Talk has been brewing for years about getting integrated CPU and graphics onto the same chip. Now the major PC chipmakers are finally poised to make it happen. In the latest turn of events, and on the heels of unveiling the new Core i3 and i5 processors with their conjoined GPU and CPU designs, Intel says it’s aiming to bring the technology’s benefits down to the netbook level. HardwareCentral has the story.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Intel today announced three new Atom processors for netbooks and entry-level desktop computers along with a new chipset. While Intel is still targeting the low end of the performance scale, these new Atoms borrow a design idea from Intel’s new high-performance “Nehalem” family of processors.
The first Atom platform was a three-chip design with the CPU, the 945GSE chip that had memory and graphics controllers, and a third chip to handle I/O. With this new line of processors, the middle chip is eliminated and the graphics and memory controllers move onto the CPU die.
This is the same design concept as Intel’s new Core i3 and i5 processors, except those are for mainstream desktop and notebook processors. The new Atoms add these features without changing the size of the die or the thermal envelope, according to Anil Nanduri, director of netbook marketing for Intel.