Intel Atom

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Intel Atom Central processing unit
Produced:	2008
Manufacturer:	Intel
Max CPU clock:	800 MHz to 1.87 GHz
FSB speeds:	400 MT/s to 533 MT/s
Min feature size:	0.045 µm
Instruction set:	x86, x86-64
Cores:	1, 2
Package:	441-ball µFCBGA
Core names: Silverthorne Diamondville

Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of x86 CPUs (or microprocessors) from Intel, previously code-named Silverthorne and Diamondville processors, designed for a 45 nm CMOS process and intended for use in ultra-mobile PCs, smart phone and other portable and low-power applications.

Contents 1 Background 2 Architecture 2.1 Silverthorne 2.2 Diamondville 3 Future 4 Competition 5 See also 6 References 7 External links 7.1 Press

[edit] Background

Prior to the announcement, outside sources had speculated that Silverthorne would have competed with AMD's Geode system-on-a-chip processors, currently used by the One Laptop per Child project, and other cost- and power-sensitive applications for x86 architecture processors. However, Intel revealed on October 15, 2007^[1] that it is developing another new mobile processor, codenamed Diamondville, for OLPC-type devices.

Silverthorne will be sold under the brand name "Atom", while the formerly code-named Menlow platform it sits on will be sold under the brand name Centrino Atom.^[2] Intel's Atom press release only mentions "Diamondville" once and seems to imply that it too will be named "Atom".^[3] This seems to strengthen speculation that Diamondville is simply a lower-cost, higher-yielding version of Silverthorne with slightly higher TDPs at slightly lower clock speeds.^[4]

At Spring Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2008 in Shanghai, Intel officially announced that Silverthorne and Diamondville are based on the same microarchitecture. Silverthorne will be called the Atom Z series and Diamondville will be called the Atom N series. The more expensive lower-power Silverthorne parts will be used in MID devices whereas Diamondville will be used in low-cost desktop and notebooks. Several Mini-ITX motherboard samples have also been revealed.^[5] Intel and Lenovo also jointly announced an Atom powered MID called the IdeaPad U8.^[6] The IdeaPad U8 weighs a mere 280g and has a 4.8" touchscreen providing better portability than a netbook PC and easier Internet viewing than a mobile phone or PDA.

In April 2008, an MID development kit was announced by Sophia Systems^[7] and the first board called CoreExpress was revealed by a German company Lippert.^[8][9]

[edit] Architecture

Intel Atom implements the x86 (IA-32) instruction set (including x86-64); like many other designs it divides certain x86-instructions into simpler internal operations prior to execution, but to a significantly less extent (only ~4%) than in the Intel P6 and Intel P68 families. In the Atom, internal μ-ops can contain both a memory load and a memory store in connection with an ALU operation, thus being more similar to the x86 level and more powerful than the μ-ops used in previous designs. This enables relatively good performance with only two integer ALUs, and without any instruction reordering, speculative execution, or register renaming. Atom therefore represents a partial revival of the principles used in earlier Intel designs such as Intel P5 and the i486, with the sole purpose of enhancing the performance per watt ratio.

It has been speculated that the die space used to perform x86-decoding will put the Atom design at a disadvantage compared to other mobile architectures, such as the ARM architecture.^[10] The Moorestown platform which is the successor of the Menlow Platform will be a system-on-a-chip design that uses half the power of a Silverthorne processor. The reduced power consumption will make the platform more desirable for use in smartphones and other mobile internet devices.

Intel Atom processor family
Logo	MID / Ultra-Mobile PC			Classmate PC / Netbook / Nettop			Remarks
	Code-named	Core - TDP	Date released	Code-named	Core - TDP	Date released
	Silverthorne	solo (45nm) - 2W	Apr 2008	Diamondville	solo (45nm) - 4W dual (45nm) - 8W	Jun 2008*	Hyper-threading (HT) processors Netbook are for low-cost laptop Nettop are for low-cost desktop
*Date to be confirmed List of Intel Atom microprocessors

[edit] Silverthorne

On March 2, 2008, Intel announced the new processor (code-named Silverthorne) to be used in ultra-mobile PCs/Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) which will supersede Intel A100. The processor is a 47 million transistor, 25 mm², sub-3W IA processor which allows ~2500 chips to fit on a single 300 mm diameter wafer, allowing for extremely economical production.

A 1.8 GHz Atom processor's single thread performance is equivalent to its predecessor Intel A100 but should outperform it on applications that can leverage simultaneous multithreading, SSE3, and EM64T x64 extensions.^[11] It has a 0.6W to 2.5 TDP rating that can dip down to .01W^[12] when idle but that doesn't include the power consumption of the chipset. It features a 2-issue simultaneous multithreading, 16 stage in-order pipeline with 32KB iL1 and 24KB dL1 caches, integer and floating point execution units, x86 front end, a 512KB L2 cache and a 533MT/s front-side bus. The design is manufactured in 9M 45nm High-k metal-gate CMOS and housed in a 441-ball µFCBGA package."^[13][14]

[edit] Diamondville

On March 2, 2008, Intel announced the new processor (code-named Diamondville) to be used in Classmate PC/Netbook/Nettop. It is used in Intel's low-cost Mini-ITX motherboards (code-named "Little Falls").^{[15][16][17][18]} It will supersede Conroe L by using Diamondville as single-core Silverthorne core (4W TDP) or dual-core Silverthorne core (8W TDP) running at 2.2 GHz each.

[edit] Future

This section contains information about scheduled or expected future computer chips. It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final specification of the product.

The next generation of Atom "Lincroft" architecture which processor to be launched in 2H 2009, (code-named Pineview) will be used in Netbook/Nettop, and feature a system-on-chip (SOC) with integrated single-channel DDR2 memory controller and integrated graphics core. Pineview like Diamondville will be available in single and dual-core versions, feature HyperThreading, and most likely be manufactured on a 45nm process.^[19]

[edit] Competition

Nvidia launched its tegra line of processors in June 2008. The performance and power consumption of tegra processor is claimed to be better than Intel's atom^{[citation needed]}. Nvidia's Tegra CPU offering is based on the ARM RISC architecture, which uses a different instruction set to the x86-32 bit and AMD/Intel 64.

[edit] See also

• List of Intel Atom microprocessors
• Intel A100
• List of Intel codenames
• AMD mobile platform
• VIA Nano, formerly Isaiah
• VIA C7
• Comparison of subnotebooks

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Intel Atom Processor

[edit] Press

• Intel cranks 45nm ultramobile CPU. EE Times (2007-04-18). Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
• Intel reaches back in time for its ultralow power chips (2008-01-28). Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
• New Intel® Centrino® Atom™ Processor Technology Ushers in 'Best Internet Experience in Your Pocket' (2008-04-02).
• Intel's Atom Architecture: The Journey Begins (2008-04-02).
• First Look: Intel's Atom CPU
• Nvidia launches Tegra processors
• Intel, Nvidia Fight Over Gadgets - Forbes.com

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