INTEL HOUSE

Acer launched a PC Tuesday that attempts to bring PC-class performance to Atom-processor-based PCs.

The Acer AspireRevo, about the size of a hardcover book, combines Nvidia graphics with the Intel Atom processor.(Credit: Acer)
The Acer AspireRevo is the first Atom-based PC from a major PC supplier to use Nvidia's Ion chipset that packs GeForce 9400M graphics, the same graphics used in the Apple 13-inch MacBook and MacBook Air.
By design, Atom is a more power frugal and, concomitantly, slower processor than Intel's mainstream Core 2 chip architecture.
The AspireRevo's marquee external feature is the diminutive size: the desktop is comparable in size to a laptop (though slightly thicker, about the size of a typical hardcover book). Internally, the device will test Nvidia's thesis that devices, such as Netbooks, that pair the Atom processor with Nvidia graphics offer much better performance than Intel-only (i.e., Atom-with-Intel-chipset) platforms.
This won't be quite the slam dunk that it was before, however. Intel recently started shipping the Atom N280 and the accompanying GN40 chipset, which for the first time on an Intel Netbook platform delivers 1080p HD playback.
"The AspireRevo...is perfectly suited for the living room, because Nvidia Ion provides a brilliant graphics experience with digital photos, watching video, and playing family-friendly games," said Gianpiero Morbello, corporate vice president of marketing for Acer, in a statement.
Nvidia listed the following capabilities for the Ion-based AspireRevo:
Ability to run Windows Vista Home Premium
1080p HD video with true-fidelity 7.1 audio
Popular games including Spore, Call of Duty 4, and Sim City 4 *
DirectX 10 graphics with advanced digital display connectivity
Accelerated video enhancement and transcoding using Nvidia CUDA technology

Intel's mainstay Netbook chip is finding a home in desktops, underscored by recent announcements from Hewlett-Packard and Acer.

HP MediaSmart LX195 uses a 1.6GHz Atom processor(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)
On Wednesday, details emerged of HP's MediaSmart Server LX195, a home server packing a 1.6GHz Atom 230 processor that's priced at $400 with 1GB of memory and a 640GB hard disk drive. To date, HP has been using Intel Celeron and Advanced Micro Devices' Sempron processors. (Note: update adds Intel Celeron.)
Earlier this month, Acer rolled out the Acer AspireRevo, a small, slick box that augments the Atom with an Nvidia Ion chipset to boost graphics performance. This is expected to be priced well under $300 for some models.
Asus was one of the first to bring out a head-swiveling Atom-based desktop--the Eee Box, which has been updated recently with ATI graphics.
By design, Atom is a more power-frugal and, as a result, a slower processor than Intel's mainstream Core 2 chip architecture. HP, for example, markets its MediaSmart server as a storage hub, which typically doesn't require much processing punch. And Atom is cheap--the Atom 230 is $29, whereas comparative Celeron chips are about $34 but draw much more power. And mainstream Core 2 Duo desktop processors start at about $110.
Intel has long maintained that Atom has a place in so-called Nettops and, last year, brought out the dual-core Atom 330 specifically for this market.
This strategy was validated this week in Taipei, where motherboard maker ASRock was showing a desktop with a dual-core Atom 330 processor and an Nvidia Ion chipset. Asus is also expected to update the Eee Box line with a dual-core Atom processor.

Intel® server processors deliver enhanced, energy-efficient performance for data-intensive business applications. Powering a range of multi-core 64-bit servers◊, Intel server processors enable you to optimize and scale computing environments to maximize server utilization to workload, while providing you with headroom for growth.

