View source for Intel Atom

'''Intel Atom''' is the [[brand]] name for a line of ultra-low-voltage [[x86]] and [[x86-64]] [[Central processing unit|CPU]]s (or [[microprocessor]]s) from [[Intel Corporation|Intel]], designed in [[45 nanometer|45 nm]] [[CMOS]] and used mainly in [[netbook]]s, [[nettop]]s, and [[Mobile Internet device]]s (MIDs). On December 21, 2009 Intel announced the next generation of Atom processors, including the N450, with total kit power consumption down 40%.

==History==
Intel Atom is a direct successor of the [[Intel A100|Intel A100/A110]] low-power microprocessors (code-named Stealey), which were built on a 90 nm process, had 512 KB L2 cache and run at 600MHz/800MHz with 3W TDP. Prior to the Silverthorne announcement, outside sources had speculated that Atom would compete with [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]]'s [[AMD Geode|Geode]] [[system-on-a-chip]] processors, used by the [[One Laptop per Child]] project, and other cost- and power-sensitive applications for [[x86]] processors.  However, Intel revealed on October 15, 2007 that it was developing another new mobile processor, codenamed Diamondville, for [[OLPC]]-type devices.

"Atom" was the name under which Silverthorne would be sold, while the supporting chipset formerly code-named [[Centrino#Menlow platform .282008.29|Menlow]] was called [[Centrino]] Atom. Intel's initial Atom press release only briefly discussed "Diamondville" and implied that it too would be named "Atom", strengthening speculation that Diamondville is simply a lower-cost, higher-yielding version of Silverthorne with slightly higher [[Thermal Design Power|TDPs]] at slightly lower clock speeds.

At Spring [[Intel Developer Forum]] (IDF) 2008 in [[Shanghai]], Intel officially announced that Silverthorne and Diamondville are based on the same microarchitecture.  Silverthorne would be called the Atom Z series and Diamondville would be called the Atom N series.  The more expensive lower-power Silverthorne parts will be used in Intel [[Mobile Internet Device]]s (MIDs) whereas Diamondville will be used in low-cost desktop and notebooks. Several [[Mini-ITX]] [[motherboard]] samples have also been revealed. Intel and [[Lenovo]] also jointly announced an Atom powered MID called the [[IdeaPad]] U8. The IdeaPad U8 weighs 280&nbsp;g and has a  touchscreen providing better portability than a [[netbook]] PC and easier Internet viewing than a mobile phone or PDA.

In April 2008, a MID development kit was announced by Sophia Systems and the first board called CoreExpress-ECO was revealed by a [[Germany|German]] company LiPPERT Embedded Computers, GmbH. Intel offers Atom based motherboards.

==Availability==
Atom processors became available to system manufacturers in 2008. Because they are soldered, like [[Northbridge (computing)|northbridges]] and [[Southbridge (computing)|southbridges]], onto a mainboard, Atom processors are not available to home users or system builders as separate processors, although they may be obtained preinstalled on some [[ITX]] motherboards. The Diamondville Atom is used in the HP Mini Series, [[aigo MID]] Asus N10, [[Lenovo IdeaPad S10]], [[Acer Aspire One]] & Packard Bell's "dot" (ZG5), recent [[ASUS Eee PC]] systems, AMtek Elego, [[Dell Inspiron Mini Series]], [[Gigabyte M912]], LG X Series, [[Samsung NC10]], Sylvania g Netbook Meso, Toshiba NB series (100, 200, 205), [[MSI Wind PC]] netbooks, RedFox Wizbook 1020i, Zenith Z-Book, a range of Aleutia desktops, and the Archos 10.

==Performance==
The performance of a single core Atom is about half that of a [[Celeron]] of the same [[clock rate]]. For example, the Atom N270 found in many [[netbooks]] such as the [[Eee PC]] can deliver around 3300 [[Million instructions per second|MIPS]] and 2.1 [[GFLOPS]] in standard benchmarks, compared to 7400 MIPS and 3.9 GFLOPS for the similarly clocked (1.73&nbsp;GHz) [[Pentium M]] 740.

==Instruction set architecture==
Atom implements the [[x86]] ([[IA-32]]) instruction set; [[x86-64]] is so far only activated for the desktop Diamondville and desktop and mobile Pineview cores. The Atom N2xx and Z5xx series Atom models cannot run x86-64 code.

