Computex 08: Intel Atom Codenamed "Diamondville"

(techtree) -- The big story from "Computex 2008" -- Intel has unveiled their "Atom" processors codenamed "Diamondville" targeted at cheap notebooks and low-power desktops.

"Diamondville" follows in the footsteps of "Silverthorne" that was released specifically for mobile Internet devices (MIDs). It measures less than 25mm x 25mm x 1.6mm; its micro-architecture is based on 45nm high-K metal gate technology and it packs 47-million transistors together.

There are two flavors to "Atom"; one, Atom N270 meant for cheap notebooks or netbooks and the other, Atom 230 meant for low-power desktops or nettops. Intel is targeting the educational as well as emerging market segment.

Atom N270 runs at clock speeds of 1.6GHz, front side bus speeds of 533MHz, and features 512KB L2 cache and a Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating of 2.5 watts. On a netbook, it would come configured with Mobile Intel945GSE Express chipset holding 256MB or 512MB RAM, 2/4GB flash-based storage drive or optional Intel Z-P230 PATA Solid-State drive, and Linux or Windows XP Home operating system. The estimated price of a netbook would be in the region of $250.

Whereas, Atom 230 runs at clock speeds of 1.6GHz, front side bus speeds of 533MHz, and features 512KB L2 cache and a Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating of 4.0 watts. The processor can be used along with Intel 945GC chipset to offer a low-power desktop configuration. The estimated price of a nettop would be around $200 to $300 approximately.

Both netbooks and nettops with Diamondville processors are expected to ship with OEMs in the coming few months and will be made available world-wide by end of this year.