LAUNCHING VIA NEW LOW POWER QUADCORE NANO CPU
http://dervishcom.blogspot.com/2011/05/launching-via-new-low-power-quadcore.html
Via introduced the dual-core Nano usually 4 months ago, though the association is already demonstrating which processor’s large brother. The newly minted VIA QuadCore is–you guessed it–a quad-core processor which connects dual dual-core Nano cores in an MCM (multi-chip module). The new- thinly slice won’t essentially ship for the little months, though it might spin the higher-performance pick to both Atom and- Brazos when it does.
VIA’s share of the x86 marketplace is tiny in some-more aged to Intel as good as AMD, though Centaur, the company’s CPU pattern team, has been office building x86 CPUs for some-more than the decade. Centaur, led by the resolute Glenn Henry, has regularly focused upon intensely efficient, low-power processors.
When Via claims which Intel and- AMD have been following the trail it proposed upon fire in 2000, it has something of the point. Via’s strange Nano (codenamed Isaiah) processor, which launched in 2008, was the company’s initial out-of-order execution chip. Reviews valid which the processor could honestly contest with Intel’s Atom, though usually dual companies, Samsung and- Lenovo, brought Nano-powered netbooks to the US market.
When Via claims which Intel and- AMD have been following the trail it proposed upon fire in 2000, it has something of the point. Via’s strange Nano (codenamed Isaiah) processor, which launched in 2008, was the company’s initial out-of-order execution chip. Reviews valid which the processor could honestly contest with Intel’s Atom, though usually dual companies, Samsung and- Lenovo, brought Nano-powered netbooks to the US market.
Over the final 3 years, Via polished the strange Isaiah core, significantly mending the performance. The brand brand brand new QuadCore Nano is the many absolute processor Via’s ever built, though it retains the same concentration upon potency that’s been the hallmark of all of Centaur’s architectures.
The QuadCore incorporates 128K of L1 cache (64K instruction, 64K data), and- 4MB of disdainful L2 cache (1MB per core). One underline the brand brand brand new thinly slice lacks is an integrated mental recall controller; Via’s V4 bus, clocked during 1333MHz, links the CPU and- northbridge together. That’s the poignant step up from the dual-core Nano’s 800MHz FSB, though the new- thinly slice would still good from an IMC.
Centaur has additionally oven baked in the own performance-enhancing mode dubbed ‘Adaptive Overclocking.’ Despite the name, it doesn’t blank the CPU’s warranty. It’s VIA’s answer to Intel’s Turbo Boost or AMD’s Turbo Core; products with this underline have been labeled with the as good as sign. The QuadCore 1.2GHz+, for example, will run during up to 1.46GHz depending upon the CPU’s temperature, energy consumption, and- the series of cores now in use-. If the thinly slice becomes as good hot, the complement automatically drops at the behind of to 1.2GHz. When the thinly slice is idle, Via’s own energy charge modes flog in, serve shortening clockspeeds and- voltages.
Performance as good as Power Consumption
At 27.5 watts, the QC Nano’s rated TDP is significantly aloft than AMD’s Brazos chips (which have been rated during 9-18W) or Intel’s Atom (12-14W). That knocks the new- quad-core thinly slice out of the netbook/ultra-mobile market, though low-end notebooks mostly use- tools with identical TDPs. Performance is similarly critical here—quad-core hardware is usually tasteful if the additional dual processors suggest the some-more constrained experience. We weren’t authorised to run eccentric benchmarks; Via pitted the singular of their 1.2+ QuadCore’s opposite an AMD Brazos E-350 (1.6GHz). Both systems used 2GB of RAM and- ran Windows 7.
Results were mixed. The Nano was twice as quick as the E-350 in Cinebench R10, notwithstanding the Bobcat’s 400MHz speed advantage, though Bapco’s Sysmark 2007 showed Via violence AMD by the slim 5 percent. Synthetic tests tended to preference Via, GPU tests similar to 3DMark 06 swung at the behind of towards AMD. The dual system’s were neck-and–neck overall—Via won 3DMK6 by 5 percent—despite the actuality which it was some-more than twice as quick as Brazos in the benchmark’s CPU test. When it came to transcoding, Via won by twelve percent.
The QuadCore might have been fighting with the singular palm at the behind of the back, however. According to VIA, the QuadCore exam complement used the 1066MHz FSB instead of 1333MHz, and- relied upon VIA’s comparison Chrome 9HD integrated GPU instead of the Chrome 520 which routinely ships with the VN1000, which will be the chipset / launch height which will attend with the Quad-Core. Via’s formula indicate (we highlight which for the reason) which the 1.2GHz+ QuadCore Nano is 10-15 percent faster than Brazos, usually as Brazos is 10-20 percent faster than Intel’s 1.8GHz dual-core Atom.
Via claims the L4700 is the lowest-power quad-core upon the market, though the graph is an unconsidered sign which quad-core Llano is entrance soon. If AMD’s new- mainstream partial performs well, it could significantly plea Via’s quad-core Nano. Indeed, Llano will launch first; AMD’s APU is reportedly rising ‘very soon’, whilst VIA doesn’t design the brand brand brand new Nano to arrive prior to Q3. On the alternative hand, VIA’s production costs have been intensely low; QuadCore Nano could potentially carve itself the niche by undercutting Llano–or even Brazos.
Will Anyone Be Able To Buy It?
Via has had the really formidable time formulating movement around Nano. The complaint dates at the behind of to the CPU’s launch in 2008. HP formed their Mini-Note upon VIA’s C7 as good as reportedly had skeleton to make use of Via’s Nano in the subsequent iteration of the product. For whatever reason, which didn’t happen, and- Nano-based products have been couple of as good as distant in between in the U.S. The association hopes which the new- concentration upon mobile inclination and- low-power computing will assistance the QuadCore and- Nano X2 both benefit traction—particularly with users who similar to thin-and–light systems though wish the device which provides some-more oomph than the singular or dual-core Atom.
With any luck, the incident will begin to spin around once the new- QuadCore thinly slice starts shipping in volume. When all is pronounced and- done, the Nano has regularly been the some-more rival resolution than the sales total imply. Centaur is already operative upon the next-generation part; the subsequent CPU will entrance upon 28nm, will competition an overhauled, softened core architecture, and- will soak up alternative functions–a deceptive word we’d gamble includes an integrated mental recall controller—or even the GPU.
