As reported by Jenn, Rob and many others, Intel have finally introduced Ultra Low Voltage versions of the Core 2 Duo processors. As I’ve been writing about ULV processors a lot, its worth a little time to asses this news and work out where it fits in in relation to the other Intel developments that are going on.
The two new processors are the U7500 and U7600 (1.06 and 1.2Ghz) and they come in at the top end of the ULV processor range from Intel replacing the Core Duo (U2500 as in the brand new Flybook V5 and LG C1) and forming part of the new Santa Rosa notebook platform.
The two processors can utilise FSB bus speeds of up to 800Mhz and include new enhanced deep sleep (EDS), bus switching and other power-saving feature such as Display Power Saving Technology (DPST) 3.0
Its worth noting that these processors are really part of a notebook range from Intel because with processor TDP ratings of 10W, they will require large format batteries (50w/hr or more.) If battery technology had advanced in the last few years [Dennis has a very valid battery rant over at GottaBeMobile] we might have seen 50W/hr batteries on small UMPCs but as it stands today 50W/hr results in a battery pack too large and heavy for most UMPCs. Maybe we’ll see them in high-end 8.9″ devices later in the year but I wouldn’t expect to see then in mid-range ultra mobile PC devices.
For the ultra mobile PC market, we need to be looking slightly lower in the Intel range at the Core 2 Solo processors (which, unsurprisingly, have half the power rating!) but there is little known about these at the moment. We can expect 1.06 and 1.2Ghz budget (Celeron brand) and full-spec (Core brand) versions. In the Core range, the U2100 and U2200 processors were due for Q1 launch but haven’t appeared yet. There’s also no word about Celeron versions. Of course, the big question is, what processor is used in the UMPC-focused McCaslin platform. Is it a new 65nm, 800Mhz Santa-Rosa based ‘Core 2’ processor meaning it works with the X3000 GPU and contains a lot of power-saving technology (this is what Intel told me at CeBIT) or is it something that fits in with the Napa Refresh platform meaning i945 chipset and slightly older tech. There were a lot of reports of the Q1 Ultra showing an Intel 945 chipset so its all still up in the air.
My vote still goes for an underclocked Core 2 Solo processor with X3000 GPU.