==Architecture==
Intel Atom can execute up to two instructions per cycle. Like many other x86 microprocessors, it translates x86-instructions ([[CISC]] instructions) into simpler internal operations (sometimes referred to as [[micro-ops]] i.e. effectively [[RISC]] style instructions) prior to execution. The majority of instructions produce one micro-op when translated, with around 4% producing multiple micro-ops. The number of instructions that produce more than one micro-op is significantly fewer than the [[Intel P6 (microarchitecture)|P6]] and [[Intel NetBurst (microarchitecture)|NetBurst]] [[microarchitecture]]s. In the Atom, internal μ-ops can contain both a memory load and a memory store in connection with an [[Arithmetic logic unit|ALU]] operation, thus being more similar to the x86 level and more powerful than the μ-ops used in previous designs.[http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3276&p=9]</ref> This enables relatively good performance with only two integer ALUs, and without any instruction reordering, speculative execution, or register renaming. Atom therefore represents a partial revival of the principles used in earlier Intel designs such as [[Intel P5]] and the [[i486]], with the sole purpose of enhancing the [[performance per watt]] ratio. However, [[Hyper-Threading]] is implemented as an easy (i.e. low power) way to employ both pipelines efficiently by avoiding the typical single thread dependencies.

{| border="1" cellpadding=2 style="border-collapse: collapse"
!colspan="11"|Intel Atom processor family
|-
!Previous logo
!Current logo
!Code-name
!Series
!Core
![[Thermal Design Power|TDP]]
![[Hyper-threading|HT]]
![[x86-64]]
![[Intel VT]]
!Release date
!Remarks
|- style="background:white"
|rowspan="9"|[[Image:Intel Atom.jpg|100px|Intel Atom logo 2008]]
|rowspan="9"|[[Image:Intel Atom 2009.png|110px|Intel Atom logo 2009]]
!colspan="11"|[[Mobile Internet Devices|MID]] / [[Ultra-Mobile PC]]
|- style="background:white"
|rowspan="2"|Silverthorne
|rowspan="2"|Atom Z
|rowspan="2"|single (45&nbsp;nm)
|0.65~2&nbsp;W
|No
|rowspan="2"|No
|No
|rowspan="2"|April 2008
|rowspan="2"|Silverthorne can be part of [[Centrino]] Atom which was discontinued in Q3 2008
|-
|2~2.4&nbsp;W
|Yes
|Yes
|-
!colspan="9"|[[Classmate PC]] / [[Netbook]] / [[Nettop]]
|- style="background:white"
|rowspan="3"|Diamondville
|Atom N200
|rowspan="2"|single (45&nbsp;nm)
|2.5&nbsp;W
|rowspan="5"|Yes
|No
|rowspan="5"|No
|rowspan="2"|June 2008
|[[Netbook]]s or low-cost [[laptop]]s
|-
|Atom 200
|4&nbsp;W
|rowspan="4"|Yes
|rowspan="4"|[[nettop (computer)|Nettops]] or low-cost [[Desktop computer|desktops]]
|-
|Atom 300
|dual (45&nbsp;nm)
|8&nbsp;W
|September 2008
|-
|rowspan="2"|Pineview
|Atom N400
|single (45&nbsp;nm)
|5.5&nbsp;W
|rowspan="2"|January 2010
|-
|Atom D
|dual (45&nbsp;nm)
|10/13&nbsp;W
|-
!colspan="11"|<small>[[List of Intel Atom microprocessors]]</small>
|}

===Atom Z series===

On March 2, 2008, Intel announced a new single-core processor (code-named '''Silverthorne''') to be used in [[Ultra-Mobile PC|ultra-mobile PCs]]/[[Mobile Internet Devices]] (MIDs) which will supersede [[Intel A100]]. The processor is a 47 million transistor, 25&nbsp;mm<sup>2</sup>, sub-3&nbsp;W [[x86|IA]] processor which allows ~2500 chips to fit on a single 300&nbsp;mm diameter wafer, allowing for extremely economical production.

