A brief mention of the Atom for 2013

[stmok]

The Atom is rarely mentioned, so I might as well put something up.


The following roadmap is from here...
=> http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=24296



We know about Haswell on the desktop. See other thread.

Article notes that an Intel engineer has confirmed that "Valley View" (next iteration of their Atom processor line), will go back to their own graphics solution.

Right now, "Cedar View" specifically uses PowerVR SGX545 IGP (Marketed as Intel GMA 3600/3650 series). In fact, this has caused Intel some serious driver issues. So you end up with something that doesn't work well under Windows or Linux. Some OEM's like Zotac decided to slap on a low end Geforce GPU alongside the Atom and not bother with the IGP. See their ZBOX ID80 and ZBOX ID80 Plus models.

Valley View is a die-shrink of Cedar View (32nm to 22nm), with Ivy Bridge based graphics in-place of the driver problematic SGX545-based IGP. It will support up to 4 cores, Turbo mode, 8GB RAM, and will have native USB 3.0

[trackhappy]

The first Atom that won't be useless?

This could get interesting.

[SLATYE]

Originally Posted by trackhappy

The first Atom that won't be useless?

This could get interesting.

Considering this stuff is due for 2013, it'll be pretty 'useless' by the time it's released. By that time 4GB of RAM will be standard even on low-end systems (so 8GB only allows doubling the normal RAM), as will USB 3.0.

With that said, Atom has always been 'useless' compared to desktop CPUs, and yet it's clearly selling pretty well - I'd guess that well over 90% of the world's netbooks include Atom CPUs.

[Mr Bubbles]

if i was getting a netbook or nettop today it'd be based on AMD E-450.
However it looks like in 2013 the Intel option might be better.

[stmok]

Originally Posted by Mr Bubbles

if i was getting a netbook or nettop today it'd be based on AMD E-450.
However it looks like in 2013 the Intel option might be better.

I shall provide you with a general picture of 2013.
(Based on what I know so far from Intel and AMD.)


2013: Intel's Valley View vs AMD's Kabini
* Both sides will have up to 4 core versions.

* Intel isn't going to change Atom's architecture. (It will still be in-order execution).
* AMD is re-doing theirs by replacing Bobcat cores with the newer Jaguar cores.

* Valley View's IGP will be based on Ivy Bridge's IGP.
* Kabini's IGP will be based on Graphics Core Next (GCN).

* Valley View will be using Intel's 22nm "3D transistor" manufacturing process.
* Kabini will be manufactured in 28nm Bulk process. (TSMC again?)


Intel isn't likely to be switching to out-of-order execution for their Atom until they transition to the 14nm process. (AMD will also do 14nm with "3D transistors" if that tri-group IBM/Samsung/GlobalFoundries gets things running on time. They have already done test wafers this year.)

[Danthemanz]

I really dont want any new features in the Atom other than an out of order engine.
Until they do that they arent going to get any faster.
We are still looking at the same performance as the original Atom, maybe slightly higher clocks and lower power usage but the chip was too slow to run Windows nicely 2 years ago, in two years time its not going to be better

[stmok]

Originally Posted by Danthemanz

I really dont want any new features in the Atom other than an out of order engine.
Until they do that they arent going to get any faster.
We are still looking at the same performance as the original Atom, maybe slightly higher clocks and lower power usage but the chip was too slow to run Windows nicely 2 years ago, in two years time its not going to be better

When it comes to the Atom, Intel's primary direction doesn't seem to be aiming against AMD's low-end APU line. They're focusing against what they see as the bigger threat (long term) to their entire x86 existence. That is ARM.

ARM solutions are climbing up and becoming more capable. Currently, they totally have the smartphone market (~93% from the last I've seen). What they don't have is performance. This is what they're gradually going to address as they go through Cortex A9 and then to Cortex A15. They want to start eating into the server and desktop/notebook markets in the long run. (We're talking in about 5 to 10 years.)

Intel has a different issue. It has the performance, (Intel's Atom at 1.6Ghz is more than a match for the Cortex A9 in a core to core basis); but it doesn't have the power footprint the customers want. This is what they are aggressively attacking via manufacturing technologies and power saving research.

