Intel ATOM N550 processor gets the green light

Netbooks in general aren’t known for their performances. Especially those in the 10 inch class can only handle basic tasks, lacking power when faced with multitasking or multimedia applications. That’s mainly because till recently, the hardware designed for them focused more on energy efficiency then power. But things changed lately and today Intel finally officially launched their Atom N550 processor.

This is in fact the first dual-core Atom designed for small laptops, 10 inchers included. Clocked at 1.5 GHz, with 512 KB L2 cache , this one comes with a TDP of only 8.5 W. In comparison, the mainstream N450 has 5.5 W, while the existing dual-cores found in other mini notebooks, like the D525 or D510 come with TDPs of 12+ W.

That will translate in better performance for netbooks, while still providing decent battery life.

We should expect a lot of N550 powered devices to emerge in the next weeks and hit the market in September. Not sure how much more expensive will they be over current 10 inch main steamers, but since they will (hopefully) be a lot snappier, I would definitely pay extra for them.

The guys at Intel claim the new machines equipped with N550 processors will be able to multitask and face HD content, both self-stored or on sites like Youtube or Hulu. And even some games, probably on an Nvidia ION platform. In fact, the much awaited Asus EEE PC 1015N, the first dual-core 10 incher with ION, will use the N550 processor. And now, since this one is official, we could hope it will hit the stores soon.

Also, we should see netbooks from all big brands boosting the N550, so look for a lot of updates and new devices in the near future.

Via Intel

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Tags: dual core ATOM, Intel Atom, powerful netbooks

Last updated: November 1, 2011 | Published: August 23rd, 2010 | Add the first comment!