An Atom Z500 processor's dual-thread performance is equivalent to its predecessor [[Intel A110]], but should outperform it on applications that can leverage [[simultaneous multithreading]] and [[SSE3]]. They run from 0.8 to 2.0&nbsp;GHz and have between 0.65 and 2.4&nbsp;W [[Thermal Design Power|TDP]] rating respectively that can dip down to 0.01&nbsp;W when idle. It features a 2-issue [[simultaneous multithreading]], 16 stage in-order pipeline with 32 KB instruction L1 and 24 KB data L1 caches, integer and floating point execution units, x86 front end, a 512 KB L2 cache and data transferred at 533&nbsp;MHz on the front-side bus. The design is manufactured in 9M 45&nbsp;nm high-k metal-gate CMOS and housed in a 441-ball [[µFCBGA]] package.

===Atom N series===
[[Image:Intel Atom N270-MSI Wind MB1.jpg|thumb|The Intel Atom N270]]
On March 2, 2008, Intel announced lower-power variants of the '''Diamondville''' and '''Pineview''' CPUs previously intended for nettops, to be used in the [[Classmate PC]] [[netbook]]. Like their predecessors, these are single-core parts with HyperThreading.

The N270 has 2.5&nbsp;W [[Thermal Design Power|TDP]], running at 1.6&nbsp;GHz with a 533&nbsp;MHz FSB. The N280 has a 1.66&nbsp;GHz clockspeed and a 667&nbsp;MHz FSB with slightly lower TDP at 2W.

On December 21, 2009 Intel announced the N450 with integrated graphics.  Total kit power goes from 11.8&nbsp;W to 7&nbsp;W with the new processor and chipset, a 40% improvement. Intel GMA 3150, a 45nm shrink of the GMA 3100 with no HD capabilities, is included as the on-die GPU. Netbooks using this new processor were expected to be publicly shown at CES on January 4, 2010, and to be released for sale on January 11, 2010. The major new feature includes longer battery life, with 6 cell systems reporting 10 or more hours of battery life.

===Atom 300 series===
On September 22, 2008, Intel announced a new dual-core processor (unofficially code-named '''Dual Diamondville''') branded Atom 330 of the Atom 300 series to be used in desktop computers. It runs at a 1.6&nbsp;GHz clock speed and has an FSB running at 533&nbsp;MHz. The processor has an 8 W [[Thermal Design Power|TDP]] rating. Its dual core comprises two Diamondville dies next to each other on a single package (substrate). Atom 330 supports 64 bit instructions.

During 2009, [[Nvidia]] used the Atom 300 and their GeForce 9400M chipset on a [[mini-ITX]] form factor motherboard for their [[Nvidia Ion|Ion]] platform.

==Power requirements==
[[Image:Intel Atom and Chipset.jpg|thumb|The relatively power-efficient Atom CPU is often used with a cheaper, more power consuming chipset like the Intel 945G]]
Although the Atom processor itself is relatively power efficient for an x86 microprocessor, many chipsets commonly used with it dissipate significantly more power. For example, while the N270 CPU commonly used in netbooks has a net maximum [[Thermal Design Power|TDP]] of 2.5&nbsp;W, an Intel Atom platform that uses the 945GSE Express chipset has a specified maximum TDP of 11.8&nbsp;W, with the processor using a relatively small portion of the total power consumed. Individual figures are 2.5&nbsp;W for the N270 processor, 6&nbsp;W for the 945GSE chipset and 3.3&nbsp;W for the 82801GBM I/O controller. Intel also provides the [[Intel_GMA#GMA_500|Intel System Controller Hub US15W]] chipset with a combined TDP of less than 5&nbsp;W together with the Atom processor Z5xx (Silverthorne) series, to be used in ultra-mobile PCs/Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs).

Initially, all Atom motherboards on the consumer market featured the Intel 945GC chipset, which uses 22 watts alone. As of early 2009, only a few manufacturers are offering lower power 945GSE-based motherboards to end users, paired with the Atom N270 or N280 CPU, while Dell's Mini10 (but not Mini10V) uses the US15W chipset with Z-series processors.

==N450==
The current generation platform for the netbook version of the Intel Atom is codenamed "Pine Trail-M", which utilizes an Atom processor codenamed "Pineview-M" and a chipset codenamed "Tiger Point". The graphics and memory controller have moved into the processor, which is paired with the Tiger Point chipset. This creates a 2 chip platform rather than the 3 chip one previously used with previous-generation Atom chipsets. 