Now when you frame Intel's approach to processor design and manufacturing, their current paradigm is to not change the processor architecture too greatly if they are shrinking the die. For their mainstream lines (Celeron/Pentium/Core-i series), this is their tick-tock release model.

At this time, they're just die shrinking the Atom core and nothing more. They are gunning to be a rival of ARM by addressing their biggest weakness. But this is at the cost of competiting against AMD's low-end APUs. Its a compromise they're willing to take, if it means the possibility of lots of smartphones, tablets, etc using Intel x86 cores in the long term.

[stmok]

Intel Valleyview 2 clock speeds and more unveiled
=> http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-va...led/15375.html

It would appear the nettop variant will be quad-core, up to 1.9Ghz, and its Ivy Bridge based IGP will be clocked up to 667MHz. TDP is expected to be 10W.

[stmok]

Leaked Valleyview slides detail next-gen Atom SoC
http://techreport.com/discussions.x/23484

It will use Ivy Bridge's IGP architecture (4 execution unit version). Like Ivy Bridge, it also has decoding and encoding circuitry. They've also added addition acceleration circuitry from Imagination Technology to support JPEG and VP8 formats.

There will be single and dual channel memory versions. ECC support is only available in single channel.

The netbook/nettop version will be available in dual- and quad-core models. They run at 1.7Ghz or greater. They'll top out at around 2Ghz. (Nothing is certain yet, because they estimate it can go up to 2.4Ghz.)


So I guess its good news for Linux oriented developers because Intel will get rid of that incompatible PowerVR-based IGP crap! (ValleyView is being supported as we speak, since the folks at Intel's Open Source Center are making regular contributions to the open driver.)

[figrin]

Interesting that they still have that Imagination decoder in. I guess full open software is still out of the question.

But woot, finally an out-of-order atom that doesn't fully suck, on a single SoC package, hurry up and launch it Intel (in a Win8 pro tablet)

[stmok]

Sorry, "Valley View" is still in-order execution. Its just a 22nm die shrink of the existing "Cedar Trail" Atom processor with a neutered version of Ivy Bridge IGP...Replacing the crappy PowerVR IGP.

Intel won't do out-of-order execution for the Atom until 14nm die shrink.

[figrin]

Don't think so, even the original slide say silvermont:
http://www.expreview.com/20979.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6203/d...ridge-graphics

This is not a die shrink, it's a whole new architecture

[stmok]

Originally Posted by figrin

Don't think so, even the original slide say silvermont:
http://www.expreview.com/20979.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6203/d...ridge-graphics

This is not a die shrink, it's a whole new architecture

I get it now...Damn codenames.
=> http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/...s-and-tablets/

Silvermont is the CPU part of the Valley View. I wondered why the Intel engineer I was talking to said it was a die-shrink of Cedar View?
(He's working on the open Linux driver at Intel's Open Source Technology Center in China.)

[stmok]

Leaked Intel Atom Tablet Roadmap – Bay Trail-T & Valley View-T Detailed
=> http://mobilegeeks.com/leaked-intel-...ew-t-detailed/






2014...The next evolution of the Atom for tablets: Valley View-T.
=> Out-of-Order execution (Silvermont cores).
=> Quad-core.
=> Clockspeed: 2.1Ghz.
=> Ivy Bridge-based IGP.
=> 22-nm manufacturing process.
=> Two-channel LPDDR3-1067 memory.

[oclockforlyfe]

Thanks for the updates, stmok.

I think that I will eventually replace my Core 2 Q6600(95W) with a quad atom(Silvermont). My Q6600 is on idle about 90% of the time, about 16 hours a day. That is something an Atom would be good for.

But 2014 is such a long time away. Right now there is a hyperthreaded quad i7 that runs at 45W. But if in 2014, if the i7 can go as low as 25-30W, then I would probably pick the i7 for the extra performance.

I currently have an N2600 Atom(32nm) in my netbook, dual-core and hyperthreaded, at 3.5W, and it is useable(for me anyway). The link shows that Silvermont(22nm) has 50-60% better performance than Clover Trail(32nm), and if it can run at < 7W, that would be fantastic.