Wednesday, January 14th 2009
Intel Atom N280 Details Surface
Back in June 2008, when Intel Introduced the Atom N270, reviewers found its level of performance sufficient for ULPC applications back then. Over a period of six months, it became evident that ULPCs require to deliver a little more than just internet applications. With Intel being reluctant on porting the dual-core Atom to ULPC, owing to its thermal characteristics, there is a need for stepping up the performance level of its relatively cooler single-core Atom.
Therefore, Atom N280. Earlier speculations pointed out that this chip would merely come with a multiplier boost sending its clock speed to 1.86 GHz against 1.60 GHz of its predecessor, but it turns out that Intel was looking to expand the FSB of the existing N270, with a minor clock speed increase. The Atom N280 features a broader 667 MHz FSB against the 533 MHz the N270 comes with. It ends up with a clock speed of 1.66 GHz. While N270 achieved its 1.60 GHz with (12 x 133 MHz), N280 does it with (10 x 166 MHz). Hypothetically, a future model with a 12x FSB multiplier could set the clock speed at 2.00 GHz. What's more, Intel gets rid of the i945GSE chipset infamous for thermal characteristics increasingly unsuitable for ULPCs. It has been replaced with the supposedly cooler GN40 chipset. The N280 has begun surfacing on specification sheets of upcoming ASUS Eee PC models, but it will be only by 2Q, 2009 by the time we start seeing products based on it. Paired with the GN40, the Atom N280 is expected to be priced at US $60-65.
Source:
DigiTimes
Therefore, Atom N280. Earlier speculations pointed out that this chip would merely come with a multiplier boost sending its clock speed to 1.86 GHz against 1.60 GHz of its predecessor, but it turns out that Intel was looking to expand the FSB of the existing N270, with a minor clock speed increase. The Atom N280 features a broader 667 MHz FSB against the 533 MHz the N270 comes with. It ends up with a clock speed of 1.66 GHz. While N270 achieved its 1.60 GHz with (12 x 133 MHz), N280 does it with (10 x 166 MHz). Hypothetically, a future model with a 12x FSB multiplier could set the clock speed at 2.00 GHz. What's more, Intel gets rid of the i945GSE chipset infamous for thermal characteristics increasingly unsuitable for ULPCs. It has been replaced with the supposedly cooler GN40 chipset. The N280 has begun surfacing on specification sheets of upcoming ASUS Eee PC models, but it will be only by 2Q, 2009 by the time we start seeing products based on it. Paired with the GN40, the Atom N280 is expected to be priced at US $60-65.
36 Comments on Intel Atom N280 Details Surface
Anyone have any specs on the GN40? Hope they'll be using something like a GMAX3100
Note that SOME "Z" Atoms dont even have HT.
Atom 330 is dual core already but at 8W it is too hungry for laptops, but OK for nettops.
Saddly, we are unlikely to see 64-bit support any time soon. Atom's successor might have it, if the netbook/nettop era lasts that long.
64bit is on Atom? YES. It's out already. LOL. Just not on all models, and therefore I hope 280 will have it.
LOL. LOL. LOL.
The performance of the Atom is already bad enough just running a single OS, adding a second OS, even with VT, would be far beyond what Atom was designed to do.
Far to many people are thinking Atom should be able to do everything a regular laptop processor can. We aren't talking about regular laptops here.
A new chipset is certainly a step in the right direction, that was the weakness of the current Atom platform, but the speed bump is nice too, especially if it's got the same TDP.
Just have to wait for a Core 2 style architecture like the Conroe L Celerons.... even if it's not the full thing, the power per clock would be high enough to give the Atom a great performance boost.
(that said, i am 100% for the new chipset. the power savings from the chipset could be spent on another CPU core)
If the Atom was paired with a decent graphics processor, that supported hardware acceleration of HD Video, the Atom would be more than enough for 1080p. This is where I'm hoping nVidia's chipset will come in, as I don't think even the new Intel chipset supports hardware accleration properly.
The only real solution to this is to either add a GPU that is capable of decoding the video, leaving the single Atom core to decode the audio, or move to the dual core Atom, leaving one core to decode the video and one for the audio.
I believe the better chipset is probably the best solution for netbooks, as the power savings is most important here. Either the dual core Atom or a better chipset(ideally both) would work on the nettops, as power savings aren't quite as important since they don't run off battery.
Since my AM2 4000+ struggles for 1080P without third party codecs, i highly doubt the slow atom will be able to handle it. Are you talking 720P anime/TV shows, or are you talking high bitrate (15GB+) blu ray rips?
I know for a fact that higher resolution increases CPU load, because i tested it. raising to 1080i added about 10% higher CPU usage on my TV.
I tested it on my EeePC with the 720p and 1080p rips of IronMan. Resolution didn't matter, if I used the small EeePC screen, or my 1680 monitor, both yielded the same results. 720p played fine, with 85-95% CPU usage, 1080p stuttered badly with 100% CPU usage.