Intel: New dual core atom based netbooks hit shelves today

[cbn]

http://newsroom.intel.com/community...om-processor-based-netbooks-hit-shelves-today

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 23, 2010 – Intel Corporation announced today that a dozen of new netbooks based on its new mobile dual-core Intel® Atom™ processors are available in stores today. The netbooks – available now and through the end of the year from manufacturers including Acer, ASUS, Fujitsu, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, MSI, and Toshiba – enable new levels of support for applications like games, as well as Adobe Flash* technology for access to a number of Web pages including online hotel booking systems and multimedia sites such as YouTube* and Hulu*.



"Acer strives to continually improve on our customers' total mobile experience, whether it is increased responsiveness or extended Internet interactivity through longer battery life," said David Lee, associate vice president of Acer's Mobile Computing Business Unit. "We are pleased to select dual-core Intel Atom processors for Acer netbooks, helping to empower netbook users achieve even more – both at work and at leisure."



With the dual-core Intel® Atom™ processor N550, consumers can enjoy Internet access on the go with a more responsive experience in the same compact form factor, DDR3 memory support and similar great battery life as the single-core Intel® Atom™ processor N450.



"In their short history, the netbook category has experienced impressive growth," said Erik Reid, director of marketing for mobile platforms at Intel. "Having shipped about 70 million Intel Atom chips for netbooks since our launch of the category in 2008, there is obviously a great market for these devices around the world."



New netbooks based on dual-core Intel Atom chips arrive in stores today and are available at a variety of consumer-friendly price points. For more information, visit www.intel.com/products/processor/atom.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Now, are these new dual-core Atom chips, still paired with the obsolete GMA950 chipset? Or are these the ones with the new integrated GPU + core logic? If they have updated Intel HD video built-in, then that's good, because I think that those accelerate Flash 10.1. The GMA950 does not.

 

[RyanGreener]

Now, are these new dual-core Atom chips, still paired with the obsolete GMA950 chipset? Or are these the ones with the new integrated GPU + core logic? If they have updated Intel HD video built-in, then that's good, because I think that those accelerate Flash 10.1. The GMA950 does not.

Seeing as it's a dual core version of the N450, which is normally paired up with Intel 3150 (based on the x3100 I think), it's safe to say it does not have the GMA 950.

 

[Bateluer]

Still sounds like an underpowered POS to me. How much faster than an N450 are we talking about? 1 percent? 3 percent?

 

[maniac5999]

Still sounds like an underpowered POS to me. How much faster than an N450 are we talking about? 1 percent? 3 percent?

I'd suspect that we're basically looking at a 330 but with a lower TDP.

 

[cbn]

Still sounds like an underpowered POS to me. How much faster than an N450 are we talking about? 1 percent? 3 percent?

N550 is a 1.5 Ghz dual core and N450 is a 1.6 Ghz single core.

So the cores are actually slower, but in a multi-tasking environment I'm sure the speed-up would be noticeable.

However, I am also concerned with the memory these netbooks ship with. A 2GB stick ($20 more expensive than a 1GB stick at the retail level) would probably go a long way to improve performance.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Now, are these new dual-core Atom chips, still paired with the obsolete GMA950 chipset? Or are these the ones with the new integrated GPU + core logic? If they have updated Intel HD video built-in, then that's good, because I think that those accelerate Flash 10.1. The GMA950 does not.

GMA 3150=GMA 950 + very slight changes to video playback

The N550 is a dual core extension to the existing, Pineview chips. Though they have the GPU on the same die as the CPU, they all use GMA 3150. Intel did say by being dual core these can play 720p without acceleration.

 

[xSauronx]

anand did some reviews of nettop pcs a few months ago that had dual core atoms

they were better at some things, i dont care to read it again to find out what but...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2896/4

thats for the last dual core atom, so perhaps the new one will fair a tad better. ive decided, i think, that i want the 1830t from acer (or *maybe* the x100e from lenovo)...ive been getting antsy lately with my eee 1000h and im not really interested in a dual-core atom

 

[Emulex]

i think the macbook air with overclocking on demand barely meets the 720p demands (core2duo + ion [aka 9400m]) - flash video is brutal man. anything less is just a waste imo. why not do a quad core atom? oh yeah an i3 will smoke that all day long