Lightweight showdown: P-M 1.6ghz vs Atom N270

[LOUISSSSS]

how much faster is the Pentium M 1.6ghz vs an Atom 1.6ghz N270 (the single core one)

in general desktop usage?
in cpu intensive tasts?

for comparison reasons lets make all other variables equal (512mb ram, intel 2006 graphics chipset, standard hdd)

which uses less power? less heat?

 

[SsupernovaE]

Same speed to twice as fast.
Same as above.
Atom. Atom.

Actually, I just realized that I do not really know what I'm talking about.

 

[soccerballtux]

Pentium M's are much, much faster and snappier.
The Atoms use much less power. Run much cooler.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Same speed to twice as fast. Same as above. Atom. Atom. Actually, I just realized that I do not really know what I'm talking about.

Not really twice as fast. Atom 1.6GHz without using Hyperthreading is little faster than 800MHz Pentium M but no architecture scales linearly with clock speed except in few cases.

 

[magreen]

As said above, there's no competition here on speed. A Pentium M at 1.6GHz performs like a Pentium 4 at 2.8GHz in most apps. There's no way an Atom can touch that.

 

[magreen]

@inteluser: you make a good pt about no architecture scaling linearly w/ clockspeed. However, the 800MHz Pentium M they compare the Atom to may have been an earlier Pentium M than the 1.6GHz Dothan version that would still be for sale now. That 800MHz PM was in all likelihood only 1mb cache and 400fsb. So the 1.6 may actually be twice as fast as the 800. Though I would have to find out more about which chips they actually used in the test.

EDIT: nevermind. They did use a 2mb cache Dothan in the tests. AT link

And the 1.6GHz Atom performed between an 800 MHz to 1.2GHz Pentium M Dothan, depending on the test.