the market; as soon as I see the word, my fingers automatically start typing “Intel Atom N270?. Now it looks as though that will have to change: reports from notebook manufacturers suggest that the next-gen single-core Intel mobile processor, the Atom N280, will begin to appear in devices between Q2 and Q3 of this year.
Specifications between the N270 and the N280 are similar, with clock speed seeing only a minor boost from 1.6GHz in the current CPU to 1.66GHz in the new version. However the FSB also gets a boost, from 533MHz to 667MHz, and the accompanying chipset also gets updated, from the 945GSE to the GN40.
It’s perhaps the GN40 that marks the most significant change for the N280, bringing as it will improved graphics performance and HD playback. This seems to be a strike against NVIDIA’s upcoming Ion chipset, which boasted improved HD performance and even Blu-ray playback for netbooks. ASUS, Acer and Gigabyte are all expected to announce new netbooks using the Atom N280.
Specifications between the N270 and the N280 are similar, with clock speed seeing only a minor boost from 1.6GHz in the current CPU to 1.66GHz in the new version. However the FSB also gets a boost, from 533MHz to 667MHz, and the accompanying chipset also gets updated, from the 945GSE to the GN40.
It’s perhaps the GN40 that marks the most significant change for the N280, bringing as it will improved graphics performance and HD playback. This seems to be a strike against NVIDIA’s upcoming Ion chipset, which boasted improved HD performance and even Blu-ray playback for netbooks. ASUS, Acer and Gigabyte are all expected to announce new netbooks using the Atom N280.
Next Intel Atom's Biggest Upgrade is Its Price
Some details have emerged about Intel's Atom N280 processor, the successor to the wildly popular N270 that drove last year's netbook craze. In short, it's not looking like much of an update.
The N280 gets three performance boosts: the speed will inch up from 1.6GHz to 1.66GHz, the front side bus will climb from 533MHz to 667MHz, and the bundled graphics hardware, the Intel GN40, will likely fare better than the old 945GSE in terms of Blu-ray playback and light gaming.
Despite a H2 2009 expected release, which would make the Atom more than a year old, this by all counts incremental upgrade will cost end users $14-$19 dollars more than the current-gen processor, with the chipset. This doesn't sound like much until you consider that the Atom sells for a mere $46, and that some of the netbooks it's bundled with can dip below $300.
A likely reason for planning this refresh is added pressure from Nvidia's Ion graphics unit, which promises huge increases in graphics performance in Atom netbooks over Intel's lethargic offering.
The N280 gets three performance boosts: the speed will inch up from 1.6GHz to 1.66GHz, the front side bus will climb from 533MHz to 667MHz, and the bundled graphics hardware, the Intel GN40, will likely fare better than the old 945GSE in terms of Blu-ray playback and light gaming.
Despite a H2 2009 expected release, which would make the Atom more than a year old, this by all counts incremental upgrade will cost end users $14-$19 dollars more than the current-gen processor, with the chipset. This doesn't sound like much until you consider that the Atom sells for a mere $46, and that some of the netbooks it's bundled with can dip below $300.
A likely reason for planning this refresh is added pressure from Nvidia's Ion graphics unit, which promises huge increases in graphics performance in Atom netbooks over Intel's lethargic offering.
Future Intel Atom chip is a yawner--by design
That Eee PC Netbook too slow? Well, it probably won't get much faster in 2009, according to reports, proving that Intel is not keen on revving up Atom to compete with itself.
Both Digitimes and Engadget are reporting that the Atom N280--an update of the 1.6GHz N270--will appear by the third quarter of this year and run at 1.66GHz.
This is a whopping 0.06GHz jump in speed--very underwhelming and very different than the performance fast track that consumers are used to with higher-end Intel Core architecture chips. It highlights a theme that will be repeated often in 2009: As Atom gains in popularity, Intel will have to manage the Atom platform so it doesn't imperil more lucrative processor lines.
Another theme that's emerging in 2009 is the Netbook--typically priced below $500--as the computer for the sinking economy, tailor-made for shrinking household budgets. In fact, a recent report from Forrester Research exhorts Netbook vendors to discourage this, saying they should "avoid the temptation" to tap into this sentiment.
"This cannibalization is bad for industry pricing," according to a report by Forrester analyst J. P. Gownder, citing statistics that say 23 percent of consumers say they are interested in buying a Netbook in lieu of "a more expensive laptop."
To be clear, Intel has always been quick to say that Atom is not designed as a high-performance processor and ardently tries to dampen excessive expectations. CEO Paul Otellini and other executives have stated clearly in many forums (regularly in earnings conference calls, for example) that Netbooks are a "complementary" device to a notebook and meant for casual Internet usage only.
And Intel is going to take this a step further later this year by plugging the hole between cheap Netbooks and pricey ultraportables with a new processor for less-expensive ultraportables. More than anything, this chip is meant to send a message: Netbook performance will be capped. Want something more than a Netbook? You will need to buy an ultraportable with a chip from Intel's more mainstream Core architecture lineup.
So, what are Intel's plans for Atom in 2009? Aside from tiny frequency improvements to the processor, Intel will increase the front-side bus--a data path between the processor and other silicon--from 533MHz to 667MHz, which will boost performance more than the teeny uptick in processor clock speed.
(Let's not forget the Atom Z540, which is targeted at handheld-size mobile Internet devices. This has been around since April and runs at 1.86GHz, a faster clock speed than the upcoming N280.)
