Nanotech - The Circuits Blog

Updated at 4:30 p.m. PDT: adding Windows 7 and Celeron processor information.

There's a new $299 laptop in vogue at stores--and it's not a Netbook.

Toshiba 15-inch Satellite has bounced around in price from $299 to $329

(Credit: Best Buy)

These laptops sport big screens, optical drives, plenty of memory, and reasonable graphics horsepower. In other words, this is nothing like a $299 Netbook.

And, in case you haven't noticed, they sell out quickly. The $298 Wal-Mart laptop was gone before most people could reach for their wallet and the Best Buy $299 Acer laptop vanished almost overnight once the price went viral.

Best Buy chimed in again very briefly for a few days (during the week of August 3) with a $299 Toshiba laptop sporting a 15-inch screen but then bumped the price up to $329.

But whether it's a $298, $299, $309, or $329, it's a laptop design that has landed. And it is a real competitor to the 10-inch Netbook, which costs about the same.

Here's the challenge: a lot of the Netbook's appeal is price. If retailers offer something with more robust hardware in the same price range, these tiny laptops are at risk of ... Read more

A letter from The Securities and Exchange Commission to Intel is not likely to inspire a future episode of "24."

The June 4, 2009 letter (originally marked "confidential") to Intel from the SEC states: "We are aware of a May 2008 news report that PCs in Cuba contain your Celeron processors. Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria are identified by the State Department as state sponsors of terrorism, and are subject to U.S. economic sanctions and export controls."

Intel Celeron chips in Cuba: paging Jack Bauer? Probably not.

The letter continues. "We note that your Form 10-K does not include disclosure regarding contacts with Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria. Please describe to us the nature and extent of any past, current, and anticipated contacts with the referenced countries, whether through distributors, resellers, licensees, or other direct or indirect arrangements."

The letter was cited earlier in The Wall Street Journal.

And what kind of computers are we talking about exactly? (It would strain credulity, I think, to cue in a Jack Bauer narration--"The following takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m"--here.) The SEC letter offers this:

"The Cuban PCs have Intel Celeron processors with 80 gigabytes of memory (sic) and 512 RAM and are equipped with Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. Both could be violations of a U.S. trade embargo, but not something Washington can do anything about in the absence of diplomatic relations with Havana. Clerks said the PCs were assembled by Cuban companies using parts imported from China."

Maybe there's more to this than meets the eye but a lowly Celeron chip (one of Intel's bottom-of-the-performance-barrel processors) is hardly the chip to designate as a threat to national security. In short, data-crunching server farms--assuming they exist--in Cuba are not built with Celeron processors.

For the record, an excerpt from the Intel response is as follows: "Intel has no business contacts with the Subject Countries, either directly or indirectly through tacit agreement with its customers. Intel does not provide products or technology to the Subject Countries...."

A more productive line of inquiry--by another U.S. government agency--might be: Where on the world market might these countries be buying sophisticated multiprocessor computer hardware based on, for instance, the newest high-end Intel Nehalem Core i7 processors?

Now, there's an idea for a future "24" episode.

Updated on January 19 at 8:15 a.m. PST with additional information throughout.

On Sunday, Intel instituted broad price cuts on processors, spanning the Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo, Pentium dual-core, Celeron, and Xeon product lines.

Some of the cuts are in response to Advanced Micro Devices' recently-introduced Phenom II "Dragon" desktop platform. AMD's Phenom II X4 940 (3.0GHz), for instance, is priced at $275.

Intel cuts were concentrated on quad-core chips like the Q9650 (3.00GHz), reduced 40 percent, to $316 from $530, to counter AMD's Phenom II. But Celeron processors received some of the largest reductions. The mobile Celeron 570 (2.00GHz), was slashed 48 percent, to $70 from $134, for example.

Some Xeon processors also received hefty cuts. The price on the X3370 (3.00GHz), for instance, was cut 40 percent to $316 from $530.

The Pentium dual-core E5200 was reduced 24 percent to $64 from $84.

The mobile Core 2 Duo P8600 was shaved 13 percent, to $209 from $241. The P series of mobile Core 2 Duo processors have a thermal envelope (Thermal Design Power or TDP) of 25 watts versus 35 watts for mainstream mobile chips.

Intel also introduced new processor models such as the desktop Core 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz), priced at $133 and the Core 2 Quad Q9550s (2.83GHz), which is a low-power variant--with a thermal envelope of 65 watts--of the 95-watt Q9550.

Intel updated its processor pricing list with low-cost quad-core and Core 2 Duo desktop processors. A new Celeron D model was also listed.

Intel lists the Q8200 at $224, one of the least expensive quad-core chips that the company now offers. The venerable Q6600 is the only Core 2 Quad that is less expensive.

