Apple-bound "Silverthorne" chip now dubbed "Atom"

[AppleInsider]

Intel Corp. said this weekend that "Intel Atom" will be the official name for its new family of low-power processors designed specifically for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and a new class of simple and affordable Internet-centric computers arriving later this year.

Formally code-named "Silverthorne," the chip is expected to turn up in several Apple products starting in the second half of the year. It's based on an entirely new microarchitecture designed specifically for small devices and low power, yet maintains the Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set, allowing it to run the same applications as today's Intel-based notebook and desktop systems.

The chip, which includes support for multiple threads, measures less than 25 mm², making it Intel's smallest and lowest power processor yet. "Up to 11 Intel Atom processor die -- the tiny slivers of silicon packed with 47 million transistors each -- would fit in an area the size of an American penny," the chipmaker said in a statement.

Silverthorne chips sport a thermal design power (TDP) specification in 0.6-2.5 watt range and scale to 1.8GHz speeds depending on customer need. By comparison, today's mainstream mobile Core 2 Duo processors have a TDP in the 35-watt range.

"This is our smallest processor built with the world's smallest transistors," said Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney. "This small wonder is a fundamental new shift in design, small yet powerful enough to enable a big Internet experience on these new devices. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry."

In addition to MIDs, Intel believes Atom will serve to meet demand for a new category of low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices dubbed "netbooks" and basic Internet-centric desktop PCs dubbed "nettops," which are expected to grow in popularity substantially over the next several years.



In conjunction with the official naming of Silverthrone, Intel also announced that it has changed the name of the chip's supporting platform -- formally "Menlow" -- to "Intel Centrino Atom." It bundles the Intel Atom processor, a low-power companion chip with integrated graphics, a wireless radio, and thinner and lighter designs.

As was reported by AppleInsider this past September, Apple is expected to emerge as one of the largest proponents of Atom/Silverthorne, with current plans calling for the Cupertino-based Mac maker to incorporate the chips in a number of its products, most likely beginning with the redesigned Newton handheld.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[razorpit]

So what are the chances of this chip making it in to the 3G iPhone? Is this the reason why the 3G phone will not come out until June?

[Buck]

Intel, an Apple-bound company.

[organicpulp]

Let's hope so...my patience for the iPhone has just about peaked.

P.S. I've been lurking for a while and finally made an account. Glad to be here everyone

--

organicpulp.blogspot.com

[Strawberry]

The Newton will never return, the iPhone IS this gen's Newton... it just needs to mature a year or two.

[Hattig]

Other places have said that the SMT support might be in the Silverthorne design, but is disabled in Atom (2.5W at 1.6GHz, 0.6W at 500MHz, 500MHz Atom is probably roughly equal to a 250MHz Core 2, err, core). However Intel is also releasing a 4W SMT enabled variant called Diamondville (also under the Atom brand), and even a dual-core SMT enabled variant at 8W.

I look forward to a 9" tablet from Apple.

Any smaller and they might want to consider scaling up their ARM based platform rather than scaling down the desktop platform.

Also remember that the iPhone's current CPU and GPU and DSPs and so on consume under 250mW total at load before making comments about the iPhone and Atom.

[Virgil-TB2]

What's with the weird flashy-movie thing in an unreadable format? Seems a bad choice for an Apple-related news site to use something that a default Safari (3.0.4) installation can't read.

[nvidia2008]

Heh. Biased as I may be, I still say Apple are the only real company that can make the most of these "uber super duper super light fantastic internet palmish application experiencess"

Either Apple or the OLPC project. Not.

Bring on the Mac Touch w00t.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by razorpit

So what are the chances of this chip making it in to the 3G iPhone?

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by organicpulp

Let's hope so...my patience for the iPhone has just about peaked.

P.S. I've been lurking for a while and finally made an account. Glad to be here everyone

Welcome to AI, now for the bad news (though it's not really bad news unless you just want OS X to run on the x86 platform...

"Intel is targeting 0.6W - 2.0W TDPs with Silverthorne - obviously depending on clock speeds. At 2.0GHz, running at 1.0V, Silverthorne runs at 90C and dissipates 2W. The CPU temperature alone should be an indication that this is too hot for an ultra small iPhone-like form factor, so expect to see devices that are closer to a PlayStation Portable in size and at lower clock speeds for most of them."
(source)

[mstone]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

What's with the weird flashy-movie thing in an unreadable format? Seems a bad choice for an Apple-related news site to use something that a default Safari (3.0.4) installation can't read.

Looks like they moved the link

try this:

http://intelpr.feedroom.com/

[derev]

Too bad that the video is not mac centric. I have the most up-to-date flash plug-in and the video says I need cookies turned on (they are) flash player (I have), and a supported browser (guess).

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by solipsism

Welcome to AI, now for the bad news (though it's not really bad news unless you just want OS X to run on the x86 platform...