The biggest improvement, however, will come in graphics. The Atom upcoming GN40 chipset will offer improved graphics performance and will be HD playback compatible, though there will be no Blu-ray logo.
Will this ability to handle HD discourage Netbook vendors from going with Nvidia's Ion processor? That may also be a theme that repeats itself in 2009. Nvidia's Ion platform, aimed at Netbooks, can do Blu-ray. Whether this will provide enough incentive to Netbook makers to include Ion--which appears to offer better graphics performance overall than the GN40--won't be clear until at least summer.
It also isn't necessarily a slam-dunk that Netbooks will rule in 2009. Remember the UMPC? I didn't think so.
Both Digitimes and Engadget are reporting that the Atom N280--an update of the 1.6GHz N270--will appear by the third quarter of this year and run at 1.66GHz.
This is a whopping 0.06GHz jump in speed--very underwhelming and very different than the performance fast track that consumers are used to with higher-end Intel Core architecture chips. It highlights a theme that will be repeated often in 2009: As Atom gains in popularity, Intel will have to manage the Atom platform so it doesn't imperil more lucrative processor lines.
Another theme that's emerging in 2009 is the Netbook--typically priced below $500--as the computer for the sinking economy, tailor-made for shrinking household budgets. In fact, a recent report from Forrester Research exhorts Netbook vendors to discourage this, saying they should "avoid the temptation" to tap into this sentiment.
"This cannibalization is bad for industry pricing," according to a report by Forrester analyst J. P. Gownder, citing statistics that say 23 percent of consumers say they are interested in buying a Netbook in lieu of "a more expensive laptop."
To be clear, Intel has always been quick to say that Atom is not designed as a high-performance processor and ardently tries to dampen excessive expectations. CEO Paul Otellini and other executives have stated clearly in many forums (regularly in earnings conference calls, for example) that Netbooks are a "complementary" device to a notebook and meant for casual Internet usage only.
And Intel is going to take this a step further later this year by plugging the hole between cheap Netbooks and pricey ultraportables with a new processor for less-expensive ultraportables. More than anything, this chip is meant to send a message: Netbook performance will be capped. Want something more than a Netbook? You will need to buy an ultraportable with a chip from Intel's more mainstream Core architecture lineup.
So, what are Intel's plans for Atom in 2009? Aside from tiny frequency improvements to the processor, Intel will increase the front-side bus--a data path between the processor and other silicon--from 533MHz to 667MHz, which will boost performance more than the teeny uptick in processor clock speed.
(Let's not forget the Atom Z540, which is targeted at handheld-size mobile Internet devices. This has been around since April and runs at 1.86GHz, a faster clock speed than the upcoming N280.)
The biggest improvement, however, will come in graphics. The Atom upcoming GN40 chipset will offer improved graphics performance and will be HD playback compatible, though there will be no Blu-ray logo.
Will this ability to handle HD discourage Netbook vendors from going with Nvidia's Ion processor? That may also be a theme that repeats itself in 2009. Nvidia's Ion platform, aimed at Netbooks, can do Blu-ray. Whether this will provide enough incentive to Netbook makers to include Ion--which appears to offer better graphics performance overall than the GN40--won't be clear until at least summer.
It also isn't necessarily a slam-dunk that Netbooks will rule in 2009. Remember the UMPC? I didn't think so.
Intel vPro, Core 2 Duo Processors Coming to a Store Near You
At the National Retail Federation Convention, Intel is showing off a new proof-of-concept design for point-of-sale machines that will embed a number of Intel technologies into these devices, including the company’s newer 45-nm processors originally used for laptops and Intel’s vPro management technology. Intel’s goal is to bring its x86 architecture into more and more embedded systems to expand the company’s reach beyond desktops, notebooks and servers. Last year, Intel executives said the embedded market could be worth $10 billion in annual sales.
Intel is looking to bring its newer 45-nanometer Core 2 Duo processors along with its vPro management technology into the retail space with a new point-of-sale design that looks to expand the base for the chip giant’s embedded portfolio.
At the National Retail Federation Convention in New York, which kicked off Jan. 12, Intel displayed a new proof-of-concept design for POS machines that will embed Intel’s 45-nm Core 2 Duo mobile processors as well as its vPro technology into these devices in an effort to make these machines more power-efficient and easier to remotely manage.
The Intel Core 2 Duo processors are the same as the ones released with the updated Centrino 2 platform in July.
“We were looking at different markets where technology could make a big impact in terms of a green perspective,” said Joe Jensen, the general manager of Intel’s Embedded Computing Division. “Intel has been doing POS machines for about 20 years and when we looked at that market we started to realize a couple of things. First, almost every system is based on technology and most systems run 24 hours a day because many of the retailers believe these machines cannot be booted properly.”
Since laptops need processors that work within smaller thermal footprints, Jensen said it seemed like a natural fit to use mobile processors in POS machines that are perpetually left on and running in retail stores. Most of Intel’s newer Core 2 Duo processors work within a 25-watt thermal envelope.
At the same time, Intel’s vPro technology – a set of management, security and virtualization technology that Intel builds into the silicon itself – allows a retail store’s IT department to monitor and control a POS remotely, which can save the time and money it takes to send someone to a store to fix a machine. It also allows a centralized IT department to monitor machines for security breaches.
While the embedded market is not one of Intel’s main businesses, it is a market that the company is looking to explore.
