Intel Atom

Intel Atom

Intel Atom:

Intel's Atom chip is designed for a brand new market. But Intel already has excellent market saturation in the microprocessor arena for desktops, notebooks, and more; why mess with something that works? And will this new chip deliver where it counts? Read on to find out.

Intel has a broad range of products. Anything from the top of the line Extreme Edition quad core, down to a single Celeron. They have desktop chips, server chips, and mobile chips. You might think that there isn't any other market for Intel to get into. Well you are wrong.
Technology is constantly changing, and new devices are always coming around. In the past year a completely new type of computer has come around, the Ultra Mobile PC. Intel has recognized this new market; it's come out with a CPU designed specifically for UMPCs, the Intel Atom CPU.

What about XScale?

If you ever owned a PocketPC, PDA, MP3 player, Personal Video Player, or iPod, I'm sure you have heard of the XScale CPU. The Xscale CPU was made by Intel until 2006 when they sold that lineup. If Intel had a CPU made for mobile devices, why would they sell it, and then start over again? Intel said they were giving up on the XScale so they could focus on x86 chips such as desktop, mobile and server CPUs.

The biggest difference between the Xscale and Atom is that the Xscale is meant for handheld devices, and the Atom is a full-fledged x86 CPU, meaning it has the ability to run software just like a normal PC; it can even run Windows. The XScale processors do not have the x86 instructions; they use the ARM architecture.

It's not a big deal for mobile devices, since most are home grown by the manufacturer. But if you throw an XScale into a typical PC, it won't even boot up. The Xscale is a great CPU for handheld devices such as MP3 players; the OS of the device is typically home-programmed, so they are fine with using ARM architecture.

UMPCs, on the other hand, run native x86 instructions, such as those needed to run Windows. In this case, the ARM architecture isn't going to fly. I don't think you're going to get Microsoft to rebuild Windows for Xscale CPUs, plus the fastest are running around 600 MHz, so XP would be a push to run.

Intel Atom - What about the ULV?

Clearly a redesign of the XScale CPU wasn't going to fly for UMPCs. While tiny and cool, it was built on the wrong architecture. So why didn't Intel just use the Ultra Low Voltage CPUs they already use in some smaller notebook computers for the new UMPCs? We learned with the XScale that Intel needed an x86 processor, and this is just that. The Core 2 Duo ULV runs between 1066 MHz and 1333 MHz with 2 MB cache. It also doesn't use over 1 volt of power even under a complete load. It sounds like a great CPU to throw into the new UMPCs, doesn't it?

For a UMPC like the ASUS EEE, it would be fine. It's on the bigger side of the UMPC spectrum, has enough room to cool it, and has the space to hold it in there, but the ULV CPUs go for $300, so you're going to have to raise the price an extra $200-$250. That's pretty much a deal killer for the EEE.

And wh en you go down to the handheld UMPC level, the CPU, even running at 10 watts, would be too hot for the device. The physical size of the CPU would be an issue as well. And once again, you are hit with an extra $200- $250 you need to charge for the device.

What is the Atom?

The Intel Atom fits in where the XScale and ULV CPUs fall short. Take the XScale's size and cooling and the ULV's power and x86 architecture, and you get the Atom. It offers the x86 and the x86-64, meaning it will run not only your traditional 32-bit OS and software, but also the 64-bit versions. It also offers some features that have only been seen on full-fledged CPUs, like SSE3 and hyperthreading. Since the Atom is geared towards UMPCs, the extra instructions should help multimedia and gaming.

As great as it sounds, it may be inefficient compared to the other architectures such as the ARM due to the die space required for the x86-decoding. The x86 instructions will make the Atom a great CPU for mobile devices, but it probably won't be as efficient as an ARM processor.

The next thing the Atom has going for it is its size. Sure, all CPUs are small when compared to the rest of the PC, but the Atom is really small. I'm sure you have seen this famous picture of the Atom CPU vs. the penny. The penny wins in size, as the core is even smaller. Its size will ease integration into small devices. The small size also means less material needs to go into each CPU, which should help keep the cost of production really low. Indications are that it will go for around $44, compared to the Celeron M, which runs at least double that.

The last major advantage the Atom CPU has is the heat output. The ULV CPUs produced only 10 watts of power. The Atom looks set to smash this by offering between 0.01W and 2.5W power. This means that a heatsink will be non-existent -- and probably unnecessary.
Intel Atom - Performance:

Now that we have talked about what advantages this microprocessor has over similar CPUs, it's time to dig deep into the Atom. There are two different code names for the Atom CPU, one for UMPCs and one for tiny desktop computers. The UMPC one is code-named Silverthrone; it's a single core CPU. It will run at clock speeds around 1.6 to 1.8 GHz, depending on model, and 512 KB cache with a FSB of 533MHz.

For the desktop market, the core code-named Diamondville will be used. It will come in both single and dual core flavors, topping out at 8 watts. These will be clocked up to 2.3 GHz and run on Intel's miniITX platform, called "Little Falls."

I'm sure this is the section you have been waiting for: how will it compare against other CPUs? It's great to have a CPU this size and this cool, but if it isn't any good at performance, it will make your UMPC slower than grass growing in the middle of summer. From what I have gathered from looking at many different sites, it will be between a Pentium 3 1.1GHz and a Celeron M 1.8 GHz.

Currently the Celeron M is the standard for most UMPCs, and this is a step backwards for performance. I'm sure after a few revisions and new cores, the Atom CPU will be fast enough to run Vista with no problems. Until this time, you are mostly going to be getting the Atom CPU for the size and heat output.

The next version of the Atom CPU, due out in the second half of 2009, will boast many features of the next desktop CPUs. It will have an integrated DDR2 memory controller and a graphics core as well. This should really cut down the size of the motherboard it requires. This future version, code-named "Pineview," will also come in both single and dual cores.

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