First Look: Intel's Atom CPU
We had a short time to test a mini-ITX Gigabyte GA-GC230D motherboard equipped with a 1.60 GHz Intel N230 Atom CPU. The motherboard is HyperThreading compatible and includes 945G/ICH7 support. The large heat sink, which is covered by a fan, cools only the processor chip. The processor’s FSB speed is 533 MHz; it has 512 KB of Level 2 cache and is HyperThreading compatible.
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Well that was kinda expected. We were told the Atom would perform around about the same as a 900mhz Pentium 3.
What happened to the power savings comparison?
what a pointless waste of time?
Surely this chip is designed to compete with low power chips... so why not compare it to low power chips? maybe the VIA competition? actually show people power draw etc...
I also find it amusing that the northbridge on the board seemed to need more cooling than the processor? which would suggest it gives out more heat... in which case maybe a better replacement should be available>?
I concur with gow87. What is the point of having a review on the Intel Atom if you don't compare it with low-powered CPUs? The Intel Atom was designed for UMPCs, Netbooks, and Ultraportables. Where's the emphasis on power consumption? Comparing it to an "underclocked" dual-core CPU isn't even a very good comparison.
What we should be getting is real-life application performance, and practical applications of the Atom's capabilities.