The current generation of the Atom is codenamed "Pineview" which utilizes the "Lincroft" system-on-a-chip architecture and is used in the "Pine Trail" platform.  The new Atom became available on January 11, 2010. It is used in [[netbook]]/[[nettop]] systems, and features a [[system-on-chip]] (SOC) with an integrated single-channel [[DDR2]] memory controller and an integrated [[GPU|graphics]] core. It features [[hyper-threading]] and is still manufactured on a 45&nbsp;nm process. The new system-on-a-chip design uses half the power of the older "Menlow" platform. This reduced overall power consumption and size makes the platform more desirable for use in smartphones and other mobile internet devices.

LinuxTECH.NET has put together an overview of all announced/released "Pine Trail" platform motherboards.

On December 23, 2009, MSI introduced a new series of netbooks to be released in January 2010, the Wind U130 and U135, which are among the first netbooks to incorporate the new "Pine Trail" platform. Other companies, like [[ASUS]] and [[Dell]] have also introduced netbooks based on the Pineview-M chip N450.

==Future==

In the second-half of 2010, Intel will release new versions of Pineview Atom chips that will support DDR3 memory.

In the second half of 2011, Intel will release a new Atom platform for netbook codenamed "Cedar Trail", which will be fabricated on the 32&nbsp;nm technology. Development of the new chip and platform will begin in late 2010. Intel claims that the chip will boast higher clock speeds and double performance as compared to the yet released "Pine Trail", although details are scarce. 

==Collaboration with TSMC==
In March 2009, Intel announced that they will be collaborating with [[TSMC]] for the production of the Atom processors.

==Competition==
Embedded processors based on the [[ARM architecture|ARM]] version 7 instruction set architecture (such as TI's [[OMAP]] 3 series and Freescale's i.MX51 based on the Cortex-A8 processor, or the [[Qualcomm Snapdragon]] and Marvell Armada 500/600 based on custom ARMv7 implementations) offer similar performance to the low end Atom chipsets but at roughly one quarter the power consumption, and (like most ARM systems) as a single integrated system on a chip, rather than a two chip solution like the current Atom line. Although the next-generation Atom codenamed "Pineview" should greatly increase its competitiveness in performance/watt, ARM plans to counter the threat with the multi-core capable [[ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore|Cortex-A9]] processor.

The [[VIA Nano|Nano]] series from VIA is slightly above the average thermal envelope of the Atom, but offers hardware AES support, [[random number generator]]s, and [[out-of-order execution]]. Performance comparisons of the Intel Atom against the Via Nano indicate that a single core Intel Atom is outperformed by the Via Nano which is in turn outperformed by a dual core Intel Atom 330 in tests where the second core is used.

The [[Xcore86]] (also known as the [[PMX 1000]]) is x586 based System on Chip (SoC) that offers a below average thermal envelope compared to the Atom.

Kenton Williston of [[EE Times]] said that while Atom will not displace ARM from its current markets, the ability to apply the PC architecture into smaller, cheaper and lower power form factors will open up new markets for Intel.

==See also==
* [[List of Intel Atom microprocessors]]

===Press===
*[http://eeepc.itrunsonlinux.com/the-news/1-latest-news/190-intel-to-launch-3-new-atom-cpus Intel to launch 3 new Atom CPUs]
* [http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS4258684770.html linuxdevices.com - Intel announces first Atom chips]
* [http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/615 hardwaresecrets.com - Inside Atom Architecture]
* [http://computermonger.com/intel-atom-n280-vs-n270-review.html computermonger.com - Intel Atom N280 vs N270 Benchmarked]

==External links==
*[http://www.intel.com/products/processor/atom/index.htm Intel - Intel Atom Processor Overview]
*[http://www.intel.com/technology/atom Intel Atom Processor]
*[http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?familyID=29035 Intel - Intel Atom Processor Family]
*[http://www.phytec.de/de/produkte/module-nach-hersteller/intel.html Single Board Computer with Z5xxPT Industrial Design -40..+85°C]
*[http://www.toradex.com/En/Products/Robin_Modules Credit Card Sized Intel Atom Computer Module]