After playing with a smartphone equipped with a 1GHz Snapdragon or Hummingbird processor, it’s hard as hell to go back to a last-gen mobile phone plodding along at 500-600MHz. The difference is really night and day. Be that as it may, are we on the da… [...]
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Intel isn’t the only one with new processors on the horizon, AMD plans to release at least a couple of new chips within the next month or so as well, according to reports. Keeping true to its roadmap, Intel on Tuesday announced a couple of new Atom processors — Atom D425 and D525 — designed for nettops, low-power desktops, and all-in-ones.
We’ve been hearing about a dual-core Nano processor for some time now, and VIA has finally gone and built one. Currently in prototype form, VIA has been busy showing off its newest x86 part at this year’s Computex show. The new dual-core part was shown chugging along at 1.6GHz per core. According to C.J. Holthaus, a member of VIA’s Centaur processor design team, it was manufactured on a 65nm process and is nearly ready for release. "It’ll be a product in about six months. This is mainly a technology demonstration," Holthaus said. A 65nm manufacturing process isn’t all that impressive at this stage in the processor game, and the final version will be built using something different. Holthaus declined to give specifics, saying only that it would use a "next-generation" technology. This is good timing on VIA’s part. Intel just recently laid out its future Atom processor strategy, which will also consist of dual-core parts and be aimed at the tablet and ultra-thin netbook space.
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We’ve been hearing about a dual-core Nano processor for some time now, and VIA has finally gone and built one. Currently in prototype form, VIA has been busy showing off its newest x86 part at this year’s Computex show. The new dual-core part was shown chugging along at 1.6GHz per core. According to C.J. Holthaus, a member of VIA’s Centaur processor design team, it was manufactured on a 65nm process and is nearly ready for release. "It’ll be a product in about six months. This is mainly a technology demonstration," Holthaus said. A 65nm manufacturing process isn’t all that impressive at this stage in the processor game, and the final version will be built using something different. Holthaus declined to give specifics, saying only that it would use a "next-generation" technology. This is good timing on VIA’s part. Intel just recently laid out its future Atom processor strategy, which will also consist of dual-core parts and be aimed at the tablet and ultra-thin netbook space.
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One of the main reasons why Google’s Nexus One and other smartphones have been so well received is because they come built around Qualcomm’s mighty 1GHz Snapdragon processor. This single core chip has given today’s mobile OSes the pep they need to tackle computing on the go, and things are about to get even better. According to reports, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset family has given birth to two new processor cores — the MSM8260 and MSM8660 — both of which come clocked at 1.2GHz. These are the first of the Snapdragon series to have dual-cores, Qualcomm said. So what’s the difference? The MSM8260 supports only HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access) networks, while the MSM8660 is a multimode part that supports HSPA+ or EV-DO Rev. B high speed networks. Otherwise the chips are the same, with each one packing enough processing punch to play back 1080p video. Qualcomm said it is currently shipping engineering samples to smartphone makers, so it will likely be another six to eight months before you start to see these show up in new phones.
Image Credit: Qualcomm [...]
If you’re planning to buy a netbook, you should probably hold off until the dual-core models start shipping. Intel’s upcoming dual-core Atom N550 chip is expected to debut in the third quarter of this year, which will feature a 1.5GHz clockspeed, 1MB of cache, and an 8.5W TDP. So what about the netbooks that will be built around this new chip? According to reports, the recommended price range for these dual-core netbooks is $350-$400. In addition to the N550 part, these netbooks will also sport 1GB of DDR3 memory and either a 20GB-30GB SSD or 250GB HDD. Other specs will be the same as what you’ve come to expect from a modern day netbook, only you should be able to do more with the addition of a dual-core processor. It should be noted that Intel-based dual-core netbooks already exist, but the current crop are all built around Nvidia’s ION platform. These typically run between $450 and $500 and include a bit more screen real estate (11.6-inch and 12.1-inch panels are common for ION-based netbooks).
Image Credit: Intel [...]
It might soon be time to take that netbook of yours out behind the shed and put it out of your misery. Or better yet, sell it on Ebay. That way you can use the funds to replace it with a dual-core netbook and do a little more than just basic computing tasks. Not just yet, mind you, but later this year. Word on the Web is that Intel plans to release a dual-core Atom designed for netbooks sometime in the second half of 2010, and probably in the fourth quarter. There aren’t a whole lot of details about the chip, but apparently it will haven a 10W TDP, up slightly from the 7W and 8W single-core Atoms found in current netbooks. The dual-core part will probably come clocked a little slower than today’s single-core chips, a trade off we suspect most will be more than willing to make. Should Intel go through with this, it would be a win for everyone involved. Intel’s partners have long wanted to sell dual-core netbooks, primarily because consumers would love to have one, so long as battery life doesn’t take a major hit. And for Intel, injecting a bit of performance into a form factor that badly needs it could go a long way in preventing a flurry of would-be netbook buyers from jumping ship and swimming over to tablet island.
Would you be interested in a dual-core netbook? Which would you rather have, a dual-core netbook or a handheld tablet? [...] |
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