• On MovieTome: TRANSFORMERS 2 SPOILERS!
July 23, 2008 7:30 PM PDT

Intel quad-core mobile chip coming: Is it overkill?

Is four processing cores inside a laptop overkill? Probably not for gamers. Intel is expected to meet this insatiable need for speed when it rolls out it first mobile quad-core processor.

An Intel executive is on the record stating an August roll-out.

And this may happen sooner in August than later. System vendors may go public with information about the quad-core mobile processor as soon as August 11, according to sources. This is when other processors, such as the Core 2 Quad Q9650 (3GHz), are expected to go public.

Falcon Northwest already uses quad-core processors in its laptops

Falcon Northwest already uses quad-core processors in its laptops.

(Credit: Falcon Northwest)

Many of the details of the quad-core mobile processor are public already. At the roll-out for Centrino 2, Mooly Eden, an Intel senior vice president, said the quad-core mobile chip will have 800 million transistors and a 45-watt power envelope--10 watts higher than the 35-watt Intel mobile processors used today. "You'll see gaming machines and (mobile) workstations with more compute power than servers two years ago," Eden said.

The quad-core QX9300 chip will be part of the Intel Extreme series of mobile processors. HP's high-end Pavilion HDX gaming laptop line and Dell's Alienware unit both offer laptops with Intel Extreme mobile processors such as the X9000.

Last week, Intel announced the Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100, a dual-core mobile processor running at 3.06GHz.

So, is a quad-core mobile processor overkill? "Definitely not for our customers," said Kelt Reeves, president of enthusiast PC maker Falcon Northwest. "We've been putting quad-processors in (laptops) for a long time."

To date, Falcon Northwest has used desktop quad-core processors and currently uses a Q9550 quad-core chip, which has a 95-watt thermal envelope--unsuitable for a standard-size laptop. But Falcon Northwest quad-core laptops are typically "big power-hungry beasts that weigh twelve pounds," Reeves said. The upcoming mobile quad-core has half the power envelope of the Q9550.

Brooke Crothers is a former editor at large at CNET News.com, and has been an editor for the Asian weekly version of the Wall Street Journal. He writes for the CNET Blog Network, and is not a current employee of CNET. Contact him at mbcrothers@gmail.com. Disclosure.
Recent posts from Nanotech: The Circuits Blog
Micron to buy $400 million stake in memory maker
Chip forecasts head south
Micron to cut workforce by 15 percent, slash flash output
Eying solid-state drives, Seagate tries to quell fears
AMD deal triggers Intel license warning
Add a Comment (Log in or register) 6 comments
by ikramerica--2008 July 23, 2008 9:45 PM PDT
It's not overkill because these mobile chips are also used in various small footprint desktops, not least of which are the iMac and Mac mini models. Really, they should be classified as "low power" chips and not mobile chips, as they are applicable to any lower power/low heat/low noise product.
Reply to this comment
by gerrrg July 23, 2008 9:53 PM PDT
Everyone knows better. As processors improve, software can become incredibly sophisticated.

We've only just begun to enter the digital age, let's not assume that what we have is good enough.
Reply to this comment
by coryschulz July 23, 2008 10:34 PM PDT
Do you think these will get put into the iMac this October? I'm hoping so!!!
Reply to this comment View reply
by Raabscuttle July 24, 2008 10:00 AM PDT
I am reminded of when Time (or maybe it was Newsweek) called the original Pentium a "Hyundai with a jet engine" - saying that some particular processor is too much processor isn't anything new at all...
Reply to this comment
by Maccess July 28, 2008 12:10 AM PDT
It depends on the use. The trend in laptops is towards mid-power, but long battery life computers that are perfect for malling and surfing in Wi-Fi hotspots. However, I use a higher end laptop for work that is attached to multiple monitors. In this configuration I fully maximize the CPU with over a dozen applications running simultaneously. Undocked, however, I don't use as many applications, so the perfect use for a dual or quad core mobile CPU would be in a laptop with multi-monitor capability whose main use is as a desktop replacement, but is light enough without the dock to be almost an ultraportable.
Reply to this comment
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement
Resource center from CNET News sponsors
Business. Ready.
Sony VAIO® Professional PCs.

Click Here!
A new grade in mobility demands a new kind of notebook. And Sony delivers.Tough, portable and featuring up to 7.5 hours of battery life, VAIO® Professional notebooks are built for business. Learn more.

Click Here!
Built tough for business.

Learn more about the rigorous quality testing Sony puts its notebooks through.

Protect your investment.

Find out why VAIO® tech support recently won a Laptop Editors' Choice Award, July 2008.

Long battery life.

See how VAIO® PCs will keep you productive longer when on the road.

Travel light

Check out our ultraportable line-up, starting at 2.87 lbs.

PCs for every need.

Find out which VAIO® notebook is right for you.

About Nanotech: The Circuits Blog

Brooke Crothers was formerly editor-at-large at CNET News.com, an analyst at IDC (International Data Corp.) Japan, and an editor at The Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly (The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones), among other endeavors, including a recent hiatus from the tech industry when he co-managed an after-school math and reading center. Nanotech covers computer chip technology and how it defines the computing experience. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Nanotech: The Circuits Blog topics

Featured blogs

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right