In 2008, Intel CEO Paul Otellini estimated the worldwide market for embedded products could reach annual sales of $10 billion. At the same time, Intel is looking to expand the footprint for x86 processors beyond desktops, notebooks and server systems. In order to accomplish that goal, Intel is looking to embed its x86 processor architecture into a new generation of POS machines, storage systems and even smaller devices such as MIDs – mobile Internet devices – and possibly even handsets, which mainly used ARM processors now.
Ultimately, Intel is looking to unify this new embedded market around common x86 processor architecture and software instructional set, while allowing these new devices to connect to the Internet
In July, Intel began offering a number of system-on-a-chip designs for the embedded market that use an older Pentium M processing core. Later, Intel will offer new SOC designs that use the same core that is found in the Intel Atom processors for “netbooks.”
“It’s a $1 billion a year market for them and they want to expand it,” said John Spooner, an analyst with Technology Business Research. “Intel’s argument is that they can take standard Intel architecture and build embedded devices around it. Intel believes it can make those devices cheaper and allow companies to build them quicker. At the same time, all the software is there and it also allows companies to hook these devices up to the Internet.”
Chip companies such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices offer stable platforms for the embedded market since retail stores do not upgrade POS machines with the same frequency as they would a server or PC. In this case, Intel is offering a seven-year guarantee with this new retail design.
For now, Jensen said Intel’s new POS design has not been picked up by manufacturers just yet, but he said Intel is talking to several OEMs about building machines that use the technology.
Intel is looking to bring its newer 45-nanometer Core 2 Duo processors along with its vPro management technology into the retail space with a new point-of-sale design that looks to expand the base for the chip giant’s embedded portfolio.
At the National Retail Federation Convention in New York, which kicked off Jan. 12, Intel displayed a new proof-of-concept design for POS machines that will embed Intel’s 45-nm Core 2 Duo mobile processors as well as its vPro technology into these devices in an effort to make these machines more power-efficient and easier to remotely manage.
The Intel Core 2 Duo processors are the same as the ones released with the updated Centrino 2 platform in July.
“We were looking at different markets where technology could make a big impact in terms of a green perspective,” said Joe Jensen, the general manager of Intel’s Embedded Computing Division. “Intel has been doing POS machines for about 20 years and when we looked at that market we started to realize a couple of things. First, almost every system is based on technology and most systems run 24 hours a day because many of the retailers believe these machines cannot be booted properly.”
Since laptops need processors that work within smaller thermal footprints, Jensen said it seemed like a natural fit to use mobile processors in POS machines that are perpetually left on and running in retail stores. Most of Intel’s newer Core 2 Duo processors work within a 25-watt thermal envelope.
At the same time, Intel’s vPro technology – a set of management, security and virtualization technology that Intel builds into the silicon itself – allows a retail store’s IT department to monitor and control a POS remotely, which can save the time and money it takes to send someone to a store to fix a machine. It also allows a centralized IT department to monitor machines for security breaches.
While the embedded market is not one of Intel’s main businesses, it is a market that the company is looking to explore.
In 2008, Intel CEO Paul Otellini estimated the worldwide market for embedded products could reach annual sales of $10 billion. At the same time, Intel is looking to expand the footprint for x86 processors beyond desktops, notebooks and server systems. In order to accomplish that goal, Intel is looking to embed its x86 processor architecture into a new generation of POS machines, storage systems and even smaller devices such as MIDs – mobile Internet devices – and possibly even handsets, which mainly used ARM processors now.
Ultimately, Intel is looking to unify this new embedded market around common x86 processor architecture and software instructional set, while allowing these new devices to connect to the Internet
In July, Intel began offering a number of system-on-a-chip designs for the embedded market that use an older Pentium M processing core. Later, Intel will offer new SOC designs that use the same core that is found in the Intel Atom processors for “netbooks.”
“It’s a $1 billion a year market for them and they want to expand it,” said John Spooner, an analyst with Technology Business Research. “Intel’s argument is that they can take standard Intel architecture and build embedded devices around it. Intel believes it can make those devices cheaper and allow companies to build them quicker. At the same time, all the software is there and it also allows companies to hook these devices up to the Internet.”
Chip companies such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices offer stable platforms for the embedded market since retail stores do not upgrade POS machines with the same frequency as they would a server or PC. In this case, Intel is offering a seven-year guarantee with this new retail design.
For now, Jensen said Intel’s new POS design has not been picked up by manufacturers just yet, but he said Intel is talking to several OEMs about building machines that use the technology.
Intel Atom N280 to Power Upcoming Netbooks
According to the latest details in the industry, the leading chip maker, Intel has announced that netbooks running on the company's new Atom N280 processor will become available as early as Q2 or Q3 this year. Some of the early systems are expected to be introduced by ASUSTeK, Acer and Gigabyte, with ASUS having already developed a system based on the new netbook CPU, which the Taiwanese company showcased at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The new processor is expected to be paired with a new chipset, consequently replacing the old 945GSE, which has been featured on almost every netbook released in 2008. Dubbed GN40, the new Intel netbook chipset is going to provide support for Intel's N280 processor, coming to provide users and system builders with a core frequency of 1.66GHz and an FSB of 667MHz. The new chipset and processor combo is expected to raise the performance bar on the upcoming netbooks, but the price tag is also going to be influenced.
Digitimes reports that the new netbook-ready Intel Atom N280 processor is going to be priced at US$60-65 in thousand-unit tray quantities, which is a bit over that of the Atom N270 processor and 945GSE chipset combo. Currently, the Atom N270 and 945GSE chipsets are priced at US$46, which could be lower, as the Santa Clara, California-based company will continue releasing new processor models.