Mountain House (CA) - Computex Taipei 2008 is just around the corner and news of what we can expect to see at the conference is already trickling in. Nvidia will release its new GeForce GTX 280 and 260 GPUs, AMD its Radeon 4850 and 4870 as well as its Puma notebook platform. According to our sources at a top-tier OEM/ODM, AMD will be announcing Puma as well as the Griffin processor on June 3 (local time), the first day of the show. Puma will consist of the Griffin CPU, which we now know will be called “Turion Ultra”, a mobile version of the 780G chipset (RS780M), the Mobility Radeon 3200 graphics chip (integrated in the mobile 780G chipset) as well as Wi-Fi chips from the usual suspects (Atheros, Broadcom, Marvell, Ralink).Puma will show up in all major notebook form factors (12.1”, 13.3”, 15.4” and 17") and will be on display with ATI Mobility Radeon 3450, 3650 and 3850 discrete graphics chips. SSDs will be available as an option, albeit in a very limited fashion: Puma will aim for the volume business and consumer markets and SSD simply are still “too expensive” for these segments. That scenario should change with the arrival of AMD’s 2009 Shrike mobile platform (better known for its Fusion processor), which is expected to see a greater adoption of SSD devices.At this time, we have no information whether Puma and its Turion Ultra will be available in volume from day one. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.Despite the fact that a first Intel Montevina notebook has been announced already, don’t expect the platform to debut at Computex. Montevina notebooks are likely to have a significant presence at the show, but our sources indicated that the platform will not be launched until later in the month.

And the specifications? An AMD Athlon 64 processor, 15.6-inch WXGA display, 2GB DDR2 memory, DVD-RW drive, 160GB hard disk drive, ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 graphics, 802.11b/g wireless, 10/100 Ethernet LAN, and Microsoft Windows VistaHome Basic Edition. Pretty close to mainstream-laptop hardware with the exception of the low-end AMD-ATI silicon and the older "g" wireless.
When contacted by phone, a Best Buy sales representative said the reseller has fielded a number of calls already about the laptop and confirmed that it was currently unavailable.
By comparison, what do you get for $299 when buying a diminutive Netbook? An Asus Eee PC at this price comes with an Atom N270 processor, 1GB memory, 10.1-inch screen, 160GB hard disk drive, Intel 950 graphics, a Webcam, no optical drive, and Windows XP.
And there are good deals on other, more-mainstream laptops at Best Buy. A Toshiba Satellite is listed at $349 with an Intel Celeron processor, 15.4-inch display, 2GB DDR2 memory, DVD-RW drive, 160GB hard disk drive, Intel 4500MHD graphics, 802.11b/g wireless, 10/100 Ethernet LAN, and Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition.

