A spy-shot of the dual-core Intel Atom processor has surfaced. The picture reveals an important bit about the design of the processor. Dual-core Atom isn't about two processor cores integrated onto one die, but two dies sharing a package and front-side bus, much in the same way its distant ancestor, the Pentium D was built. This design allows modularity and helps Intel cut manufacturing costs. They don't have to build separate wafers of dual-core dice but rather use two single core dice and integrate them onto one package. The Atom 330 will be the first product based on this design. Early performance tests with arithmetic and memory bandwidth reveal a good level of scaling, close to 100% that of the N270, a single-core 1.6 GHz part:Processor Arithmetic Test

Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz - 8291 kpixels/s
Intel Atom 330 1.6GHz Dual Core - 16920 kpixels/s
Intel Core 2 Duo U7700 1.3GHz - 24742 kpixels/s

Memory Bandwidth Test

Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz - 3.54 GB/s
Intel Atom 330 1.6GHz Dual Core - 7.18 GB/s
Intel Core 2 Duo U7700 1.3GHz - 9.53 GB/s

The tests show Core 2 Duo U7700 to outperform these, though it is to be noted that Atom 330 isn't based on the Core architecture and that the Atom is expected to be priced much lower, to cater to the ULPC industry. EeeUser forum has a set of numbers from tests that can be read here.