Reports detail "Yonah" processor specs, performance

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Intel Corp. is preparing to make a splash early next year when it officially launches its next-generation dual-core "Yonah" notebook processors, which will initially debut at a top speed of 2.16GHz dual-core.



The world's largest microprocessor maker plans to introduce two versions of Yonah: a single core version running at 1.66GHz and dual-core versions in 1.66GHz, 1.83GHz, 2.0GHz, and 2.16GHz. The company will reportedly market the chips as Centrino "Solo Core" and "Duo Core" processors.



The Yonah processors, which are widely expected to power the first wave of Apple laptops and consumer desktops, will each sport a 667MHz font-side-bus (FSB) and 2MB Level 2 cache. A faster version of Yonah due by the middle of next year will reportedly increase the chip's top speed to 2.3GHz.



Yonah will offer several improvements over Intel's previous generation Pentium M chips based on the Dothan core. One of the most significant improvements Yonah has over Dothan is its dual-core nature. However, since Yonah is based on Intel's new 65nm process, a dual-core Yonah die is about the same size as a single core Dothan die. This allows Intel to manufacture a dual-core Yonah at approximately the same cost as a single-core Dothan.



According to an Intel Yonah roadmap that surfaced in September, the company plans to charge approximately $209 for single-core 1.66GHz Yonah chip. Dual-core versions will reportedly fetch $241 (1.66GHz), $295 (1.83GHz), $422 (2.0GHz), and $639 (2.16GHz) per unit.



In a recent series of business-oriented and multimedia benchmark tests, AnandTech compared a pre-production dual-core 2.0GHz Yonah processor to a 2.0GHz Dothan-based Pentium M 760, as well as three AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors ranging in speeds from 2.0GHz to 2.2GHz.



In the business applications test, Yonah failed to shine, primarily because applications like Microsoft Word and Outlook Express do not take on a heavily multithreaded workload, which dual-core chips are designed to optimize.



With Yonah, "Intel has increased the L2 cache latency by 40%, and thus it is outperformed by the older, single core Pentium M processor despite the fact that they run at the same clock speed," AnandTech explained.



Yonah's performance in multimedia and 3D-intensive applications is a completely different story. In a Winstone 2004 multimedia content creation test, Yonah faired significantly better than the Pentium M with a score of 34.7 compared to the Pentium M's 28.3.



The dual-core chip's enhancements helped Yonah score second amongst the five chips in a Office Productivity SYSMark 2004 test and third in a SYSMark 2004 2D and 3D test. In both test, Yonah showed significant speed gains over the Pentium M.



In a final series of overall system performance test using WorldBench 5, the 2.0GHz Yonah score atop the list, just barely beating out AMD's 2.2GHz Athlon 64 X2 processor. Yonah also scored impressively in iTunes MP3 encoding, DVD ripping, 3dmax, Adobe Photoshop CS, and Adobe Premier benchmark tests. It also faired better than the Pentium M in gaming performance when tested with Battlefield 2, Black and White 2, F.E.A.R., Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Quake 4.



"Our initial analysis still holds true, that for a notebook processor, [Yonah] will be nothing short of amazing for professionals.Â* Looking at the performance improvements offered everywhere from media encoding to 3D rendering, you're going to be able to do a lot more on your notebook than you originally thought possible (without resorting to a 12-pound desktop replacement)," AnandTech wrote in summarizing Yonah's performance. "The one thing that Intel's [Yonah] seems to be able to do very well is to truly bridge the gap between mobile and desktop performance, at least in thin and light packages."



As first reported by AppleInsider sources in November, Apple hopes to be one of -- if not the first -- PC maker to introduce systems based on Yonah when it shows the first Intel Macs at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco during the second week of January.



Already the game is heating up, with NEC this week revealing details of its first Yonah laptops without getting into the specifics of the Yonah processors that will power the machines. Not to be outdone, Dell in Frebuary will reveal a slew of new laptops based on Yonah, including a full range of Precision M90, Lattitude D620 and Lattitude D820 models, according to a recent report.



Intel is expected to formally unveil Yonah along with its "Viiv" media center technology during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which kicks-off on Jaunary 5th, just days before Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will appear before a Macworld Expo crowd to introduce the company's latest consumer products.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 61
    I really think Apple is going to go all out with Yonah (as evidenced by the earlier laptop report).