Intel's Atom processor has been one of the company's most successful products in 2008, also enabling a faster growth of the netbook market segment, as most netbooks released last year have been featured with the small-sized and low-power Atom N270.
Last week, during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, ASUSTeK unveiled a series of new Eee PC models, at least one of which was featured with the yet-unreleased Atom N280.
The new processor is expected to be paired with a new chipset, consequently replacing the old 945GSE, which has been featured on almost every netbook released in 2008. Dubbed GN40, the new Intel netbook chipset is going to provide support for Intel's N280 processor, coming to provide users and system builders with a core frequency of 1.66GHz and an FSB of 667MHz. The new chipset and processor combo is expected to raise the performance bar on the upcoming netbooks, but the price tag is also going to be influenced.
Digitimes reports that the new netbook-ready Intel Atom N280 processor is going to be priced at US$60-65 in thousand-unit tray quantities, which is a bit over that of the Atom N270 processor and 945GSE chipset combo. Currently, the Atom N270 and 945GSE chipsets are priced at US$46, which could be lower, as the Santa Clara, California-based company will continue releasing new processor models.
Intel's Atom processor has been one of the company's most successful products in 2008, also enabling a faster growth of the netbook market segment, as most netbooks released last year have been featured with the small-sized and low-power Atom N270.
Last week, during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, ASUSTeK unveiled a series of new Eee PC models, at least one of which was featured with the yet-unreleased Atom N280.
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition
Trying to figure out whether to go for an AMD CPU or an Intel one isn't as simple as comparing the speeds and feeds. Both platforms need to be taken into consideration so that you can compare the costs effectively and make sure you buy the right components to fit your budget. AMD claims to have a winner in this respect, as its new AMD Phenom II X4 CPUs are based on the same socket design as the previous Phenom and won't require a completely new motherboard and memory in order to function properly.
That's good news for owners of AMD-based PCs — specifically ones that use the AM2 CPU socket design — but even users who are contemplating building a new PC should take a look at what the Phenom II X4 offers, because it is AMD's best CPU to date.
The Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition CPU is currently AMD's cream of the crop for desktop users and can be purchased for $500-$550 (based on a quick search using Statice.com.au). Make no mistake, though, it's not designed to compete against Intel's Core i7 chips, but instead against the Core 2 Quad range.
The Phenom II X4 940 is a quad-core, 64-bit CPU with a clock speed of 3GHz and three levels of cache; there are small amounts of level 1 (128KB) and level 2 (512KB) cache for each individual core, as well as a shared 6MB level 3 cache for all cores to use. AMD retains an integrated memory controller, which supports DDR2 memory up to 1066MHz.
The chip has been built using AMD's 45 nanometre manufacturing technology, which means it has smaller transistors than the previous Phenom CPUs and can run faster and cooler while consuming less power. The Phenom X4 9950 had a power rating of 140W and was formerly AMD's fastest CPU, while the Phenom II X4 940 has a power rating of 125W. This is only five Watts less than Intel's speed-comparable Core 2 Extreme QX9650, which is rated at 130W (but doesn't have an integrated memory controller).
We tested the 940 on a 32-bit Wndows Vista platform running an MSI 790GX–based motherboard, 2GB of Kingston DDR2 1066MHz RAM, on-board ATI graphics and an 80GB solid-state drive from Intel. The system consumed 152W of electricity when all four of its cores were under a full load, which is a decent result for a powerful system. And it is powerful: in WorldBench 6 it recorded a score of 122, which makes the fastest AMD CPU we've seen by far and also puts in good company with Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX9650, which is a ludicrously more expensive beast that averages around 130 in WorldBench 6.
In our Blender 3D rendering test the Phenom II X4 940 recorded a time of 36sec, which is good; it means, of course, that a system based on this CPU will do very well when encoding videos and music, as well as decoding high-definition video streams. In fact, if you opt for this CPU, motherboard and RAM configuration, you'll be able to build yourself a punchy workstation or media centre PC for less than $1000 (using a conventional hard drive).
Compared to the previous generation of Phenom CPUs, the Phenom II CPUs have a larger level 3 cache as well as faster frequencies. The 940 runs at 3GHz, but AMD is confident that it can be overclocked significantly while using an air-based cooler. During our tests using the standard AMD cooler the 940 did indeed run without problems at 3.4GHz, but it was unstable at 3.5GHz. The gain in performance in Blender 3D was 6sec, which is nothing to scoff at, so with a little fine-tuning more performance can be obtained from this CPU. We manipulated the clock speed through the BIOS, but AMD also has an Overdrive utility that lets you bump up the speed of your system directly through Windows. You won't see significant gains by using this utility — Blender 3D only gained one second when we ran Overdrive in "high performance" mode.
Anyone who owns an AM2-based motherboard should be able to plug in the AMD Phenom II X4 940 but there are no guarantees, and you should check your motherboard vendor's site to make sure it will be supported — in some cases a BIOS update might be needed. However, if the Phenom II is used in a motherboard with an AM2 CPU socket it will not run optimally. Its full-duplex HyperTransport link will only run at 2GHz rather than 3.6GHz if run on a motherboard with an AM2+ socket. This release from AMD is a return to form for the company that once had Intel on its knees. The Phenom II 940 puts up respectable numbers against a Core 2 quad-core CPU, and it's much better value. We think it's worth considering the Phenom II if you're in the process of configuring a new quad-core machine for home or workplace use, or even for a media centre PC. Our configuration with integrated graphics worked a treat.