Intel is introducing new solid-state drives with increased performance as these devices find a more welcome home in Windows 7.
Intel said Tuesday it is moving to a more advanced 34-nanometer manufacturing process for its X series of solid-state drives (SSDs). To date, Intel has built drives on a 50-nanometer process. The more advanced process allows for higher data densities, enabling Intel to pack more data onto the same number of flash chips and reduce cost.
Solid-state drives typically offer better performance--in some cases, dramatically better performance--than hard disk drives. But SSDs cost more per gigabyte than hard drives, limiting their use to performance-sensitive applications such as high-end laptops, gaming PCs, and servers.
(Credit: Intel)
The new price for the 80GB version of the X25-M drive is $225 for quantities up to 1,000 units, a 60 percent reduction from the introduction price of $595 a year ago, Intel said. The 160GB version of the Intel X25-M drive is now $440, down from $945 at introduction.
However, the actual price drop in the market will be lower, Troy Winslow, marketing manager for the NAND Products Group at Intel, said in a phone interview. Intel had already announced an interim price reduction in January, below the original $595 and $945 price tags, he said.
"In the marketplace it will be around a $100 drop on the 80GB drive and almost a $200 drop on the 160GB drive," he said. The X25-M comes in a standard 2.5-inch form factor, which is the size of most hard drives used in laptops.
Winslow also addressed rumors circulating on Monday about higher-capacity drives. Intel will not introduce a 320GB SSD this year, he said. "What we decided to do is split 34-nanometer into a two-step process," he said. The first step will be to cost-reduce existing 80GB and 160GB drives. "And what we'll do later--and it's not even going to be this year but first half of next year--we will introduce, also on 34 nanometer, a performance enhancement and a doubling of the capacity," Winslow said, meaning that larger capacity drives, such as those over 300GB, won't appear until next year.
For now, Intel is targeting lower cost and better performance. The new 80GB and 160GB drives offer substantial jumps in performance above earlier drives.
"We did gain significant performance where we believe it counts. And that is random writes," Winslow said, referring to a way of writing data to disk that is important for increasing drive performance on consumer PCs. "This is an area that all SSD manufacturers are seeking to improve. We know that random reads and writes are the critical file transaction. We were able to double and get up to 2.5X improvement over our 50-nanometer version," he said.
This performance improvement is done via the controller--silicon that manages the data on the SSD--and the firmware, computer code that controls various functions on the chip.
The Windows 7 factorThe drives will also be able to take advantage of Windows 7 technology that improves SSD performance--the so-called Windows 7 Trim Command.
"We'll support Windows 7 out of the chute," Winslow said. "We will offer firmware updates to our 34-nanometer SSDs. We have a firmware update tool on Intel.com. Users will be able to download the new firmware," he said.
Winslow explained the significance of the Windows 7 Trim Command, which clears up free area on an SSD. "If you fill up all the blocks with data and even if you delete (the blocks), in most cases today, the drive still looks like it's full. Trim allows you to release those blocks for reuse and maintain the performance. Every drive will degrade somewhat over time. With Trim, you're able to stay more in that the virgin state," he said.
He also addressed failure rates of SSDs, a longstanding issue that goes back to the days of primitive flash memory drives used in early digital cameras and digital media players. "Our annual failure rates or customer returns are a very small fraction, less than 1 percent," according to Winslow, who said this low failure rate is achieved through Intel's sophisticated controller.
"The useful life of Intel SSDs are five years. That useful life is dependent on write cycles. The parameter being 20GB a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for five years. In other words, if you write a quarter (25 percent) of your capacity (of an 80GB drive) for five years, it will last. If you write less than that, it will last even longer," he said.
(Note that the X18-M model, which comes in a smaller 1.8-inch form factor, will begin shipping on 34-nanometer later in the quarter.)

Summer is the season for sequels, and Intel's hoping to match the blockbuster success of Centrino Duo with the latest iteration of its mobile platform, Centrino 2. Essentially a marketing term, Centrino 2 (code-named Montevina) is used to describe a raft of new technologies from Intel, including a handful of new Core 2 Duo processors; a new chipset with a faster front-side bus; a new graphics solution with support for high-definition content and switchable graphics; and updated wireless and wired connectivity.
But do you need to run out and buy a Centrino 2 laptop? What are the expected benefits? After the page break we run down the new features and what they'll mean to you.
New processors: The processors launching with the new platform are built on the same 45nm Penryn architecture that debuted earlier this year, though the new chips now all support the faster, 1,066MHz front-side bus.
Three of the processors are part of a new class of energy-efficient CPUs designed to enhance battery life; these are designated with a part number 'Pxxxx' (think P for "power optimized"). The energy-efficient CPUs have the added advantage of staying cooler than their more power-hungry counterparts, a development that should bring about even smaller, thinner laptops.
The remaining processors--part number 'Txxxx' and 'Xxxxx'--prioritize performance. All six new processors and pricing (per 1,000 units) are as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz): $209
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz): $241
Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 (2.53GHz): $348
Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz): $316
Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz): $530
Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100 (3.06GHz): $851
Faster overall performance: The new Mobile Intel 45 Express chipset increases the frequency of the front-side bus to 1,066MHz, which helps all the components of the system communicate more quickly. The point is moot if you're using DDR2 memory, which currently tops out at 800MHz. But the new chipset also supports DDR3 memory, which has a higher peak throughput than previous memory technologies. Intel is always reluctant to quantify performance improvements, but company representatives have promised "dramatic" performance gains.
More flexible graphics. One of the big developments with Centrino 2 is support for switchable graphics. The new chipset enables systems that switch--either automatically or user-controlled--between integrated Intel graphics (to conserve battery life) and discrete graphics (for more powerful performance). Lenovo and Sony have already promised this feature in some of their latest models.
Also notable with Centrino 2 is built-in support for high-definition video playback, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
Enhanced network connections: The two wireless options available with the new platform support the 802.11n standard, and Intel promises you'll be able to roam up to twice as far as you could with the company's previous Wi-Fi chip. It's also poised to start offering WiMax support in the fall.
On the wired side, support for high-speed Gigabit Ethernet--a feature that's likely to appeal to business users--is standard with Centrino 2.
Other goodies: Centrino 2 can support 2GB of Turbo Memory, flash memory designed to speed up commonly used applications. Also, Intel continues to woo businesses by offering Centrino 2 with vPro, which incorporates a handful of additional technologies for remote management and configuration.
Overall, Centrino 2 has all the hallmarks of a box-office hit. Every component of the platform--processor, chipset, graphics, wireless--has seen at least modest enhancements designed to increase performance, decrease power consumption, and add functionality.
And while it's too early to speak in general terms, our preliminary test results seem to back up at least some of Intel's claims. The first Centrino 2 systems to hit CNET Labs have all included P-series Core 2 Duo processors, and while the performance gains are modest, all have demonstrated impressive battery life.
We expect Centrino 2 to come into clearer focus throughout the summer as we test more of the latest laptops to include the new components. Stay tuned to Crave and our laptop reviews page as we highlight and review even more systems built on the new platform.

