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Intel Launches New 'Atom' Processor For Low-Cost Laptops

by Terrence O'Brien on March 3, 2008 at 09:31 AM

Intel Give Low Cost, Low Power Processor a Name, AtomIntel Give Low Cost, Low Power Processor a Name, Atom

Intel is prepping to take over the low cost laptop and PC market with its newly unveiled Atom line of processors, which joins Core 2, Pentium, and Celeron in the chipmaker's lineup. Formerly codenamed Diamondville and Silverthorne, Atom is an ultra-low power, low cost chip that is aimed at machines like the ASUS Eee, UMPC's, MID's, and may have had a spot in the next version of the OLPC had Intel and OLPC-creator Nicholas Negroponte not had a falling out.

The processor is built on the same 45nm manufacturing process that powers Intels new Penryn family of processors, but is otherwise a completely different chip from it's Core 2 branded brethren. Atom was designed from the ground up to use as little power as possible and provide the highest possible yields of functional chips from a piece of silicon, keeping costs incredibly low. It will also come in a Wi-Fi-and-graphics-optimized version that will be called Centrino Atom. In other words, even sub-$500 computers will be able to see speeds and processing power typical of much pricier computers.

Intel is still mum on price points, all we know is the low end single core version is targeted at laptops in the $250-$300 range that will be out later this year.

From PC World

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Tags: atom, centrino atom, CentrinoAtom, cloudbook, diamondville, eee, intel, Laptop News, LaptopNews, laptops, menlow, notebooks, olpc, poulsbo, processor, processors, silverthorne

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