That's good news for owners of AMD-based PCs — specifically ones that use the AM2 CPU socket design — but even users who are contemplating building a new PC should take a look at what the Phenom II X4 offers, because it is AMD's best CPU to date.
The Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition CPU is currently AMD's cream of the crop for desktop users and can be purchased for $500-$550 (based on a quick search using Statice.com.au). Make no mistake, though, it's not designed to compete against Intel's Core i7 chips, but instead against the Core 2 Quad range.
The Phenom II X4 940 is a quad-core, 64-bit CPU with a clock speed of 3GHz and three levels of cache; there are small amounts of level 1 (128KB) and level 2 (512KB) cache for each individual core, as well as a shared 6MB level 3 cache for all cores to use. AMD retains an integrated memory controller, which supports DDR2 memory up to 1066MHz.
The chip has been built using AMD's 45 nanometre manufacturing technology, which means it has smaller transistors than the previous Phenom CPUs and can run faster and cooler while consuming less power. The Phenom X4 9950 had a power rating of 140W and was formerly AMD's fastest CPU, while the Phenom II X4 940 has a power rating of 125W. This is only five Watts less than Intel's speed-comparable Core 2 Extreme QX9650, which is rated at 130W (but doesn't have an integrated memory controller).
We tested the 940 on a 32-bit Wndows Vista platform running an MSI 790GX–based motherboard, 2GB of Kingston DDR2 1066MHz RAM, on-board ATI graphics and an 80GB solid-state drive from Intel. The system consumed 152W of electricity when all four of its cores were under a full load, which is a decent result for a powerful system. And it is powerful: in WorldBench 6 it recorded a score of 122, which makes the fastest AMD CPU we've seen by far and also puts in good company with Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX9650, which is a ludicrously more expensive beast that averages around 130 in WorldBench 6.
In our Blender 3D rendering test the Phenom II X4 940 recorded a time of 36sec, which is good; it means, of course, that a system based on this CPU will do very well when encoding videos and music, as well as decoding high-definition video streams. In fact, if you opt for this CPU, motherboard and RAM configuration, you'll be able to build yourself a punchy workstation or media centre PC for less than $1000 (using a conventional hard drive).
Compared to the previous generation of Phenom CPUs, the Phenom II CPUs have a larger level 3 cache as well as faster frequencies. The 940 runs at 3GHz, but AMD is confident that it can be overclocked significantly while using an air-based cooler. During our tests using the standard AMD cooler the 940 did indeed run without problems at 3.4GHz, but it was unstable at 3.5GHz. The gain in performance in Blender 3D was 6sec, which is nothing to scoff at, so with a little fine-tuning more performance can be obtained from this CPU. We manipulated the clock speed through the BIOS, but AMD also has an Overdrive utility that lets you bump up the speed of your system directly through Windows. You won't see significant gains by using this utility — Blender 3D only gained one second when we ran Overdrive in "high performance" mode.
Anyone who owns an AM2-based motherboard should be able to plug in the AMD Phenom II X4 940 but there are no guarantees, and you should check your motherboard vendor's site to make sure it will be supported — in some cases a BIOS update might be needed. However, if the Phenom II is used in a motherboard with an AM2 CPU socket it will not run optimally. Its full-duplex HyperTransport link will only run at 2GHz rather than 3.6GHz if run on a motherboard with an AM2+ socket. This release from AMD is a return to form for the company that once had Intel on its knees. The Phenom II 940 puts up respectable numbers against a Core 2 quad-core CPU, and it's much better value. We think it's worth considering the Phenom II if you're in the process of configuring a new quad-core machine for home or workplace use, or even for a media centre PC. Our configuration with integrated graphics worked a treat.
Intel Core i7 920 vs. AMD Phenom II X4 940, overclocking
The Intel Core i7 has only recently been launched and its aim was to keep Intel at the top in performance, with Intel dominating performance tests over the last 12 months could they keep doing so even when the Intel Core i7 920 goes up against the AMD Phenom II X4 940 in an overclocking test.
This is just what Toms Hardware wanted to find out in one of their latest hardware tests. Looking at Intel’s history we can see that the 45nm Core 2 Duos were a great way for enthusiasts to create safe and aggressive overclocking and then we saw Intel’s Core 2 Quads deliver smoking speeds with apps using multi-threaded execution, even if they cost a lot.
How is AMD expected to compete with Intel’s great track record? This is where the AMD Phenom II X4 940 comes in, but when they go head to head what was the result? Click the read link below to get the full results.
This is just what Toms Hardware wanted to find out in one of their latest hardware tests. Looking at Intel’s history we can see that the 45nm Core 2 Duos were a great way for enthusiasts to create safe and aggressive overclocking and then we saw Intel’s Core 2 Quads deliver smoking speeds with apps using multi-threaded execution, even if they cost a lot.
How is AMD expected to compete with Intel’s great track record? This is where the AMD Phenom II X4 940 comes in, but when they go head to head what was the result? Click the read link below to get the full results.
Intel watercools Nehalem to 4.61GHz
The guy behind Skulltrail and Skulltrail 2 projects François Piednoel, and the rest of its performance analysis group, have showed us Nehalem, Core i7 PC water cooled all the way to 4.61GHz.
They did it on an Intel desktop motherboard powered by Intel's desktop control center, something that lets you overclock from Windows. The voltage was all the way to 1.44V, whereas the chipset needed 1.21V.
Host frequency clock, something that we used to call FSB speed of the machine is 144MHz, which multiplied by the 32 multiplier gives you the 4610MHz number.