    Having such a high performance mobile processor could really open up alot of markets. I just hope we don't see the Intel integrated graphics in iBooks.
  • Reply 2 of 61
    bring it...BRING IT!!!
  • Reply 3 of 61
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!!



    Here's hoping that Front Row version 3 is all that and a bag of chips because I'm VIIV'n



    http://www.digitimes.com/mobos/a20051221A1001.html



    Intel moves up chipset support for Conroe. This must mean merom is on target to ship Mid 2006.



  • Reply 4 of 61
    Has anyone worked out the performance gains over the PPCs using OS X? I would be interested in finding out how much faster the iBooks and PBs are going to be as a significant speed bump is going to be needed for the notebooks to fly off the shelves.
  • Reply 5 of 61
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!!



    Here's hoping that Front Row version 3 is all that and a bag of chips because I'm VIIV'n



    http://www.digitimes.com/mobos/a20051221A1001.html



    Intel moves up chipset support for Conroe. This must mean merom is on target to ship Mid 2006.




    Do we actually know anything about Viiv yet though? AFAIK nothing is announced until CES.
  • Reply 6 of 61
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    SCHWINGGG!





    <faints>



  • Reply 7 of 61
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kenaustus

    Has anyone worked out the performance gains over the PPCs using OS X? I would be interested in finding out how much faster the iBooks and PBs are going to be as a significant speed bump is going to be needed for the notebooks to fly off the shelves.



    Unscientific, but I think the 1.67Ghz G4 is regarded as being slower than the existing Centrino processor at similar speeds, so Yonah should pretty much smoke it (when looking at the Anandtech benchmarks).



    Of course this will rely on having Universal Binaries ready to go aswell. I expect performance in Rosetta apps will be pretty much on par with the current G4s.



    -- this is all speculation though --
  • Reply 8 of 61
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Nine-Seventy

    Do we actually know anything about Viiv yet though? AFAIK nothing is announced until CES.



    Not enough that's why I'm interested in hearing about what Intel's going to bring to Multimedia Platformization.



    What will they offer that I can't get by purchasing a motherboard and accessories? That's what I hope to find out. I'm not expecting the world just a cohesive platform with stability.
  • Reply 9 of 61
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    Not enough that's why I'm interested in hearing about what Intel's going to bring to Multimedia Platformization.



    What will they offer that I can't get by purchasing a motherboard and accessories? That's what I hope to find out. I'm not expecting the world just a cohesive platform with stability.




    I think it's highly likely that it will be just a mac mini-esque box with an assortment of I/O options and of course running Windows.



    The more interesting aspect of it will be the software side of things. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be using Windows Media Center Edition, so what will it be?
  • Reply 10 of 61
    Viiv meet Visa.....Visa meet Viiv
  • Reply 11 of 61
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Right now, ViiV is hardware and software - MS OS.



    No one knows whether Apple will, or even CAN take part in ViiV.



    It will be interesting to find out.



    But what I really would like to know is why they get these reports so late.



    I posted this Anand report in another thread here, on this site, shortly after it was done. It seems like ages ago now.
  • Reply 12 of 61
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!! VIIV..VIIV...VIIV !!!



    Here's hoping that Front Row version 3 is all that and a bag of chips because I'm VIIV'n



    http://www.digitimes.com/mobos/a20051221A1001.html



    Intel moves up chipset support for Conroe. This must mean merom is on target to ship Mid 2006.




    Conroe, and Yonah, and Whitfield



    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051221-5818.html



    Maybe I shouldn't buy the Quad in January after all. With Conroe and Whitfield coming up so fast, A Mactel PM might be out late 2006.
  • Reply 13 of 61
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    Conroe, and Yonah, and Whitfield



    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051221-5818.html



    Maybe I shouldn't buy the Quad in January after all. With Conroe and Whitfield coming up so fast, A Mactel PM might be out late 2006.




    Maybe, but the Quad is incredible! Esp with the 30" monitor. Glad I got mine when I did.
  • Reply 14 of 61
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Quote:

    I think the 1.67Ghz G4 is regarded as being slower than the existing Centrino processor at similar speeds



    I find this difficult to be true. Partially because there are so many different chips in the Centrino line.



    Quote:

    I think it's highly likely that it will be just a mac mini-esque box with an assortment of I/O options and of course running Windows.



    Highly unlikely will you see a Mac with an array of I/O ports like a component receiver. That goes against Apple's design philosphy in every way.