"Intel is targeting 0.6W - 2.0W TDPs with Silverthorne - obviously depending on clock speeds. At 2.0GHz, running at 1.0V, Silverthorne runs at 90C and dissipates 2W. The CPU temperature alone should be an indication that this is too hot for an ultra small iPhone-like form factor, so expect to see devices that are closer to a PlayStation Portable in size and at lower clock speeds for most of them."
(source)

That is all well and good but who expects Apple to run the chip at 2GHz. If people want to demonstrate why ATOM won't go into the current iPhone form factor they really should highlight the fact that this isn''t yet a SOC solution. This processor would require a support chip which would be prohibitive with respect to the space it takes up. Its a physical issue that also adds to the power draw of the device.

Frankly considering some of the really innovative ARM processors coming on the market I don't think Intel has a chance in hell of getting into iPhone this year nor next year. At least in iPhone as we know it today.

Dave

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by wizard69

At least in iPhone as we know it today.

... Or the Atom as we know it today. I can't find the link right now, but I believe that even the lowest Atom speeds use multitude more power than the fastest ARM speeds.

[Bageljoey]

Originally Posted by mstone

Looks like they moved the link

try this:

http://intelpr.feedroom.com/

Thanks for the proper link!

[SpamSandwich]

A return of the Newton? WTH? This is unnecessary and unwanted. The iPhone is the Newton... the Newton is the iPhone... Hillary Clinton is a man!

[zunx]

How to save to disks these videos or the ones at Intel?

http://intelpr.feedroom.com

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Hattig

Other places have said that the SMT support might be in the Silverthorne design, but is disabled in Atom (2.5W at 1.6GHz, 0.6W at 500MHz, 500MHz Atom is probably roughly equal to a 250MHz Core 2, err, core).

Disabling SMT doesn't mean halving the compute speed of the chip. Only rarely has SMT meant 10% or more performance increase, sometimes it meant a performance decrease.

[mstone]

Originally Posted by zunx

How to save to disks these videos or the ones at Intel?

http://intelpr.feedroom.com

They have gone to get lengths to prevent you from doing that. So if you have to ask how to do it, the answer is you can't.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by mstone

They have gone to get lengths to prevent you from doing that. So if you have to ask how to do it, the answer is you can't.

I pretty much doubt it on both points. It looks like a typical flash video, there are converters for that.

[mstone]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I pretty much doubt it on both points. It looks like a typical flash video, there are converters for that.

That would be if you can get your hands on the flv. Give it a try, let me know how you make out.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by mstone

That would be if you can get your hands on the flv. Give it a try, let me know how you make out.

Apparently, it's not even necessary to do that, they even offer videos in iPod format. Finding it isn't intuitive though. I chalk that up to poor design rather than intent to obfuscate.

[Olternaut]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Intel Corp. said this weekend that "Intel Atom" will be the official name for its new family of low-power processors designed specifically for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and a new class of simple and affordable Internet-centric computers arriving later this year.

Formally code-named "Silverthorne," the chip is expected to turn up in several Apple products starting in the second half of the year. It's based on an entirely new microarchitecture designed specifically for small devices and low power, yet maintains the Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set, allowing it to run the same applications as today's Intel-based notebook and desktop systems.

The chip, which includes support for multiple threads, measures less than 25 mm², making it Intel's smallest and lowest power processor yet. "Up to 11 Intel Atom processor die -- the tiny slivers of silicon packed with 47 million transistors each -- would fit in an area the size of an American penny," the chipmaker said in a statement.

Silverthorne chips sport a thermal design power (TDP) specification in 0.6-2.5 watt range and scale to 1.8GHz speeds depending on customer need. By comparison, today's mainstream mobile Core 2 Duo processors have a TDP in the 35-watt range.

"This is our smallest processor built with the world's smallest transistors," said Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney. "This small wonder is a fundamental new shift in design, small yet powerful enough to enable a big Internet experience on these new devices. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry."

In addition to MIDs, Intel believes Atom will serve to meet demand for a new category of low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices dubbed "netbooks" and basic Internet-centric desktop PCs dubbed "nettops," which are expected to grow in popularity substantially over the next several years.



In conjunction with the official naming of Silverthrone, Intel also announced that it has changed the name of the chip's supporting platform -- formally "Menlow" -- to "Intel Centrino Atom." It bundles the Intel Atom processor, a low-power companion chip with integrated graphics, a wireless radio, and thinner and lighter designs.

As was reported by AppleInsider this past September, Apple is expected to emerge as one of the largest proponents of Atom/Silverthorne, with current plans calling for the Cupertino-based Mac maker to incorporate the chips in a number of its products, most likely beginning with the redesigned Newton handheld.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

Mactouch here we come!! Yeeeeeeeeee Hawwwwwwwwww!!!!!

[mstone]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Apparently, it's not even necessary to do that, they even offer videos in iPod format. Finding it isn't intuitive though. I chalk that up to poor design rather than intent to obfuscate.

Do tell. I end up doing things the hard way more than I care to admit. The obvious often escapes me entirely for some reason. But brute force is my middle name.

[webmail]

atom in honor of the small scale.. It's amazing at this chip size the #1 problem is electrons jumping pathways. lol, it's pretty freaking cool when you think about it.