The day may not be far off when a farmer does his spring planting, not from the driver's seat of a tractor, but from his office desk. And instead of driving a single tractor, he will be able to monitor several automated units at once, as they till fields, plant seeds, dispense fertilizer and harvest crops.
The vision is known as precision farming, and it is based on a future generation of Intelligent Autonomy Vehicles (IAVs). While they will resemble conventional tractors and harvesters, the automated vehicles, which are now in the concept stage, will perform tasks from spring plowing through fall harvesting without the need for onboard human operators.
Why it's a game changer
Soil conditions such as acidity (pH), moisture, particle size, compaction, mineral content and organic composition can vary significantly from one area to the next within a field. Equipped with GPS navigation equipment and onboard sensors to analyze soil conditions, an IAV can measure soil characteristics on the fly at the front end, and then use the results of the soil analysis to dispense the precise application of fertilizer – all in a single pass as it traverses the field.
Processing intelligence is the key to precision farming, as the onboard embedded computer uses complex algorithms to perform fast analysis and calculate optimum chemical application rates in real time. The technique promises to save money by maximizing the productivity of farm equipment, minimizing the use of farm chemicals, conserving fuel and potentially increasing crop production by providing ideal applications of fertilizers and water.
Coordinating field preparation, planting and other tasks allows essential operations to be performed in the shortest possible time. The tractor can also build a database of statistical information that can be mapped to micro-sites within a field and correlated with crop monitoring data and satellite imagery throughout the growing season.
What's so intelligent about it?
Each tractor or other vehicle will be guided by an onboard control system consisting of two subsystems:
A control subsystem based on an embedded Intel® Atom™ processor to run analytic software programs and power the vehicle's sophisticated Human-Machine Interface (HMI), which shows a real-time map of the field, and provides data on soil conditions, water, crop characteristics, and other variables.
A communications subsystem for GPS positioning, navigation, steering, onboard connectivity, and WLAN-based communication to the farm's monitoring center.
The energy efficient performance and low thermal characteristics of Intel Atom processors make them ideal for fanless, convection cooled, small-footprint onboard embedded automation and control computers designed to withstand dust, heat, humidity and vibration. Intel® architecture also provides the processing performance and headroom to run sophisticated applications for analysis, data mapping and the HMI.
Intel® Embedded and Communications Alliance member MEN Mikro Elektronik is already fielding interest in its products for IAVs in farming. Barbara Schmitz, chief marketing officer, notes "Coupled with application-specific carrier boards, our COM solutions XM1 (ESMexpress*) or MM1 (ESMini*) using Intel Atom processors Z530 and Z510 and industrial temperature versions Z510P, Z530P, Z510PT, Z520PT are ideal for developing solutions for harsh, mobile environments like farm and other commercial vehicles."
In addition to sampling local soil conditions and monitoring crops, onboard sensors will also be used for machine vision systems for collision avoidance and crop monitoring. Other sensors can monitor the fuel state and operating condition of the tractor and its attached implements and send read-outs to the farm's central monitoring station. Automatic alerts can enable farm operators to perform preventive maintenance to avoid costly equipment breakdowns.
The HMI systems, whether in the tractor's cab or displayed on a monitor back at the farm office, can be identical for every vehicle on the farm. This makes it easy for a single operator to supervise, and if necessary control several autonomous vehicles simultaneously from an office or a mobile computer in a pickup truck.
Automated vehicles powered by intelligent, connected embedded devices are about to make precision farming a reality around the globe, promising greater productivity, at less cost, to help feed the world.

