David Flynn21 August 2008, 8:00 AM
The pint-sized processor moves into multicore mode for low-cost desktops and a supercharged Eee PC netbook!
Mini-notes will gain maximum muscle next month when Intel releases its first dual-core version of the low-power Atom processor. The Atom N330 will roll off the lines in September and while it’s primarily aimed at low-cost desktops similar to the
Eee Box, Asus president Jerry Shen has already announced it will be dropped into a new flagship Eee PC netbook.
While Intel didn’t reveal the speed of the N330 it’s widely tipped to be the same 1.6GHz as the single-core N200 series with the L2 cache doubled to 1MB.
However, rather than bake both cores onto a single die, the package is expected to tie together a pair of N230 Atom processors in much the same way that Intel created its first dual-core and quad-core mainstream chips. This would create a larger package and explain why Intel’s primary target is the desktop market, for which it will issue the N330 alongside a new mini motherboard.
David Flynn is attending IDF Fall 2008 in San Francisco as a guest of Intel.