'Arrandale' chip will be an Intel laptop first

Updated at 1:30 p.m. PDT: adding information about Core i7, i5, and i3 branding.

Intel's upcoming "Arrandale" will be the first highly integrated chip of its kind from Intel and is expected to run the gamut of laptop designs, from ultrathin to mainstream.

Dell ultrathin Adamo: a category of laptops that will likely use a number of different Arrandale chips

(Credit: Dell)

Due by the fourth quarter, it will be the first Intel product to put two processor cores and a graphics function together in the same chip package. Intel covered the underlying architecture in a presentation at the Hot Chips conference in Palo Alto, Calif., this week and in a recent blog described the design, saying it "will be the basis of all upcoming new Core chips (Core i3, i5, and 7) over the next few months."

Arrandale will come under the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 brands, using the chipmaker's most advanced 32-nanometer technology (Intel chips are currently built on a 45-nanometer process) and will populate consumer and business laptops.

The compact chip, however, is not without its challenges. "A high level of integration is always a compromise. There's never a free lunch," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at investment bank Collins Stewart. "It's a question of how much performance you have to compromise to get that level of integration and low power consumption."

"There won't be a significant jump in performance, but price and power consumption will be lower," said Jon Peddie of president and founder of Jon Peddie Research.

Last month, Japanese-language technology Web site PC Watch published specifications for Arrandale and other upcoming Intel processors that were, PC Watch says, obtained from an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) computer manufacturer. It shows Arrandale coming in mainstream as well as low-voltage and ultra-low-voltage versions. The latter two classes of chips have typically gone into upscale svelte designs such as the Dell Adamo and Apple MacBook Air.

Arrandale-based chips, however, are expected to quickly go downmarket and bring Intel's new Core i "Nehalem" microarchitecture to the new category of laptops called ultrathins, which resemble the MacBook Air and Dell Adamo but are about half the cost.

A separate series of new chips for Netbooks, codenamed Pine Trail, will also appear by early 2010 and feature a high level of integration.

The first Core i7 mobile processors will arrive by September or October. This quad-core series, codenamed Clarksfield, will be for high-end gaming laptops and mobile workstations. (For the codename buffs who actually keep track of these things, Calpella is the platform for Clarksfield, Westmere is the platform for Arrandale.)

[ApplerPS3]

Which chip will be included in the Macbook Pro? That's what I'm keeping my eyes on. What I did hear on the topic however, is that those chips will boast significant performance increases.

[PizzleDizzle]

Whatever chip will allow Apple to artificially create the maximum differential in chip cost and and margin that viable to market to their loyal chumps. ;)

[philosfool]

For the time being, expect Apple to continue their current standard of using separate mobile GPU and CPU. The on-die graphics processor that intel offers will share RAM with the CPU rather than having its own graphics memory, which creates much slower performance, not to mention that intel's history with its GMA series of integrated graphics chips shows that the nVidia and ATI mobile GPUs are likely to be much better from a performance standpoint.

[SactoGuy018]

@philosfool,

Because of Apple's intended market for their MacBooks--which tends to be for more graphics-oriented users--expect Apple to continue to use a separate GPU for their notebooks, since a good number of MacBook/MacBook Pro users use the iLife suite to do multimedia editing--and multimedia editing does need the "oomph" of a separate GPU more.

[SunnyGuy53]

> Whatever chip will allow Apple to artificially create the maximum differential in chip cost
> and and margin that viable to market to their loyal chumps. ;)

Right. Those "chumps" that sit around dreaming up new ideas, instead of doing something useful,
like updating their virus software or downloading drivers. Or replacing cheap hardware annually.

Why buy a car, when you can get a horse cheaper? Chumps. :-)

Sunny Guy

[Mr. Dee]

Kinda confusing, but I think I can keep up.

[Thor92519]

I will bet the next major change in the whole mainstream mac line will go to the quad-core i7 mobile processors. Until that time macs will keep the core duo processors which are also very good processors. There would be little point for Apple to do anything else because moving to any other processor would almost be a sideways move. I will not update my computer at that point because it was not that long ago that I updated my mac but I could see a large number of professionals that could use that kind of processing power with the availability of so much ram that the higher end macs can utilize.

[cloudmatt]

integrate vid on the cpu...very interesting. Sounds good for laptops and net tops but keep it away from my power processors I like having a separate vid system in my tower

[thelemurking]

But who here is really satisfied with Intel graphics? Doesn't matter what chip the stick it on, Intel sucks at graphics.

[bluemist9999]

The only place I see this as being good is for netbooks and ultra-cheap budget laptops. For any desktop replacement laptop or desktop which can play somewhat recent 3D games, the Intel 3D graphics won't be nearly good enough. I like Intel's CPUs but their graphics are nowhere nearly as good as ATI or nVidia.

When I buy laptops, I avoid Intel "integrated graphics" like the plague, but it's already getting harder to find laptops which don't use their crappy graphics chipset. I hate to think of having no choice because Intel has built-in crappy 3D graphics.

[PizzleDizzle]

Sorry, AMD/ATI's fusion chip design have got to be superior to these Intel offerings.

[pentest]

Intel graphics blow chunks. My laptop has a Geforce 9700 GTS with 512 MB of dedicated RAM, for very little extra. Intel has enough heat issues as it is.

[pithenumber]

now we are forced to use Intel Integrated **** Graphics

so sad

[BulliSchnoffler]

So would you recommend to an old PC user that wants a MacBook Pro for university next year to catch one now or wait for the Arrandale?
I want to use it for everyday use as replacement for a desktop PC and sometimes for gaming.
What's the better choice?

[danielwsmithee]

If you don't need it until next year buy it then. If you need it now buy it now.