The 45-nanometer processor has a core clock speed of 2.33GHz and 4MB of cache memory. This is a relatively small amount of cache memory as most Intel desktop quads offered now come with 6MB, 8MB, or 12MB of cache memory. Generally, the more cache memory the better the performance.

The chip has a front-side bus speed of 1333 MHz. The front-side bus carries data between the processor and other silicon.

Intel also shows a new E series Core 2 Duo processor. The E5200 is priced at $84, the lowest-cost Core 2 Duo chip on the list. It has a core clock speed of 2.5GHz, 2MB of cache memory, and an 800MHz front-side bus.

Intel also lists a new Celeron D processor for $53. The 450 slots in above the current 440. The 450 runs at 2.2GHz, has 512K of cache memory, and an 800MHz front-side bus.

The Intel processor pricing list was updated on August 31.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini had mostly upbeat news on Tuesday when the world's largest chipmaker reported solid earnings, but Atom processor issues and weakness in the flash memory business were recurring themes in the earnings conference call.

One of the most interesting comments made during the conference call on Tuesday by Otellini was about the Atom processor. "(Atom) is less than a third the performance of our Centrino (processor). You're dealing with something that most of us wouldn't use," he said.

Though he qualified this by repeating the mantra that Atom is "principally designed for Web access" and not something to do photo editing on, the comment crystallizes the challenge Atom presents for Intel. That is, the processor offers only mediocre performance and potentially cannibalizes a market that the longstanding--and higher-performance--Celeron processor has thrived in.

The cannibalization question was brought up by two analysts during the conference call, and Otellini responded this way: "We do not see (Atom) replacing Celeron. If you look at the Netbook products being built around Atom, they're all lower-priced, lower features, smaller screen size notebooks aimed at first-time buyers or second, third, or fourth machine in a household. We don't see any cannibalization."

Another challenge: Intel doesn't have a handle on the Atom market yet. In short, Atom is still a work in progress and it is not yet clear how big the market will be and how it will develop. Otellini said that he believes Atom is creating a new segment. But Atom plays in a very low-cost market segment that has the potential to drag down Intel earnings in the future. At least that was the tenor of many of the questions posed by analysts during the earnings conference call.

Intel has said from the beginning that Atom was designed to make money in low-cost segments, and CFO Stacy Smith repeated several times during the conference call that Atom has been factored into its forecast for better gross margins in the third quarter. "(Atom) is in the 58 percent gross margin that I've forecast for Q3," Smith said.

Otellini and Smith also addressed Atom shortages. "The supply constraints we're seeing with Atom are specifically the back end, the test constraints. We have plenty of die (chips). As demand's going up, kind of month by month, we're jumping to keep enough test capacity in place," Smith said.

"The other part of that is to make sure we have enough chipsets," Otellini added. And he went on to say that Intel has "been increasing planned production of Atom for this year and next (year) every forty days since last November. Not just in Netbook segments but also in embedded and consumer electronics segments."

Flash supply and upcoming Larrabee for workstations

Profit shortfalls in the NAND flash memory business have been weighing on Intel earnings for many quarters. Intel is trying to address this through supply constraints. "Taking some actions to limit the amount of supply growth in this environment. As you know the NAND pricing continues to be very weak, " Otellini said.

Responding to questions about DreamWorks Animation choosing Intel chips over those from Advance Micro Devices, Otellini said this is "reflective of a very competitive roadmap we have, not just in servers but also in workstations as Larrabee comes on."

Larrabee is a high-end graphics chip due in 2009 or 2010 and is expected to offer as many as 32 cores.

The Atom N270 processor got buried last week under the mobile Internet device PR juggernaut. But it may prove to be more popular initially than the high-profile Atom Z5XX series for MIDs.

As previously reported, the Atom Z500, Z510, Z520, Z530, and Z540 series of processors will go into handheld-size mobile Internet devices (MIDs) such as the Lenovo IdeaPad U8. Intel promoted the Z5XX series heavily at IDF because the chipmaker needs to jump-start a new category of personal computers that fit in your pocket. Whether consumers actually need these devices is a question that will be answered later this year.

Intel Atom, Celeron segmentation

(Credit: Intel)

The Atom N270 is quite different in this respect: It has a ready-made market. The N270 will go into an existing market segment--Netbooks--and will replace the popular Celeron in many cases, making this Atom potentially a high-volume chip. For example, currently, the Eee PC and Intel Classmate (technically Netbooks) use the Celeron. Versions of both these compact notebooks are slated to use the Atom. Based on Intel's description of the market, this category of Netbooks will use the N270 (see graphic).

Though the die (the actual processor inside the chip package) is the same for both the Atom Z5XX series and N270, the packaging and chipsets are different (see graphic). The N270 will use the 945GSE and 82801 (ICH7M) core logic. A version of this chipset (with 950 integrated graphics) is used in low-cost notebooks and desktops today. The Celeron has traditionally used the lower-end 915 chipset.

