Skip to main content

Intel Announces Three New Atom Processors

Chipmaking giant Intel has taken the wraps off three new Atom processors, aiming to push so-called netbook and net-top computing to new heights—all while using even less power. The new CPUs, codenamed “Pinetrail” by Intel, integrate memory controllers and graphics processors right into the CPU for improved performance, plus the chips are some 60 percent smaller than their predecessors. The chips intended for netbooks use 20 percent less power than Intel’s earlier Atom chips, and the versions aimed at net-tops use 50 percent less power.

Intel Pinetrail Atom (die)
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“The Intel Atom processor has fueled an entirely new category of computing over the last year and a half and we think the growth will continue for devices like netbooks and entry-level PCs built around basic computing and Internet usage models,” said intel PC Client Group corporate VP and general manager Mooly Eden, in a statement. We’re excited to be delivering the next-generation Atom platform and working across the industry as we head into a second phase of growth, powering innovative new system designs with better performance, smaller footprints and better battery life.”

The new chips include the Atom N450, which rolls in 512K of L2 cache and has a total power consumption fo 7 watts. The Atom D410 is aimed at desktop systems with 512K of L2 cache and 12 watts of power consumption, and the D510 is also aimed at desktops and ramps up to 1 MB of L2 cache and a 15 watts of power consumption. All three of the new chips run at 1.66 GHz, like previous Atom offerings. All the new Atom CPUs are build on Intel’s 45nm manufacturing process; the power consumption figures for the chips seem higher than previous Atom CPUs, but bear in mind they also include graphics and memory controllers, so the total power consumption foot print (and heat output) is considerably lower. Although the new CPUs probably won’t show dramatic performance improvements over previous generations, they will be a boon to netbook fans in terms of battery life.

The Pinetrail Atom CPU’s integration of graphics and memory controllers is another round of bad news for graphics developer Nvidia, which had been building its Ion platform as a high-performance drop-in replacement for graphics controllers on Intel’s earlier Atom processors. Since the new Atom CPUs all have graphics controllers baked into the chip itself, there’s no way for system manufacturers to buy graphics-free versions of the new Atom chips if they wanted to go with another graphics solution. This sort of product development strategy is the kind of thing that has the Federal Trade Commission suing Intel on antitrust grounds. That being said, Broadcom has already announced its Crystal HD technology is already validated for Intel’s latest Atom processors, enabling high-definition video playback, along with software support for Flash 10 and Windows Media Player 12.

Intel says the new Atom processors will be available to OEMs beginning in January, and more than 80 netbooks and other products based on the new Atom processors are already on the way from manufacturers like Dell, Asus, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, and others. Expect to see tons of products with the new generation of Atom processors on parade at CES in January.

intel Pinetrail Atom CPU
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
I’ve used Intel CPUs for years. Here’s why I’m finally switching to AMD
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D held between fingertips.

I've been using Intel CPUs for close to seven years. It started with the Core i7-8700K, but I moved on to the Core i9-10900K, Core i9-12900K, and most recently, the Core i9-13900K, all of which could have occupied a slot among the best processors at different points in time. But after so much time with Team Blue, I'm switching back to AMD.

It comes at an interesting time for Intel and the PC hardware community as a whole, which is currently abuzz about a particular article claiming that Intel is objectively "better" for PC gamers. That's not what this article is. Instead, I want to walk you through why I chose to use AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D in my gaming PC, and how I came to the decision.
Stability struggles
The Intel Core i9-13900K CPU Jacob Roach / Digital Trends / Digital Trends

Read more
Some Intel CPUs lost 9% of their performance almost overnight
Someone holding the Core i9-12900KS processor.

Over the past few weeks, we've seen an increasing number of reports of instability on high-end Intel CPUs like the Core i9-14900K. Asus has released a BIOS update for its Z790 motherboards aimed at addressing the problem, but it carries a performance loss of upwards of 9% in some workloads.

The most recent BIOS update from Asus includes the Intel Baseline Profile. This profile disables various optimizations that are automatically applied on Asus Z790 motherboards and runs high-end Intel chips within Intel's specific limits. Hardwareluxx tested the new profile with the Core i9-14900K and found that the CPU ran around 9% slower in multiple tests.

Read more
All of the exciting new GPUs still coming in 2024
Intel Arc A770 GPU installed in a test bench.

It's already been an exciting year for graphics cards, but things are really about to start heating up. A series of leaks and rumors over the past year suggest that Nvidia, AMD, and Intel will all launch new GPU generations in the back half of 2024, with the three graphics behemoths' offerings duking it out for a slot among the best graphics cards.

We've already seen graphics cards like the RX 7600 XT and RTX 4070 Super this year, but there could be many more in the tank. Although each of the three major graphics brands have confirmed that next-gen GPUs are on the way, none of them have laid out a specific timeline. So, with the understanding that these release windows are still speculative, these are the GPUs launching this year that we'll all be talking about heading into 2025.
Nvidia -- RTX 50-series (Blackwell)

Read more