Intel: New N450/D410/D510 Atom processors

The American chip maker Intel has released their new generation of Intel Atom processors for netbooks and entry level computers with 20% less energy use when compared to the previous generation.

Unveiled in March 2008, the Intel Atom range of low energy processors quickly found favour with most netbook manufacturers on the market, a sector which has kept its sales numbers up despite the economic crisis.

Compact and low energy use, the Intel Atom processor also meets the needs of new mobile devices, even finding its place among entry level computers by allowing their prices to fall below 200 dollars.

A new generation of Intel Atom processors (based on the Pine Trail platform) has now been released. They will have the same plan: compact and low energy use with a N450 chipset for netbooks, accompanied by a NM10 Express graphics processor. The other two processors are aimed more at entry level PC’s: the Intel Atom D410 and the dual core D510 are also paired with the NM10 Express graphics chipset.

Netbooks and entry level computers (nettops)
These new chips are still burned at 45nm, meeting the needs of entry level computers (micro-towers, without fan, integrated components), a field in which Intel is looking to quickly create a dominant position while continuing to build on the success of the netbooks.

Since its release, the Atom family has seen more then 40 million units sold, with it being anticipated that more then 100 million will be in circulation by 2011. The chip maker has built this success through partnerships with computer manufacturers, with more then 80 different models using the new Atom processors announced today.

While most of these devices will be shipped with Windows 7 Starter, Intel hasn’t forgotten to mention that an alternative in Linux Moblin v2 exists, made available by some manufacturers. Mobile carriers also haven’t been forgotten, as work has been done to better integrate 3G modems into the architecture. Carriers play a crucial role in the distribution of netbooks, subsidizing their purchase through mobile data subscription plans.
 
The new Intel Atom processors should consume 20% less energy compared to the previous generation, with the Intel Atom N450 chipset coming with 512Kb of L2 cache and a 7 Watt TDP (Thermal Design Power) in the Atom core.

The Intel Atom D410 has a single Atom core with 512 Kb of L2 cache, with a 12 Watt TDP, while the D510, a dual core Atom, comes with 1 MB of L2 cache with a 15 Watt TDP. All of the processors will run at 1.66 GHz, and will be available from the 4th of January 2010.