Intel unveils Atom chips

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RE: Intel unveils Atom chips: The answer to your question has two parts.

First, the clock speed is irrelevant unless you're comparing two chips of the same design. Long, long ago, it used to make sense, because chips generally processed one instruction per clock cycle -- or less. These days, they process multiple instructions per clock cycle, and what matters are how many of your program's instructions can they process in a given period of time. That includes such things as how much time they have to wait for memory, how many instructions they can process in a single clock cycle, and other factors.

The other part of the answer is the speed/power ratio. A processor that is, perhaps 1/2 of the speed, but consumes 1/4 of the power when running at full speed, is, in many applications, twice as good. Actually, it can be more than that -- it can make the difference between a viable product and something that simply consumes too much power to be practical.

Also, while slower speed does mean it takes longer to accomplish a given bit of work (latency), so long as the latency is low enough for the application (say, if it's fast enough to deliver a frame of video to your phone screen every 1/60 of a second), then more speed often doesn't have much value. And in applications where there's a lot of work to be done (such as servers), often the best strategy is to use LOTS of slower, less power-hungry processors..

Having different options in the space of speed and power is a good thing, because it allows designers to choose a processor that best meets the need of the application.

One way to think about this is that what this processor enables is smaller, lighter devices, because it will allow smaller, lighter batteries. For some people, and some applications, size and weight are the main concern, not performance.

For a laptop, I'll take blisteringly fast, and put up with blistering heat and ponderous weight. My wife, however, makes the opposite trade-off. We each have good reasons for our choices.; Posted by: bob.kerns2 Posted on: 04/03/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use