Slashdot Mirror
Sharp Debuts New Transmeta-based Laptop
kpogoda writes "Transmeta's new Efficeon processor will debut today within a new trim and slim Sharp notebook. In case you don't remember, the processor family is known for its extremely low power consumption and blazingly high computing speeds."
"The notebook's standard battery will last three hours under normal conditions. An extended battery will add six more hours of computing time and 0.6 pounds, Hanly says." It doesn't seem very different from a common laptop... batteries' life is still a big problem.
Computer are useless: they can only give you answers. - Pablo Picasso
That's the Crusoe chip. These machines have a new chip, the Efficeon. Quoting from the article:
"The new Efficeon TM8600 is designed to improve performance while maintaining the low power consumption required by ultraportable notebooks--such as the 2-pound MM20. Sharp's tests showed that Efficeon delivers about 1.4 times the performance of Crusoe, Hanly says."
I don't know if 1.4 times the Crusoe should be considered fast, but at least it's faster...
"It doesn't seem very different from a common laptop... batteries' life is still a big problem."
If you look at the weight of the laptop 2 pounds for the 3 hours and 2.6 pounds of 6 additional hours. That is lighter than a conventional laptop. Hell, my battery prolly weighhs 2 punds for 3 and a half hours. So this does use less power. The battery is just smaller.
Evolution or ID?
While I love their products, the slashdot title of "blazingly high" clock speeds is a little misleading.
From the article: "A base configuration of the notebook includes the 1-GHz Efficeon processor, 512MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, and a 10.4-inch display for an estimated starting price of $1499. Sharp will take preorders for the notebook as of Monday, and it will ship in April."
So we are looking at around 1ghz.
No 1.4 times Crusoe is not fast, since the Crusoe was/is kinda slow. Anyway the comment implied that the line was fast, but as stated in the linked article the Crusoe was panned for its performance.
Woe be on to them, all who rise against poor people, shall perish in a the end. Buju Banton
The new Muramasa has been out in Japan since January. It has had some nice reviews and keeps up well with Pentium-M modells of similar clock speed (see this Japanese review). And it is much cheaper.
***Quis custodiet ipsos custodes***
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, Transmeta's tend to run alot cooler then Intel/Amd...
I know personally after sitting in a class at university with my Dell my legs feel like they are about to melt. Anyways Transmeta has exact stats on the site but its somewhere around 1/4 of the heat output, personally thats why I am considering a Transmeta next round....
what these processors are known for. Benchmarks show that. That's not to say it's a bad processor, and maybe the Efficeon will turn out a little sweeter. Meanwhile, there isn't a whole lot about Transmeta's stuff that stands out. Except the wacky design.
REM Old programmers don't die. They just GOSUB without RETURN.
Centrino is not a chip. It is a "system" comprised of three parts:
/ demo/wo rks.htm?iid=ipp_demworks+tab&
Intel(R) Pentium M processor
Intel(R) 855 Chipset Family
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless Network Connection
Basically, Intel repackaged and "branded" some existing technologies in an effort to squeeze out other wireless hardware manufacturers (if it ain't Intel WiFi, you can't call it "Centrino," and a successful branding campign makes people want Centrino whether or not they know what it actually is).
Anyway, your question is stil valid, but to technically nitpick it's really about the Pentium M processor.
More info:
http://intel.com/products/mobiletechnology
* Please do not read my signature.
At CES, they had one, and it was absolutely dwarfed by my Nokia 6360 phone. Take a look:
While the phone is a 'big' one the laptop was thinner, and it weighed nothing. Very cool.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=13578
These ultra-light models don't click until you hold one, but when you do, you look at the standard ultra-lights and wonder how people use them.
-Charlie
You should mean the M series, because there is a lot more to it than PM and variable clock, something the regular Pentium line has had for years. Read this article and you'll realize just how much went into it.
XeoMage
Intel Pentium M Thermal Design Power is listed as 24.5 Watt at 1.7 GHz, a FAR cry from the 7 Watt you claim
The 900 MHz and 1GHz ones are the 7 Watt models, but how those perform compared to an Efficeon I was unable to find.
Cooper
--
I don't need a pass to pass this pass!
- Groo The Wanderer -
There is an option to optimize for the Transmeta processor line in the kernel configuration. That option is passed along to GCC to make sure the kernel will run as fast as possible. So GCC supports the Transmeta system.
There are also things like LongRun support, etc. that are in the kernel configuration, that don't necessarily involve GCC options.
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)