Intel launches CULV chip for ultra-thin notebooks

Intel has introduced an ultra-low voltage processor that is intended for very thin, mid-range notebook computers.

The SU2700 consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) processor, unveiled on Tuesday at the Computex show in Taiwan, is the first of Intel's dual-core CULV chips to fall under the Pentium rather than the Core 2 Duo brand. As such, the chip is designed for ultra-thin laptops that are slightly more expensive and powerful than netbooks, but still have portability that is closer to netbooks than to current laptops.

The 1.3GHz SU2700 uses an 800MHz front-side bus and 2MB of L2 cache. The chip is manufactured using the 45nm process. It has a thermal design power (TDP) — a measure for the amount of cooling a processor needs — of 10W, or around a third of the TDP for most current notebook processors.

The closest competitor to Intel's CULV chip range is AMD's Athlon Neo product line. AMD also made its own processor announcement on Monday, to say that it has started shipping the dual-core versions of these ultra-low voltage chips.

At the same time as it introduced the SU2700, Intel launched its GS40 Express chipset for CULV laptops. This chipset allows high-definition video playback and includes an HDMI output.

Also at Computex, Intel showed off a new technology called My Wi-Fi. This technology makes it possible to turn a Wi-Fi-equipped Centrino 2 laptop into an access point for up to eight Wi-Fi-certified devices, such as cameras, printers, HDTVs and MP3 players.