Intel and AMD finalizing new notebook technology

Within the next couple of months, both Intel and AMD will be releasing new notebook platforms. Here's what we know so far.

Details of Intel's new platform, called Montevina and due in June, have been slowly leaking out for months. But Daily Tech has filled in a lot of the details.

Earlier this year, at the CES trade show, Intel announced its new 45nm processors for both laptops and desktops. These Penryn processors are gradually replacing the 65nm Merom chips found in most Intel-based laptops. Montevina is a new platform, meaning it includes the system chipset, integrated graphics and new network controllers, as well as a dozen additional Penryn processors to round out the lineup. Montevina will replace the current notebook platform known as Santa Rosa, which is used with both Merom and Penryn processors. Intel will reportedly brand the new platform Centrino 2 to emphasize its new features.

Here are the details on the new processors as reported by Daily Tech and others:

Model	Frequency	FSB	L2 Cache	TDP	Price
Performance
Core 2 Duo T9600	2.80GHz	1066	6MB	35W	$530
Core 2 Duo T9400	2.53GHz	1066	6MB	35W	$316
Power-optimized Performance
Core 2 Duo P9500	2.53GHz	1066	6MB	25W	$348
Core 2 Duo P8600	2.40GHz	1066	3MB	25W	$241
Core 2 Duo P8400	2.26GHz	1066	3MB	25W	$209
Small Form Factor
Core 2 SP9400	2.4GHz	1066	6MB	25W	$316
Core 2 SP9300	2.26GHz	1066	6MB	25W	$284
Core 2 SL9400	1.86GHz	1066	6MB	17W	$316
Core 2 SL9300	1.60GHz	1066	6MB	17W	$284
Core 2 SU9400	1.40GHz	800	3MB	10W	$289
Core 2 SU9300	1.20GHz	800	3MB	10W	$262
Core 2 U3300	1.20GHz	800	3MB	5.5W	$26

Like the chips found in the Apple MacBook Air and the Lenovo X300, the Small Form Factor chips use new packaging that is more compact. The U3300 is a specialized chip that is nearly as power-efficient as Silverthorne/Atom (3W), and it is clearly designed for the smallest subnotebooks.

Montevina also includes three new system chipsets. The GM45 and GM47 will include Intel's new integrated graphics. The PM45 is designed for use with AMD and Nvidia graphics. In addition to the usual Ethernet and Wi-Fi options, Montevina will also offer WiMax mobile wireless broadband, though given the difficulties facing Sprint and Clearwire, it could take some time to build out a national network.

AMD is also working on a new notebook platform, known as Puma, which is scheduled to ship in the second quarter. The platform includes a new processor family, Griffin, and a new chipset, the RS780M. Griffin is an updated version of the current 65nm K8 chip with more cache. Puma promises some novel power management features, and AMD has been positioning it as the best performance per watt solution to extend battery life. More recently, AMD said it has about 100 "design wins" for Puma, but otherwise has provided few details.

Last week, a German-language site, ComputerBase.de, posted what it claims is AMD's notebook roadmap for 2008 (here's a translated page). The roadmap shows a total of six new Griffin processors in the second quarter under the Turion Ultra, Turion, Athlon and Sempron brands:

• Turion Ultra ZM-86: 2.4GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 2MB L2 cache; 35W
• Turion Ultra ZM-82: 2.2GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 2MB L2 cache; 35W
• Turion Ultra ZM-80: 2.0GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 2MB L2 cache; 32W
• Turion RM-70: 2.0GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 1MB L2 cache; 31W
• Athlon QL-60: 1.90GHz dual-core; DDR2-667MHz; 1MB L2 cache; 35W
• Sempron SI-40: 2.0GHz single-core; DDR2-667MHz; 512KB L2 cache; 25W

Next year, things will get more interesting. AMD plans to release the Swift platform, which will include the first Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) with both a dual-core processor and an integrated graphics processor on the same chip--one of the key product goals of its acquisition of ATI.