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Giz Explains: Under the Hood of the Newest Laptops and Mobile Gear
Posted by Matt Buchanan at 4:00 AM on June 5, 2008
If your head's spinning from the buckets of chip splooge that's shot out over the past couple days, we don't blame you. There's been a new mobile chip launched or announced by every major player in the biz (Intel, AMD, Nvidia and Via), so no wonder it's all sticky and running together. Don't worry, here's a quick guide to what matters, who makes it, and what kind of stuff you'll see it in.
Intel
Like it or not, Intel's the biggest player in the game, so they've got essentially two major entries for mobile. First up is Montevina, soon to be known to your mother as Centrino 2. It was supposed to launch this month, but was delayed until August for a full rollout. It's a "platform" for notebooks, so it's got a few different components, like a Penryn Core 2 Duo processor and a wireless module (two options, one flavour has WiMax). It's basically nimbler all around than the preceding Santa Rosa platform--speedier front-side bus, faster RAM, better integrated graphics--but solid emphasis on battery life too. It'll basically be in any of the full-sized notebooks worth buying after this summer, and probably in the next MacBook/MacBook Pro release.
The ballyhooed Atom chips actually cover two classes of devices: so called "mobile internet devices"' (a vague category between a smartphone and a tiny laptop) and budget, smaller notebooks ("netbooks," "mini-notebooks," whatever you like), including the Eee PC 901 and MSI's Wind, with chips running from 800MHz to 1.86GHz, and an average power use of 160 to 220mW. As Jon at Ars sums up in his nitty gritty coverage, it's not quite "there" yet, but it's just a foot in the door for Intel.
AMD
I've been feeling so bad for AMD lately. Hopefully, its just-launched mobile platform, Puma, will help start turning things around. Its CPU soul is a Turion X2 Ultra, which has the nifty feature of adjusting power levels on the fly for each core. Another winning aspect is the integrated Radeon 3000 graphics, which AMD believes totally pwns Intel's, with three times the 3D performance and five times the HD quality (maybe something useful came out of the AMD/ATI merger after all?) Also, it can flip between using integrated and discrete graphics to save juice or ramp up performance. Tom's Hardware isn't too hot on it, though.
Nvidia
Nvidia is a relative noob in the mobile platform space, with Tegra being its first real charge. It's a system on a chip, with memory, a graphics processor, a CPU (from ARM) and more on a single chip. While they reference Intel's Atom a whole bunch, it's not really a competitor--these are just for more of those mobile internet devices. No hard products use it yet, either, but here are some videos depicting what Nvidia's got in mind. Neat, but I'm not sure who's gonna buy 'em. Also, new 9M notebook graphics cards--faster than the 8M series that's in decent notebooks now, we mayyyy see 'em in new MacBook Pros in August (crosses fingers).
Via
Via's Nano processor follows up the C7 used in stuff like the OQO UMPC and Cloudbook. It's mo' powerful, but it also uses more juice than the C7 or Intel's Atom. So, as Ars points out, it doesn't quite compete with Atom, just cause of the power differential. That's cool though, since Via's planning on using the Nano to break into powering bigger, badder notebooks that'll do HD video, and the C7 isn't going anywhere. You might see it replace the C7 in some stuff though, like HP's Mini-note, since physically it'll fit anywhere the C7 did.
That should bring ya up to speed.
Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about chips, Pringles or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line. [Giz Explains]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
PipeRifle
Posted 4:33 AM 5/6/08
I propose these new UMPC subportable ultramobiles be consolidated under the heading STAB-FLABTAC.
Smaller
Than
A
Big
Fullsize
Laptop
Although
Bigger
Than
A
Cellphone
PipeRifle
Rabid Penguin
Posted 4:33 AM 5/6/08
@frigg: So are you saying that no one is stalking me, or everyone is but now they're no longer referred to as stalkers? Now more than ever I need that list.
And one other thing, your statement assumes that there was a point, before now, at which I perceived my followers to be individuals... that is simply not true.
Rabid Penguin
ps61318
Posted 4:32 AM 5/6/08
@frigg: duuuuuuuude.
ps61318
shamoononon
Posted 4:30 AM 5/6/08
test
shamoononon
hargulf
Posted 4:29 AM 5/6/08
my head isn't spinning, but my stomach is churning from the phrase "buckets of chip splooge". Thanks Matt.
hargulf
frigg
Posted 4:26 AM 5/6/08
@Rabid Penguin: John Mayer here.
I believe I can answer your question. Your followers haven't abandoned you. Once you acquire enough of them, you loose the ability to perceive them as individuals. Cool, huh?
frigg
shamoononon
Posted 4:18 AM 5/6/08
@Rabid Penguin: I noticed that too, because i usually return the stalking favor.
shamoononon
mr_oshodi
Posted 4:14 AM 5/6/08
Computer Architecture 101 for the 21st century from Giz huh??
mr_oshodi
Rabid Penguin
Posted 4:13 AM 5/6/08
I have a question: Why are all my followers gone? I'm running a Pentium-D here at work; Could that be the problem? Please fix this Giz. I like to keep up on who's stalking me.