    Apple is more likely to design a media center where I/O goes through one wire like HDMI.
  • Reply 15 of 61
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Quote:

    Maybe I shouldn't buy the Quad in January after all. With Conroe and Whitfield coming up so fast, A Mactel PM might be out late 2006.



    I doubt Apple will rush. I think it more wise if they take it easy with the transition. Release the lines in waves. If there are any problems they are less likely to occur across the entire line.



    If I were in the market for a Quad the reason I might wait is for the PowerMac refresh with faster G5 processors.
  • Reply 16 of 61
    mark2005mark2005 Posts: 1,158member
    I have come across fairly good evidence that Apple was benchmarking hardware and software Fairplay solutions using the Viiv chipset. But early Viiv announcements very pointedly mentioned the use of Windows; later press releases have been more vague.



    So I think technically, it's not Viiv since Apple isn't using Windows, but I think the chipset is the same as the Viiv chipset. Unless Intel redefines Viiv as a platform without reference to an OS...
  • Reply 17 of 61
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TenoBell

    I doubt Apple will rush. I think it more wise if they take it easy with the transition. Release the lines in waves. If there are any problems they are less likely to occur across the entire line.



    If I were in the market for a Quad the reason I might wait is for the PowerMac refresh with faster G5 processors.




    This is a tough one. I don't really need one. I'm out of the business (mostly).



    But I WANT one. So I can wait.



    But if Apple does come out with machines this January, it means that they have either speeded up their activity with the Intel line, or that they ALWAYS intended to do this now.



    As I said in an earlier thread; they may have snookered us.



    I wouldn't put it past them to give us expectations of a long and leisurely changeover, but when things are ready, to do it earlier than expected, and more quickly.



    It does make perfect sense. Last June, Jobs said that Rosetta would emulate a G3 W/O Altivec. That any apps that required either a G4 or G5, or Altivec wouldn't work at all. So we're thinking that they will need faster chips, and that many more developers will have to convert over.



    Now, with 10.4.3 x86, Rosetta suddenly, and without Apple saying anything, emulates a G4 with Altivec, allowing a much greater assortment of programs to run.



    Also, 10.4.4 will be out shortly. This is the first version in which the x86 version has been brought totally up to date with the PPC version.



    This happens right before MacWorld. Coincidence?



    So, this is why I'm wondering (as are many others) whether Apple has had plans all along to move this thing forward rapidly.



    Remember the "leak" about Apple wanting Merom and other chips before they were supposed to be ready? Well, guess what happened? Apple will get them before they were supposed to be ready!



    Therefore, if Apple releases two or even three new Mactels during MacWorld, I feel as though they will speed the other machines this year as well.



    Merom will be available third quarter, and Conroe will be available third quarter. Leopard should be available before the end of the year. Maybe third Quarter?



    We could see those machines by September, or earlier.
  • Reply 18 of 61
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mark2005

    I have come across fairly good evidence that Apple was benchmarking hardware and software Fairplay solutions using the Viiv chipset. But early Viiv announcements very pointedly mentioned the use of Windows; later press releases have been more vague.



    So I think technically, it's not Viiv since Apple isn't using Windows, but I think the chipset is the same as the Viiv chipset. Unless Intel redefines Viiv as a platform without reference to an OS...




    Once anyone's marketing plans include Apple, they're screwed. Even Intel is keeping their lips shut.



    Who knows what's going to happen.



    Even the thread on Ars about whether Apple will accept Intel's marketing money is already pages long.
  • Reply 19 of 61
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross





    It does make perfect sense. Last June, Jobs said that Rosetta would emulate a G3 W/O Altivec. That any apps that required either a G4 or G5, or Altivec wouldn't work at all. So we're thinking that they will need faster chips, and that many more developers will have to convert over.



    Now, with 10.4.3 x86, Rosetta suddenly, and without Apple saying anything, emulates a G4 with Altivec, allowing a much greater assortment of programs to run.






    I believe this is because Apple knows that Adobe, Microsoft, etc. applications that require G4 will either be VERY LATE 2006 or 2007 before they're ready, and I think some may NEVER port over from PPC (important apps). Apple had to provide SOME sort of compatability or people would become so frustrated that they'd leave the platform.
  • Reply 20 of 61
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rOckAPE

    Viiv meet Visa.....Visa meet Viiv



    HAHAHH! Same here. that is awesome!
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