Intel ATOM Z6xx – new platform, better performance and battery life

Intel announced they are working on a replacement for their current Menlow platform, know for the Z5xx processors. The new line, called Moorestown, will feature CPUs coded with Z6xx and comes with a lot of goodies.

First, this platform is meant for mobile usage, so it will be a great fit for tablets, smartbooks and very compact netbooks, so do not expect it to replace the N450 + GMA 3150 architecture in standard mini-laptops. In fact, the Menlow was from the start the slowest of the Atom lines, but the fact that is offered HD capable graphics made it more versatile, at least in my eyes.

The new Moorestown chip is built on the 45 nm process and is x86 compliant; it will offer support for scalable frequencies that can get up to 1.5 GHz for smartphones and even 1.9 GHz for tablets and bigger devices in need of more power. The chip will also offer support for Wi-Fi, 3G and WiMAX and will work with a bunch of different operating systems, like Windows, Linux, Android, Meego or Moblin.

We know that the new Z6xx processors will be paired with the Intel GM600 graphic solution, which Chippy from UMPC portal easily summarizes as a GMA500 with twice the core speed (400 MHz, compared to only 200 MHz for the old one) and H.264 video encoding. This means the new platform will offer 1080p video playing and 720p video recording.

Moorestown platform: Z6xx processors + GMA600 graphics = better performance and battery life

We have no exact data on the improvements the new line will bring in terms of performance, but according to Intel, we should expect: “1.5-3x higher compute performance, 2-4x richer graphics, >4x higher JavaScript performance”. And this sounds pretty good, especially since it is offered with better energy efficiency. New mobile devices equipped with Moorestown and a 1500 mAh battery should be able to benefit to more than 10 days of stand-by, up to 2 days of audio playing and a couple of good hours of video.

That’s about it for now. Unfortunately there’s no info on when will the first devices with this new platform going to be available, but we hope it’s going to be sooner than later. So stay tuned, mobile gadgets like tablets and ultra-compact mini-laptops just received a huge breath of fresh air with this new platform and I for one can’t wait to see it in some real-life action. More details should be available in the near future, so stay tuned.

Source: Intel , via UMPCPortal

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Tags: Intel Atom, Intel Moorestown, touch tablet, ultra portable

Last updated: May 5, 2010 | Published: May 5th, 2010 | Add the first comment!