Intel touts power of upcoming Yonah laptop chip
Intel Corp. said on Tuesday its next-generation platform for laptop computers will use 25 percent less power while boosting performance, helping it stay on top of the fast-growing market, Reuters reports.
The overhaul of the company's Centrino technology, code-named "Napa," comes as preps for a boost from laptop sales, which are growing faster than the overall computer market.
At the heart of Napa is Intel's new Yonah microprocessor, which will make its debut in early January as the first mobile chip to sport dual cores. It reportedly includes the latest technology that etches circuitry more than 100 times thinner than a human hair.
The napa platform and Yonah processor will use 28-percent less power while performing 68 percent better than its predecessor, Keith Kressin, Intel's marketing chief for mobile platforms, told reporters.
"The twin cores mean users can perform several tasks at the same time," said Reuters. "For instance, one core could update a spreadsheet while the other displays a graphics-heavy presentation without slowing down."
Yonah will also do its part to extend battery life beyond the 5-hour mark, improve wireless bandwidth, and help cut the size of notebooks by 30-percent, according to eWeek
Sources have previously said that Apple aims to be one of the first computer makers to introduce systems based on Intel's new dual-core chips, with the strong possibility of the first Intel Mac laptop making its debut during the second week of January.
The overhaul of the company's Centrino technology, code-named "Napa," comes as preps for a boost from laptop sales, which are growing faster than the overall computer market.
At the heart of Napa is Intel's new Yonah microprocessor, which will make its debut in early January as the first mobile chip to sport dual cores. It reportedly includes the latest technology that etches circuitry more than 100 times thinner than a human hair.
The napa platform and Yonah processor will use 28-percent less power while performing 68 percent better than its predecessor, Keith Kressin, Intel's marketing chief for mobile platforms, told reporters.
"The twin cores mean users can perform several tasks at the same time," said Reuters. "For instance, one core could update a spreadsheet while the other displays a graphics-heavy presentation without slowing down."
Yonah will also do its part to extend battery life beyond the 5-hour mark, improve wireless bandwidth, and help cut the size of notebooks by 30-percent, according to eWeek
Sources have previously said that Apple aims to be one of the first computer makers to introduce systems based on Intel's new dual-core chips, with the strong possibility of the first Intel Mac laptop making its debut during the second week of January.
Comments
Originally posted by AppleInsider
The napa platform and Yonah processor will use 28-percent less power while performing 68 percent better than its predecessor
What is the predecessor, Celeron? How does the G4 compare to the predecessor?
Originally posted by e1618978
What is the predecessor, Celeron? How does the G4 compare to the predecessor?
Pentium M (Dothan/Sonoma/XD).
Hoorray
Originally posted by a j stev
I see the beginning of a Intel RDF ...surely after Intels' bad run recently, you'd want to see how they actually perform out in the wild before getting too exuberant.
One thing's for sure though, they'll run better than the G4s we have now...even if they don't perform 50% faster than the current Pentium M chips. And I think that's all we want.
And AMD doesn't produce laptop chips (at least not the ones that would allow Apple to produce paper thin laptops.)
RDF or no RDF, the move to Intel was a good one.
Originally posted by a j stev
I see the beginning of a Intel RDF ...surely after Intels' bad run recently, you'd want to see how they actually perform out in the wild before getting too exuberant.
It's Intel's desktop line that is struggling. The Centrino platformization has been wonderful for Intel.
Originally posted by kim kap sol
And AMD doesn't produce laptop chips (at least not the ones that would allow Apple to produce paper thin laptops.)
Well, technically, there's the Turion...
anandtech linky here:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2627
edit: oops, i meant dualcore yonah that anandtech tested was running 92W idle and 102W load. so on a mobile platform i guess it could still be just intel RDF, but we'll find out soon enough, especially with all you bloody guineapigs out there dying to get your hands on the first ones....
Originally posted by sunilraman
the 65W dualcore yonah was tested by anandtech. for 65W or so it's not bad, in the class of pentium Ds and AthlonX2s (though of course not the top of that class). 65nm also has some advantages. looks like apple could just pull this off -- dualcore yonah powerbook macintel and singlecore yonah ibook macintel for january 2006...
anandtech linky here:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2627
edit: oops, i meant dualcore yonah that anandtech tested was running 92W idle and 102W load. so on a mobile platform i guess it could still be just intel RDF, but we'll find out soon enough, especially with all you bloody guineapigs out there dying to get your hands on the first ones....
The Anandtech article uses a desktop motherboard with a desktop graphics card and components so isn't any guideline to mobile power usage. Yonah + Napa is really just going to push Intel ahead further in mobile computing.
Originally posted by Alex3917
I have a 15" PB, 24 months old, and the battery might last me 1.5 hours on a good day with the screen brightness turned way down. 5 hours would be pretty amazing, although I remain skeptical.
Um, newsflash, batteries degrade. The battery life of a 2-years-old laptop hardly counts. Your capacity has probably drained by at least a third, if not 50%.
Originally posted by sunilraman
edit: oops, i meant dualcore yonah that anandtech tested was running 92W idle and 102W load. so on a mobile platform i guess it could still be just intel RDF, but we'll find out soon enough, especially with all you bloody guineapigs out there dying to get your hands on the first ones....
Anandtech was testing total system power draw, using a desktop power supply, motherboard, and graphics card, not CPU power draw. The Yonahs themselves are said to average a few Watts under normal laptop usage. In fact, I would be surprised if the CPU was the biggest power draw on your typical Yonah laptop... a lot of the battery life is going to depend on the engineering surrounding the other components.
okay, now let's say we ignore the components and power draw mentioned in the article, and assume the dualcore yonah cpu they tested is very similar to the model to be used in laptops. unless anand did some major overclocking or fiddled a lot with the voltage, etc, the cpu tests show yonah as a mobile chip to be really, quite impressive.
now of course then we take our pinch of salt, considering, what model of yonah will be in apple laptops, what components surrounding it, what sort of battery life etc... all intriguing in any case.
Originally posted by pbaker05
Why do some think that if the processor for the 15 in. is ready, that the 17" would not be untill later. Don't they use the same processor?
Yes, they do. This is the first time I've heard this idea, however.