You may have seen news today that AMD announced its new Spider platform this morning, consisting of two quad core Phenom CPUs, a new 700-series of motherboard chipsets, and its already announced Radeon HD 3000-series of graphics cards. At 2.2GHz and 2.3GHz for the Phenom 9500 and 9600, respectively, AMD's new chips will need to rely on price, rather than performance, to entice buyers to choose those chips, or systems based on them, over Intel's 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad Q6600. Pricing will shake out as the various retailers get their inventories and can gauge demand, but at least at the start, the $283 Phenom 9600 is more expensive than Intel's Q6600, which we've seen for as low as $260.

AMD's new quad core Phenom chip will need to rely on price to win customers.(Credit: AMD)
And while AMD has said it will announce faster Phenom chips in January 2008, Intel stemmed that news by seeding preview versions of a forthcoming Core 2 Extreme QX9770 chip, a high-end quad core CPU set to release in January. Several hardware sites took the bait and tested the preview hardware, with the overall message being that Intel isn't worried about it losing its performance-leader position.
So where does this leave you, the potential new desktop buyer, this holiday season? First, with only four desktop launch partners--Cyberpower, Falcon Northwest, iBuypower, and Velocity Micro--you should only expect to find these systems in expensive gaming systems. We went over to Velocity Micro's Web site and priced out a Phenom-based Raptor 64 DualX with a Phenom 9600 and two Radeon 3870's for $3,135. That doesn't sound like a bad deal on paper, and we hope to start playing with a review sample soon for a true performance look. Interestingly, no one offers a AMD-based system with three or four Radeons as enabled by CrossFireX, AMD's new multi-GPU standard, announced as a feature of the new 700-series chipset.
But if a $3,000 system of any hardware combination will give you strong price-performance, you don't have a lot of great options if you want to spend $5,000 or $6,000 on a gaming PC right now. The fastest consumer CPU right now is Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX9650. The fastest GPU is Nvidia's GeForce 8800 Ultra, preferably in dual-card SLI mode. The problem is you can't build that system today. Intel's X38 chipset, required for the QX9650, won't support two Nvidia graphics cards in SLI mode. And Nvidia's SLI-capable 680i chipset can't handle the Intel QX9650 chip. With no motherboard chipset currently able to support both Intel's new chip and Nvidia SLI cards, you're forced to compromise on either CPU or GPU power.

AMD's CrossFireX. If only we could find a vendor that sells it.(Credit: AMD)
Numerous reports of a next-generation Nvidia Nforce 700-series chipset (about which Wikipedia has an excellent summary) suggest that this may be the platform circuitry high-end system builders need to get those $5,000 and $6,000 rigs to the appropriate performance levels. And its absence perhaps explains why HP's Blackbird and other high-end PCs don't yet offer Intel's new core 2 QX9650's. If NForce 700 doesn't come out before or shortly after the higher-end Phenom CPUs, and in the meantime AMD's CrossFireX becomes fully-realized (and remains exclusive to AMD chipsets), a possible, if remote, scenario could find Intel and Nvidia leading the individual CPU and GPU markets, but with AMD boasting the fastest overall desktop platform.