DailyTech - Intel's Dual-Core 9W "Yonah"

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Hardware Intel's Dual-Core 9W "Yonah"
Sven Olsen (Blog) - May 30, 2006 2:03 PM

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46 comment(s) - last by Clauzii.. on Jun 3 at 9:39 PM

Intel's embedded IA roadmap

Single digit TDP envelopes for all!

As if Intel needed any more reasons for people to like Yonah, the company just announced plans to build a 1.2GHz, 65nm Yonah processor with a 533MHz FSB and 2MB L2 cache. But here's the kicker, the processor has a TDP envelope of 9W. The new processor will sell under the name Intel Core Duo U2500.

Intel previously had a Pentium M Dothan SKU, the Pentium M LV 738, which had a TDP envelope of about 10W, but was a single-core processor. Both the Pentium M LV 738 and the Core Duo U2500 are BGA processors, meaning they are soldered directly onto the motherboard. These embedded processors are used for things like ultra portable tablets, UMPCs and Ethernet switches. The Core Duo U2500 should be available immediately.

Furthermore, Intel's roadmap reveals that 65nm Merom processors will also have Low Voltage variants. At the Intel Developer Forum earlier this year Intel representatives announced that Merom would have more robust features when it comes to power management. It certainly isn't hard to fathom that single digit TDP envelopes may become commonplace in the near future. Merom is expected to launch this August, although the Low Voltage variants of processors from Intel typically launch a few months after the main segments is announced.

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completly silent?

By mrwxyz on 5/30/2006 2:16:16 PM , Rating: 3

Would this allow for a completely passive cooled HTPC (and silent!)? 1.2Ghz isnt speedy, but it should be fine for a HTPC...

RE: completly silent?

By Hare on 5/30/2006 2:23:24 PM , Rating: 2

Yes. Cooling 9watts is trivial even with a small heatsink. And don't forget it's 2 x 1.2Ghz and mhz to mhz Yonah is faster than A64 or Pentium M. Oh, and no need for active PSU.

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RE: completly silent?

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 5/30/06, Rating: 0

RE: completly silent?

By Soccerman06 on 5/30/2006 2:38:57 PM , Rating: 2

Theres still a HDD that makes noise.

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RE: completly silent?

By shadowzz on 5/30/2006 2:41:48 PM , Rating: 4

Nope.

http://dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2499

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RE: completly silent?

By Mudvillager on 5/30/2006 2:41:48 PM , Rating: 2

heard of samsung's 32gb nand ssd?
think i read somewhere that it will be down to about $300 by the end of 2007.

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RE: completly silent?

By Hare on 5/31/2006 9:56:15 AM , Rating: 2

Besides non mechanical media I really doubt you could hear a suspended Samsung HD with acoustic management from over a meter's distance...

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RE: completly silent?

By caboosemoose on 5/30/2006 4:44:37 PM , Rating: 2

Incorrect. MHz to MHz, Yonah is slightly slower than Dothan - I've measured this myself and was a little disappointed.

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RE: completly silent?

By PT2006 on 5/30/2006 5:02:37 PM , Rating: 2

But these are dual core

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RE: completly silent?

By Hare on 5/31/2006 9:36:19 AM , Rating: 2

Nope. I really doubt you were the only one to get "proper" results. It is a fact that Yonah is faster than pentium M per Mhz. I've read at least 15 reviews and have empirical experiance.

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RE: completly silent?

By Johnmcl7 on 5/31/2006 10:52:49 AM , Rating: 2

Same here - I benchmarked a Pentium-m 533Mhz 2Ghz and a Yonah at 1.9Ghz (1.83Ghz with 5% overclock) - the Yonah was faster in every application I tested which were all single threaded running one at a time.

John

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RE: completly silent?

By tygrus on 5/31/2006 12:25:27 AM , Rating: 2

Does it switch of the second core off while running on batteries to keep TDP below 9w ?
Power and performance while connected to mains -vs- batteries ?

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RE: completly silent?

By Mudvillager on 5/30/2006 2:40:21 PM , Rating: 2

you wouldn't be able to watch high definition content at full fps.

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RE: completly silent?

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 5/30/2006 2:44:54 PM , Rating: 2

So? Who the heck is gonna watch HD Content on a system based off this anyhow?

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RE: completly silent?

By glennpratt on 5/30/2006 3:17:20 PM , Rating: 2

Umm, the original post was about an HTPC. You'd get annoyed not being able to watch HD pretty quick considering how much content there is.

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RE: completly silent?

By DRavisher on 5/30/2006 2:56:28 PM , Rating: 3

720p AVC should be fine if the decoder can use both cores. Maybe even more if you add a passive nvidia or ATI card that can help out a bit.

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RE: completly silent?

By Motley on 5/30/2006 3:48:17 PM , Rating: 1

Just drop in any nvidia card based on the last 3 generations and you should be just fine. Even 1080p content on my 3.4GHz only uses 10-15% CPU.

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RE: completly silent?

By goku on 5/31/2006 4:18:06 AM , Rating: 2

What program are you using to view your HD content?

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RE: completly silent?

By stephenbrooks on 5/31/2006 3:56:02 PM , Rating: 2

--[Just drop in any nvidia card based on the last 3 generations and you]--

...no longer have a 9W thermal envelope? :)

Seriously, I'm not sure I've seen many graphics cards designed for cool running, though perhaps they exist.

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RE: completly silent?

By Duraz0rz on 5/31/2006 12:12:45 AM , Rating: 2

If the HD decoder can take advantage of both cores, then it should be speedy enough.