The CPU temperature was at 61 degree Celsius while the CPU Voltage regulator was at 31 °C and chipset at 41 °C. The clock is much higher than the one you can score on Phenom II, but Intel’s CPU used here is much more expensive.
Nehelem, Core i7 is definitely better water overclocker than Phenom II but Phenom II still overclocks higher at 6GHz+ domains.
They did it on an Intel desktop motherboard powered by Intel's desktop control center, something that lets you overclock from Windows. The voltage was all the way to 1.44V, whereas the chipset needed 1.21V.
Host frequency clock, something that we used to call FSB speed of the machine is 144MHz, which multiplied by the 32 multiplier gives you the 4610MHz number.
The CPU temperature was at 61 degree Celsius while the CPU Voltage regulator was at 31 °C and chipset at 41 °C. The clock is much higher than the one you can score on Phenom II, but Intel’s CPU used here is much more expensive.
Nehelem, Core i7 is definitely better water overclocker than Phenom II but Phenom II still overclocks higher at 6GHz+ domains.
Intel to bring out chip for lower-cost thin laptops
Intel will bring out a new Core-architecture processor for lower-cost ultra-thin laptops later this year, according to Intel sources at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The processors will distinguish themselves by targeting a price segment below pricey ultra-portables, which typically start at around $1,500 and range all the way up to $3,000--and higher in some cases. The processors will not compete with the Atom processor that powers Netbooks, which usually top out at $500.
In this sense, the new chips will be comparable to Advanced Micro Devices' recently announced Athlon Neo processor for ultra-thin laptops priced between $700 and $900.
The processor is "going to enable notebooks that are less than one inch (25mm)," according to the sources. The architecture will be a "tweak" of Intel's existing ULV (Ultra-Low-Voltage) processors, said the sources.
Current ULV Core 2 Duo mobile processors, such as the SU9300 and SU9400, have a power envelope (Thermal Design Power or TDP) of 10 watts, much lower than standard Intel mobile Core 2 Duo processors that have a TDP of between 25W and 35W.
ULV processors are used, for example, in ultraportables such as the Toshiba Portege R600 and Sony Vaio TT. Both are ultrathin high-priced boutique ultra-portables, starting at about $2,000.
Intel also offers SL series low-power mobile Core processors with a TDP of 17 watts.
The package size of the new processors will be 22 millimeters by 22 millimeters, according to the sources.
The processors will distinguish themselves by targeting a price segment below pricey ultra-portables, which typically start at around $1,500 and range all the way up to $3,000--and higher in some cases. The processors will not compete with the Atom processor that powers Netbooks, which usually top out at $500.
In this sense, the new chips will be comparable to Advanced Micro Devices' recently announced Athlon Neo processor for ultra-thin laptops priced between $700 and $900.
The processor is "going to enable notebooks that are less than one inch (25mm)," according to the sources. The architecture will be a "tweak" of Intel's existing ULV (Ultra-Low-Voltage) processors, said the sources.
Current ULV Core 2 Duo mobile processors, such as the SU9300 and SU9400, have a power envelope (Thermal Design Power or TDP) of 10 watts, much lower than standard Intel mobile Core 2 Duo processors that have a TDP of between 25W and 35W.
ULV processors are used, for example, in ultraportables such as the Toshiba Portege R600 and Sony Vaio TT. Both are ultrathin high-priced boutique ultra-portables, starting at about $2,000.
Intel also offers SL series low-power mobile Core processors with a TDP of 17 watts.
The package size of the new processors will be 22 millimeters by 22 millimeters, according to the sources.
Intel to Launch New CPUs for Low-Cost Thin Notebooks
California-based leading chip maker is expected to debut a series of new microprocessors that will take advantage of the company's old Core-architecture, according to the latest info coming from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Said processors are expected to be implemented in upcoming lower-cost, thin laptops that will not compete with other Atom-powered devices.
Intel's upcoming Core-based processors are said to be targeting a price segment below that of today's ultra-portable computer systems, which are typically priced at around $1500 to $3000, or higher in some cases. These devices aren't designed to compete with current Intel Atom-based portable systems, most of which have a maximum price tag set at $500. Basically, the new Intel laptop CPUs will be going for a market segment that is placed between netbooks and pricey ultra-thin, fully-fledged notebooks.
It is expected that the new Intel laptops are actually meant to compete with the recently launched Athlon New processors, designed by Intel's archival, Advanced Micro Devices. These processors are built for ultra-thin laptops with prices between $700 and $900. The aforementioned devices are expected to boast a thickness that is less than one inch, according to sources. The CPUs will be designed as a tweaked version of Intel's current ULV (Ultra-Low-Voltage) processors.
Currently, Intel is providing a couple of ULV Core 2 Duo mobile processors, including the SU9300 and the SU9400, which are designed with a power envelope (Thermal Design Power) of 10 watts, considerably lower than that of the company's mobile Core 2 Duo processors, which are basically rated at a TDP of between 25W and 35W.
The specific release date of Intel's new ultra-thin laptops is yet to become available, but when they will be released, these mobile CPUs will be incorporated in portable computer systems such as the Toshiba Portege R600 and Sony's Vaio TT, but with a price tag that is lower than $2000.
Intel's upcoming Core-based processors are said to be targeting a price segment below that of today's ultra-portable computer systems, which are typically priced at around $1500 to $3000, or higher in some cases. These devices aren't designed to compete with current Intel Atom-based portable systems, most of which have a maximum price tag set at $500. Basically, the new Intel laptop CPUs will be going for a market segment that is placed between netbooks and pricey ultra-thin, fully-fledged notebooks.