So, the way it shakes out is: the Atom Z5XX series for MIDs; the N270 (and upcoming processors) for Netbooks; the Celeron for low-cost notebooks. Note: the Atom Z5XX series includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub.

Intel Atom N270 processor platform

(Credit: Intel)

Via-based Everex gPC2

(Credit: Wal-Mart)

Intel's low-cost Atom processors will be at the core of inexpensive PCs. And inexpensive computers these days often come with Linux.

How do PC companies shave off the last hundred dollars or so to get to $299 or in some cases $199? Easy. They swap out Windows (pricey) for Linux (free).

Case in point: Home Depot, the home supply store, sells a Mirus-branded desktop with either Windows or Linux. Based on the same hardware, one model sells for $419, the other for $299. Can you guess which one is $299? That's a steep price cut--more than 25 percent--for the system with Linux. Inside the Mirius is a Celeron D 420, which lists for $34, the cheapest chip that Intel currently lists on its pricing Web site.

Linux-based PCs like this are prime real estate for Atom. Especially when reports this week cite the cheapest upcoming Atom processors (due in the second quarter) at below $30.

A likely high-profile candidate for Atom and Linux is the Eee PC. The Linux option allows resellers to keep offerings as cheap as possible. The current Eee PC at Newegg is priced at $349 with Linux and a Celeron M processor (the forerunner--from the standpoint of market positioning--to Atom).

Processors from Via Technologies also match up well with Linux operating systems such as gOS. Wal-Mart sells (online) an Everex gPC2 TC2512 desktop computer with a 1.5GHz Via C7-D Processor and Google-centric gOS for $199.

(Correction: gOS is a Linux distribution from "Good OS LLC.")

The Asus Eee PC is a candidate for the Atom processor.

(Credit: Asus)

Though Atom-based computers with Linux will be targeted at emerging markets, the success of the Eee PC in mature markets like the U.S. and Japan means that there is pent-up demand for stripped-down but practical PCs. "In emerging markets it will be a first PC. In mature markets, it will be a second or third PC within a household," said Dean McCarron, founder and principal of Mercury Research. Also, an Atom-based desktop could potentially go on the back of a monitor that is used in point-of-sale applications, McCarron said.

And don't overlook Via's C7 or low-end versions of its upcoming Isaiah processor being paired with low-cost computers with a Linux option. The V7 is slated for HP's upcoming HP 2133 Mini-Note PC and Isaiah is expected to garner a number of design wins in both ultraportable notebooks and desktops.

Though the HP 2133 may not be the best example of a low-cost PC (it is expected to come with Windows Vista Business, hiking the price to almost $750), expect Linux-based "Netbooks" (Intel's self-described category for small, inexpensive notebooks) to be less expensive than this.

Intel is expected to bring out new Core 2 Duo processors and a Celeron in the April-May time period, according to Chinese-language Web site HKEPC. These are minor models that do not constitute a major model rollout like the mobile Montevina processors due late spring or early summer.

HKEPC cites motherboard manufacturers as the source for this information.

New processors include the 45-nanometer 2.83-GHz Core 2 Duo E8300 (6MB L2 cache/1333-MHz front-side bus), priced at $163, the 2.53-GHz Core 2 Duo E7200 (3MB cache/1066-MHz FSB), priced at $133, and the 2.0-GHz Celeron E1400 (512K cache/800-MHz FSB), priced at $53. The E8300 is due in April, while the E7200 and E1400 are due in May.

Intel wafer with 45-nanometer die

(Credit: Intel Corp.)

The bigger roll-out will be the "Centrino 2" 45nm Montevina chips, according to a recent report from Taipei-based DigiTimes. This new family of processors will include the Core 2 Extreme QX9300 (12MB L2 cache, 45W), Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8 GHz, 6MB, 35W), and P8400 (2.26 GHz, 3MB, 25W), according to a separate report last month from DigiTimes. All processors will support a 1066-MHz front-side bus.

The 22mm sq. Intel CPUs--the same compact design used in the MacBook Air--will include the SP9400 (2.4 GHz, 6MB, 25W) and low-power SU9400 (1.4 GHz, 3MB, 10W). The 10W processors will support FSB speeds up to 800MHz.

For the most part, Intel has made public the details of Montevina mobile chip technology: the processors will be paired with the Cantiga GM and PM chipsets and Echo Peak silicon, a Wi-Fi and WiMax "combo module." WiMax, when the infrastructure is in place, will allow high-speed, long-range wireless broadband access.

An update to Turbo Memory, a technology for speeding hard drive data access, will also be offered. Last month, CEO Paul Otellini said that Montevina processors are already in production.