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o_O

By Loser on 5/30/2006 5:19:48 PM , Rating: 2

just wait ayear and they'll start producing power instead of consuming

RE: o_O

By mforce on 5/30/2006 10:57:46 PM , Rating: 2

This was a good one . Pretty funny stuff . It seems Intel is like a fat guy who lost wieght after those hungry P IVs now it's all about low calories .
You show em' how it's done Intel , it consumes under 10 W and it still tastes yummy . No MHz to show off but you can't have them all can you ...

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RE: o_O

By sevendust62 on 5/31/2006 3:16:35 PM , Rating: 2

All the waste light from your overhead lighting and monitor, just recycle it with a solar cell.

And all the heat from your processor? Generate steam.

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RE: o_O

By Clauzii on 6/1/2006 4:22:45 PM , Rating: 2

To begin with I laughed - until I realized that that's exactly what we should do :)

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omgomg

By Mudvillager on 5/30/2006 2:37:59 PM , Rating: 2

Droooool!

RE: omgomg

By rrsurfer1 on 5/30/2006 2:59:07 PM , Rating: 2

OK, well we can be glad your not in charge at Intel.

I can actually see so many uses for this chip it's hard to even begin. Soo many embedded applications.

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RE: omgomg

By rrsurfer1 on 5/30/2006 2:59:40 PM , Rating: 2

That was for the comment below.

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75 W?

By Clauzii on 5/31/2006 4:37:06 PM , Rating: 2

It seams to me a maximum 75 watt power supply should be able to power a whole machine then.

RE: 75 W?

By hstewarth on 6/1/2006 11:28:20 PM , Rating: 2

At 75W this would make a perfect - lite 1U server. Very low maintiness.

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RE: 75 W?

By Clauzii on 6/3/2006 9:39:35 PM , Rating: 2

Just my thought too, actually :)

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Why don't some topics show on RSS?

By ET on 5/31/2006 6:41:27 AM , Rating: 2

I tend to follow DailyTech news through my google home page. However, it seems that not all news shows up there. For example this news item doesn't show. What's the deal?

RE: Why don't some topics show on RSS?

By Hare on 5/31/2006 12:51:40 PM , Rating: 2

Don't know but this one is definately on my RSS live bookmark?

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9W max

By bombledmonk on 5/30/2006 4:21:20 PM , Rating: 3

I think some are also missing the point that this is 9W max, idle consumption will be much lower.

This type of processor is ideal for ultra portable notebooks and tablet PC's. I'm not really sure how anyone can call this useless. It is a very powerfull chip and could add tons of processing power where nobody is looking at the moment.

HiDef & HD noise

By smilingcrow on 5/30/2006 3:24:22 PM , Rating: 2

"you wouldn't be able to watch high definition content at full fps"

I wouldn't be so sure about that, dual 1.2 is pretty powerful. But anyway, once they release a 64 bit version of this that should help frame rates once Vista arrives. Also, don’t forget that integrated chipsets will have H.264 support soon, if I’m not mistaken.

As for quiet hard drives, use a laptop drive, they can be really quiet if you pick the right one.

HDD Silencers

By eckre on 5/30/2006 3:59:53 PM , Rating: 2

This HDD silencer is the only one that makes it QUIETER and COOLER. All the other ones seem to act as a oven, rather than a heat sink. Makes is a LOT quieter. Only audible while seaking, playing audio in a HTPC silent.

http://www.techniz.co.uk/modules.php?name=Reviews&...

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/silentmax_h...

...

By Clauzii on 5/30/2006 4:42:55 PM , Rating: 2

I really hate guys that think they'll need a BobCat to dig a 1x1 feet hole in the ground :)

Damn!

By Howard on 5/30/2006 11:56:53 PM , Rating: 2

You probably won't even need a heat sink at all to keep it in the operating temp range.

worthless

By SuperJesus on 5/30/06, Rating: -1

RE: worthless

By Hare on 5/30/2006 4:30:43 PM , Rating: 2

You did realize this was BGA. No one can buy it of the shelf. Of course companies want to buy a processor with a guaranteed TDP and mhz instead of downclocking available socket-cpu's.

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ZERO value to most consumers

By Beenthere on 5/30/06, Rating: -1

RE: ZERO value to most consumers

By TomZ on 5/30/2006 3:18:26 PM , Rating: 2

Benefits to consumers are devices like the following:

1. Low-cost, low-power embedded devices
2. Ultra/mini-PC's
3. Silent media center PC's

I think the nearest competitor from AMD is a 35W model, although I'm not totally up-to-speed on all their offerings.

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RE: ZERO value to most consumers

By Griswold on 5/30/2006 4:41:41 PM , Rating: 2

The Turion MT-37 and MT-40 are both 25W TDP (which is probably around 20W if using Intels TDP scheme) running at 2GHz and 2.2GHz.

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RE: ZERO value to most consumers

By Griswold on 5/30/2006 4:43:04 PM , Rating: 2

These are single core though, got that mixed up.

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RE: ZERO value to most consumers

By smitty3268 on 5/30/2006 9:00:23 PM , Rating: 2

They also have an embedded memory controller, which means the motherboard would use less power than Intels. This is a pretty impressive chip, though.

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RE: ZERO value to most consumers

By TomZ on 5/30/2006 10:54:00 PM , Rating: 2

So you're assuming that the memory controller only would be more than 35-9 = 26W? Not!

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RE: ZERO value to most consumers

By Johnmcl7 on 5/31/2006 10:55:33 AM , Rating: 2

Intel also designed the chipset to be power efficient whereas the Turion processors have to make do with whatever VIA or Sis produce and even then it's not going to make a significant difference against the low wattage of the ULV processors.

John

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