FEATURES OF INTEL ATOM PROCESSORS

1 Small form factor cpu package

The new lead-free², halogen-free³ Micro-Flip Chip package is 60% smaller in netbooks (22x22 mm) than a notebook CPU (35x35 mm), saving system board real estate in a much thinner and smaller industrial design, enabling small netbook form factors.

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2 Intel® enhanced deeper sleep

Power consumption is central to this Intel platform, and they’ve made a lot of efforts in that department. Aside from the chipset, which consumes a lot of power in comparison to the processor, the Atom itself has many attractive functions.

C6 power state

In addition to the low voltage (1.05 V) CPU, the Atom also introduces a new standby mode, C6. As a reminder, the C modes (0 to 6) are low-power states, and the higher the number, the less the CPU consumes. In C6 mode, the entire processor is almost totally disabled. Only a cache memory of a few kB (10.5) is kept enabled to store the state of the registers. In this mode, the L2 cache is emptied and disabled, the supply voltage falls

to only 0.3 V, and only a small part of the processor remains active, for wake-up purposes. The processor can go into C6 mode in approximately 100 microseconds, which is quick. In practice, Intel claims, C6 mode is used 90% of the time, which limits overall power consumption (obviously, if you launch a program that requires a lot of CPU power or even watch a Flash video you won’t be in that mode).

We should point out, though, that the two chipsets to be used with the Atom N200s are power users: the Atom 230s use a i945GC that consumes 22 W (4 W for the CPU) and the Atom N270s ship with a i945GSE that burns 5.5 W (2.4 W for the CPU)

 3 Power-optimized front side bus

The Atom’s FSB is the same one used by Intel since the Pentium 4. It operates in Quad Pumped (QDR) mode with GTL signaling. An interesting point: The Atom uses another signaling technology – CMOS mode. GTL is effective (the bus can reach 1,600 MHz), but power-intensive, whereas CMOS allows the bus voltage to be reduced. Technically, GTL uses resistors to improve the quality of the signal, but they aren’t really necessary except at higher frequencies. With the Atom and its bus, limited to 533 MHz, it’s possible to change to CMOS mode – the resistors are deactivated and the bus voltage is reduced by half. At the moment, only the SCH chipset is capable of handling the FSB in CMOS mode

4 Intel smart cache

Cache is an important system that impacts overall system performance. A pc with larger cache allows more data to be accessible from that faster storage area, increasing performance and responsiveness. Processors with greater cache can benefit most applications-from running rich media titles and games to everyday productivity applications. Intel SmartCache increases the probability that each processor core can access data from the faster most efficient subsystem. Intel SmartCache allows each core to dynamically utilize up to 100% of available cache, while obtaining data from the cache at higher throughput rates

5 Low TDP

Low Thermal Design Power enables thinner, lighter, portable netbook devices as it reduces the cooling requirements.

6 Enhanced speedtech technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency, which can result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production. By decreasing power and heat on desktop PCs, system builders can (depending on system configurations) potentially lower acoustics, and even develop more innovative small form factor designs. Additionally, this feature can help address power concerns in companies with sites approaching the limits of bounded electrical infrastructures. Combined with existing power saving features, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology can provide an excellent balance between providing power when you need it and conserving it when you don’t

EIST ON

If Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology is enabled, two processor speeds will be listed. The first speed listed is the specified speed of the processor. The second speed is the current operating speed. The second speed will be less than the first speed. This indicates that Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology has effectively lowered the processor voltage and core frequency, which can (depending on system usage and design) result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production. If Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology is off, then both processor speeds will be equal If the processor is not in idle mode, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology can be enabled and both processors speeds can be equal.

EIST OFF