It is expected that the new Intel laptops are actually meant to compete with the recently launched Athlon New processors, designed by Intel's archival, Advanced Micro Devices. These processors are built for ultra-thin laptops with prices between $700 and $900. The aforementioned devices are expected to boast a thickness that is less than one inch, according to sources. The CPUs will be designed as a tweaked version of Intel's current ULV (Ultra-Low-Voltage) processors.
Currently, Intel is providing a couple of ULV Core 2 Duo mobile processors, including the SU9300 and the SU9400, which are designed with a power envelope (Thermal Design Power) of 10 watts, considerably lower than that of the company's mobile Core 2 Duo processors, which are basically rated at a TDP of between 25W and 35W.
The specific release date of Intel's new ultra-thin laptops is yet to become available, but when they will be released, these mobile CPUs will be incorporated in portable computer systems such as the Toshiba Portege R600 and Sony's Vaio TT, but with a price tag that is lower than $2000.
Intel Atom Processor Appears in New Lenovo Desktop
While the 2009 International CES expo saw any number of PC vendors offering a wide range of laptops and mininotebooks that use the Intel Atom processor, few OEMs talked about their plans for a desktop that uses the Atom chip. Now, Lenovo is looking to offer a low-cost desktop or “nettop” that uses an Intel Atom 230 processor. The Lenovo H200 desktop is geared toward consumers but sells at a low price of $400.
While PC vendors spent most of the 2009 International CES trying to outdo themselves when it comes to offering the latest and greatest “netbook” or mininotebook with an Intel Atom processor, rarely did these same companies talk about plans for low-cost desktops using the same chip.
Now, Lenovo seems to have come up with at least its own answer.
On Jan. 13, Lenovo announced a new consumer desktop called the H200, which uses an Intel Atom 230 processor running at 1.6GHz. This low-cost desktop or “nettop” starts at about $400 and is now available, according to Lenovo. The Lenovo H200 also offers a number of other standard features, including an Intel GMA 950 chip set, a minimum of 1GB of main memory and a 160GB SATA (serial ATA) hard disk drive.
While a desktop using an Intel Atom processor is rare, it is not unexpected and Intel has been encouraging its OEMs partners to try Atom in a number of different form factors, including desktops or nettops. In 2008, Hewlett-Packard reportedly showed its own version of a nettop in Taiwan called the HP Compaq Presario mini-Q 2020.
In addition to Lenovo and HP, Asus, which has had success with netbooks starting with the Eee PC, and MSI also have desktops that use an Intel Atom processor.
While the Intel Atom processor might help lower the costs of desktops even further and offer enough processing power to access the Internet and support basic applications, it is unlikely that many businesses, even small and midsized businesses (SMBs), would have much of an interest.
“The performance of the processor is adequate for things like going online and writing up documents,” John Spooner, an analyst with Technology Business Research, wrote in an e-mail.
“For the most part, it's going to be for systems sold in emerging market, though,” Spooner added. “I don't see Atom-based desktops being a big hit for businesses or consumers in the U.S. or Western Europe, where something like a [Intel] Celeron or an AMD Sempron would probably be accepted more readily.”
In addition to the H200 desktop, Lenovo has also used the Intel Atom in its own line of mininotebooks, including the IdeaPad S10, which was revamped at the 2009 CES. Hewlett-Packard and Dell also announced new mininotebooks at CES that use the Intel Atom.
Lenovo also announced two other consumer desktops on Tuesday: The IdeaCentre K220 and the K230. Each of these machines uses an Intel Core 2 Quad processor.
While PC vendors spent most of the 2009 International CES trying to outdo themselves when it comes to offering the latest and greatest “netbook” or mininotebook with an Intel Atom processor, rarely did these same companies talk about plans for low-cost desktops using the same chip.
Now, Lenovo seems to have come up with at least its own answer.
On Jan. 13, Lenovo announced a new consumer desktop called the H200, which uses an Intel Atom 230 processor running at 1.6GHz. This low-cost desktop or “nettop” starts at about $400 and is now available, according to Lenovo. The Lenovo H200 also offers a number of other standard features, including an Intel GMA 950 chip set, a minimum of 1GB of main memory and a 160GB SATA (serial ATA) hard disk drive.
While a desktop using an Intel Atom processor is rare, it is not unexpected and Intel has been encouraging its OEMs partners to try Atom in a number of different form factors, including desktops or nettops. In 2008, Hewlett-Packard reportedly showed its own version of a nettop in Taiwan called the HP Compaq Presario mini-Q 2020.
In addition to Lenovo and HP, Asus, which has had success with netbooks starting with the Eee PC, and MSI also have desktops that use an Intel Atom processor.
While the Intel Atom processor might help lower the costs of desktops even further and offer enough processing power to access the Internet and support basic applications, it is unlikely that many businesses, even small and midsized businesses (SMBs), would have much of an interest.
“The performance of the processor is adequate for things like going online and writing up documents,” John Spooner, an analyst with Technology Business Research, wrote in an e-mail.
“For the most part, it's going to be for systems sold in emerging market, though,” Spooner added. “I don't see Atom-based desktops being a big hit for businesses or consumers in the U.S. or Western Europe, where something like a [Intel] Celeron or an AMD Sempron would probably be accepted more readily.”