Rabid Penguin
Sheemo44
Posted 4:58 AM 5/6/08
zomg all of these tiny laptops are blowin my freakin mind!
Sheemo44
Joseph
Posted 4:58 AM 5/6/08
@Rabid Penguin: Don't worry buddy, I'm still following you!!!
Joseph
fly boy
Posted 4:44 AM 5/6/08
@ooooh mysterious new name: new Shamaoo - how did you change your name - that's clever that is.
fly boy
fly boy
Posted 4:42 AM 5/6/08
@Rabid Penguin
fly boy
PipeRifle
Posted 5:22 AM 5/6/08
@aec007: A good acronym needs to be pronounceable!
PipeRifle
Rabid Penguin
Posted 5:15 AM 5/6/08
@Joseph: I looked over your friend's list and I don't seem to be on there... I'm both insulted and relieved at the same time.
Rabid Penguin
aec007
Posted 5:15 AM 5/6/08
@PipeRifle:
Why not call them ONHWL?
Obsolete
New
Hardware
We
Lust
After all, by the time these gadgets hit the streets, they are already obsolete with something better on the very near future.
:)
aec007
Joseph
Posted 5:41 AM 5/6/08
@Rabid Penguin: You're on my first page
Joseph
Rabid Penguin
Posted 6:06 AM 5/6/08
@John Mayer: Wait a second... you said I won't need a reservation, not that I wouldn't have to pay anymore... That actually explains a lot of my run-ins with the law lately... thanks again!
Rabid Penguin
Rabid Penguin
Posted 6:04 AM 5/6/08
@Joseph: Yeah, I see myself there now... how convenient. I accept your apology ;c)
@John Mayer: That is good new. I had already stopped paying for the Moons Over My Hammy® I eat every morning, and now I know that it's okay.
Rabid Penguin
Tired_
Posted 6:01 AM 5/6/08
I've been hearing about how good Isaiah/Nano will be for months now...is it vaporware (hard-vaporware?), or are they actually planning to ship it at some point?
Tired_
trendspotter
Posted 5:50 AM 5/6/08
I'm excited for the MSI Wind :D
trendspotter
frigg
Posted 5:49 AM 5/6/08
@Rabid Penguin:
"So are you saying that no one is stalking me, or everyone is but now they're no longer referred to as stalkers?"
John Mayer here.
Get used to it buddy. They're called fans. Basically, assume everyone is, except if they call you a douchebag on the internet. That's their way of telling you they're a superfan, but have to hide it in order to mix with regular fans who only regular love you.
Good news: you'll never need another restaurant reservation as long as you live. Bad news: the ones that camp outside your house, you have to call them fans too, except you roll your eyes and smile a self-deprecating smile (you may need to practice this… we all do) when you say it.
"And one other thing, your statement assumes that there was a point, before now, at which I perceived my followers to be individuals... that is simply not true."
That's just how good the system works. Once you've lost the ability to perceive others as individuals, you also loose any memory of having done so. Trust me, it just makes it easier that way on everyone.
Cheers,
John Mayer.
frigg
frigg
Posted 6:42 AM 5/6/08
@Rabid Penguin: John Mayer here.
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that run in with the law thing. Basically, the important thing to know is that when you need to bump up your booking on Larry King, you'll need to have one.
If, on the other hand, you're in no mood for Larry King's body odor, and therefore have no use for jail time, just whisper in the ear of whoever's being a bitch about your bill "I suppose we should keep pretending that you're actually making me pay for this so your coworkers don't catch on that you're the regional co-chair of my fan club, and if you're not, I can make that happen..."
Trust me, the next thing you'll hear is "don't worry about the bill, babe, this one's on me." Usually followed by some kind of brief fluid exchange in an employee bathroom.
Welcome to the club,
John Mayer
frigg
craig
Posted 6:41 AM 5/6/08
Holy cheerist...when did Gizmodo become freaking MySpace?
But back to the post: Thanks, Giz, for a nifty roundup. Personally, I think nVidia's Tegra has a lot to offer, especially for the rapidly increasing Internet-enabled class of PMPs (think Archos' and Cowon's big daddies). Yum!
craig
wolf-zhang
Posted 6:38 AM 5/6/08
Intel's delay makes lenovo has to postpone it's new T series line. Hate it!!!!
wolf-zhang
tegronin
Posted 8:24 AM 5/6/08
i <3 giz explains series
tegronin
arrgh406
Posted 10:10 AM 5/6/08
what aboout VIA's Isaiah platform?
arrgh406
matt buchanan
Posted 1:33 PM 5/6/08
@arrgh406: It was re-branded as Nano.
matt buchanan