UMPC CPU Overview Q1 2008

Intel

With the old Pentium-M long gone from the production lines the Celeron lives on as the low-cost Ghz-class processor option. The Eee PC has undoubtedly given it a last chance on the production line but the end is nigh for this old CPU. What replaces it will be a budget-focused new platform called Shelton. Shelton uses a new CPU called ‘Diamondville’ which, is based on a new 45nm process CPU designed from the ground up. Diamondville is aimed at low-cost flash-based devices similar to the Eee PC in the price range of $300. Intel may also base their Classmate PC on this platform. Expect this platform to launch in April 2008 with product announcements from MSI and others to follow shortly.

In 2007 Intel launched a new platform called UMP 2007 which had the nickname ‘McCaslin’ The CPU, known as Stealey, was a modified Pentium CPU with a smaller die size (achieved mainly by removing cache) and an additional ‘enhance deep sleep’ power saving mode. Stealey, a speed-stepping CPU and available in 600 and 800Mhz versions, was partnered with the Intel GMA950 GPU to complete the platform. About 7 devices have been launched using this platform so far but it is not expected to be used for much longer as Intel are launching a replacement platform know as Menlow.

Menlow comprises a new CPU known as ‘Silverthorne’ Silverthorne is part of the same 45nm processor family as Diamondville and is a completely new architecture said to consume one tenth of the 5W power envelope of the original Celeron using in the 2006 ultra mobile PC devices. That’s about 0.5W from the processor. [*1] Silverthorne will launch in April 2008 and will be partnered with the Poulsbo combined chipset and GPU. At the moment, very little is known about the GPU. It could be called ‘GMA500’ but that gives us no hints as to its performance at the moment. Silverthorne is expected to come in les powerful clock-for-clock than the Stealey CPU but will offer clockrates of 900Mhz to 1.8Hgz, will be very small, very efficient and priced in the mid-range allowing both small MID’s and low-end UMPCs to be built in the $600 range.

Intel don’t actually have a high-end targeted platform for UMPCs but we are seeing some high-end engineering that is enabling laptop processors to be squeezed into ultra mobile PC form factors. Sony have always used the laptop processors in their UX range and currently offer a Core 2 Solo processor with GMA950 gpu. Samsung will also use a Core processor, the Core Solo at 1.3Ghz, in their Q1 Ultra Premium. I expect to see this trend continue into notebook form factors with 7″ screens in the $1000-$1500 price range. Eventually, the Santa Rosa ‘Penryn’ CPUs may appear as ultra low voltage (ULV) parts and, partnered with the GM965, might provide then next engineering challenge for high-end UMPCs and sub notebooks.

VIA.

VIA continue to offer their C7M ULV processor and VX700 integrated GPU/chipset but have made two announcements that should bring products that will extend their range and confirm their focus in the low-power and mobile computing market. Firstly and presumably as a spin-off of their dead ‘John’ Core-Fusion project, they have developed a single board computer using a small-die C7 ULV processor and VX700 chipset. The board is known as Mobile-ITX and is planned for launch at some point during 2008. Recent news indicates that this might have slipped to 2009 now. Mobile-ITX focuses on providing a standard motherboard a very small size that will enable designers to skip the board design stage and thus save time and money. The complete board covers about the same area as a credit card and has the potential to enable Ghz-class x86 computing in smartphone form factors.

More importantly, VIA have announced a brand new architecture known as Isaiah. This architechture, developed by their Centaur daughter company, is said to provide 2-4 times the processing power of the C7, with advanced sleep and thermal modes in a pin-compatible CPU module in the same power envelope as the C7. In addition, VIA have shown (but have not announced) a VX800 integrated chipset that incorporates the VN896 DX-9 capable GPU. Unfortunately for ultra mobile PC fans, the ‘CN’ CPU looks like it will initially target notebook, thin, and green computing devices with part availability planned for end of Q2 (read 2nd-half of 2008). That is, larger form factor devices that can be built around a processor with a 15-20w power envelope. That is definitely not ultra mobile PC territory and It could be some time before the ULV parts will be available but I would expect to see the first ULV version of the ‘CN’ later this year (maybe at Computex?) with products based on it going out at the end of 2008 or early 2009. Apparently, the part will also be available in an 11mm package which is what we’ve seen in the Mobile-ITX platform.

It must also be noted that the standard C7 range continues so some repositioning can be expected in the coming years. The C7-M will probably drop in price and become the budget CPU that can be coupled with the VX700 or, hopefully, the VX800 depending on the graphics requirements. The ‘CN’ will become the premium part and will enable gaming UMPCs, desktop replacement UMPCs and even low-end video processing UMPCs. Mobile-ITX will be the platform for smartphone-sized designs and coming in as a ready-to-go board at a reasonable cost. We can assume that in time, the Isaiah architecture will be end up on a Mobile-ITX form factor board providing desktop capability in a credit-card sized motherboard. I won’t be expecting that too soon but its exciting to understand that this is realizable goal in the coming years.

AMD

AMD have only once or twice talked publicly about ultra mobile devices and their efforts to address that market. So far, no-one has seen or heard of any real hardware or plans but there are rumors that ‘Bobcat’ is the keyword to watch. Other reports indicate that AMD’s ‘fusion’ concept will integrate the CPU and GPU onto a single die.

Meanwhile, products based on the LX800 and LX900 Geode processor and chipset are still going out of the door although it’s difficult to see this being competitive for much longer if the trend for more powerful 3D graphics support continues. There may be life in it if the processing engine can be speeded up. As a browser-only engine its small, power-efficient and cheap but not quite small enough to enable the important handheld designs. With Intel creating ‘Diamondville’ and Moblin, the Geode has a very short lifespan left in the mobile PC category.

ARM

Lets not forget ARM, the company that shipped billions of processors for low power and mobile devices last year and is arguably strongest microprocessor design company in the mobile computing space. The current single-core ARM11 offerings aren’t really up to the job of a quality Internet and multimedia experience but there are new cores coming through the pipeline that could change this. Cortex A8 and Cortex A9 are the next-in-line offerings and promise to offer 3x the processing power (Cortex A8) in the same power envelope as ARM11 cores. Considering the current cores run with power requirements under 500mw and that the Cortex A8 could be as powerful as a low-end Silverthorne there could be some interesting possibilities and competition in the space. Add the fact that the ARM ecosystem is huge, mature and well-experienced at producing mobile devices and add the fact that Google Android will be developing an advanced, open, web-centric operating system for these types of devices and that Symbian is already working with these products and its easy to see where the big competition between ARM and X86 will start. Devices supporting Cortex A8 (watch out for Ti OMAP 3430) expected in late 2008. Devices supporting the multi-core Cortex A9 are expected in 2010.

So there you have my summary of the players for 2008. Intel, VIA and ARM are pushing hard. It remains to be seen if AMD enter the space but maybe they just have the Apple-touch , the ability to keep things quiet!

[*1] Note that the processor in current UMPCs is only responsible for around 30% of the average power drain of the unit. Reducing the CPU power requirements by a factor of ten only reduces the overall power drain by around 30%. Other areas must be improved too. Namely, screen backlighting, storage and comms. radios. See this article for a breakdown of the expected gains on Intel platforms.