In addition to the H200 desktop, Lenovo has also used the Intel Atom in its own line of mininotebooks, including the IdeaPad S10, which was revamped at the 2009 CES. Hewlett-Packard and Dell also announced new mininotebooks at CES that use the Intel Atom.
Lenovo also announced two other consumer desktops on Tuesday: The IdeaCentre K220 and the K230. Each of these machines uses an Intel Core 2 Quad processor.
Intel preps Core 2 Duo ‘Ultra’?
Cut-down and cut-priced Core 2 Duo set to bring MacBook Air-style notebooks to the Windows mainstream.
Days after AMD’s launch of the Neo processor for ‘thin and light’ ultraportables, rumours say Intel is set to announce a similar budget-priced chip.
The scuttlebutt from the Consumer Electronics Show, where Intel was out in full force to showcase innovations ranging from ‘Widget TV’ to its My WiFi personal mesh networking, is that the chip will be a tweaked version of Intel’s existing ultra-low voltage 45nm Core 2 Duo ‘Penryn’ 3M small package processor.
That chip’s predecessor, a 65nm ‘mini-Merom’ codenamed Santa Ynez, was at the heart of the MacBook Air and Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300. Most of the latest crop of thin and light notebooks are built around the ULV or LV Penryn but have price tags well above those of mid-range notebooks.
Intel’s small package chips have an overall footprint of just 22mm², compared to 35mm² for the conventional mobile processors. The ULV variant of the Penryn, released in September as part of the Centrino 2 wave, currently clocks at 1.2GHz and 1.4GHz with a 10w thermal ceiling.
However, the manufacturer prices average US$275, which represents a third of the total retail price for category of thin-and-light notebooks proposed under AMD’s much cheaper Neo. The first Neo-powered ultraportable, HP’s 2.2cm-thin dv2, sells for between US$700-$900 depending on the configuration.
Like the Neo, Intel’s ultraportable chip would slot between the netbook-favoured Atom and the Core 2 Duo of conventional laptops.
Days after AMD’s launch of the Neo processor for ‘thin and light’ ultraportables, rumours say Intel is set to announce a similar budget-priced chip.
The scuttlebutt from the Consumer Electronics Show, where Intel was out in full force to showcase innovations ranging from ‘Widget TV’ to its My WiFi personal mesh networking, is that the chip will be a tweaked version of Intel’s existing ultra-low voltage 45nm Core 2 Duo ‘Penryn’ 3M small package processor.
That chip’s predecessor, a 65nm ‘mini-Merom’ codenamed Santa Ynez, was at the heart of the MacBook Air and Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300. Most of the latest crop of thin and light notebooks are built around the ULV or LV Penryn but have price tags well above those of mid-range notebooks.
Intel’s small package chips have an overall footprint of just 22mm², compared to 35mm² for the conventional mobile processors. The ULV variant of the Penryn, released in September as part of the Centrino 2 wave, currently clocks at 1.2GHz and 1.4GHz with a 10w thermal ceiling.
However, the manufacturer prices average US$275, which represents a third of the total retail price for category of thin-and-light notebooks proposed under AMD’s much cheaper Neo. The first Neo-powered ultraportable, HP’s 2.2cm-thin dv2, sells for between US$700-$900 depending on the configuration.
Like the Neo, Intel’s ultraportable chip would slot between the netbook-favoured Atom and the Core 2 Duo of conventional laptops.
Intel prepping low-cost ultraportable chip?
Intel is developing a new Core 2-based processor that would bring ultraportable notebooks to non-premium prices, leaks from within the company at CES have revealed to CNET. The contacts say the processor will be faster than the Atom processors for netbooks but less expensive than the Core 2 Duo S or ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processors that currently inflate the prices of systems like Apple's MacBook Air and Lenovo's ThinkPad X301, which regularly start at prices of $1,800 or more.
Few technical details are available for the new chips, though they should be modified versions of the ULV Core 2 Duo parts and will have a small total package of just 22mm (0.87in) square that will let it fit into tight spaces. The power consumption of the chip is unknown, though ULV chips have a peak thermal design power use of 10W where the Core 2 Duo S uses 17W.
The Intel representatives leaking the information don't say when the processors would be available other than sometime during 2009; they also didn't say whether the chip is a special commission for a particular computer maker or a standard production model.
The introduction of a new mid-grade class of chip is potentially important to Intel, which encountered a rare defeat at CES when AMD introduced the Athlon Neo. The chip and its platform currently give HP's new dv2 notebook a small screen and thin dimensions at $699 without having to resort to slow netbook-level chips. Intel has also inadvertently hurt its own profit margins with the success of Atom chips in netbooks as the components make less money per sale than any of the company's other processors.
Few technical details are available for the new chips, though they should be modified versions of the ULV Core 2 Duo parts and will have a small total package of just 22mm (0.87in) square that will let it fit into tight spaces. The power consumption of the chip is unknown, though ULV chips have a peak thermal design power use of 10W where the Core 2 Duo S uses 17W.
The Intel representatives leaking the information don't say when the processors would be available other than sometime during 2009; they also didn't say whether the chip is a special commission for a particular computer maker or a standard production model.
The introduction of a new mid-grade class of chip is potentially important to Intel, which encountered a rare defeat at CES when AMD introduced the Athlon Neo. The chip and its platform currently give HP's new dv2 notebook a small screen and thin dimensions at $699 without having to resort to slow netbook-level chips. Intel has also inadvertently hurt its own profit margins with the success of Atom chips in netbooks as the components make less money per sale than any of the company's other processors.
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