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AMD Launches Low-Voltage Processors

mgoulding writes "CoolTechZone reports that AMD has released its low-power Athlon processors, which are designed to target the ultra-lightweight notebook market. The low-voltage chips will use smaller batteries and produce less heat. Acer plans to ship systems using the processors by the end of May." Acer plans to use them in their Ferrari line of thin laptops.

12 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. tech info by Coneasfast · · Score: 5, Informative

    here is some tech info in case it gets /.ed

    The other models - 2800+, 3000+, and 3200+ are rated to operate at 65W while the 2700+ is rated to operate at 35W. The Pentium M processor models - 1.5Ghz, 1.6Ghz, and 1.7Ghz are set to operate at 24.5W. The AMD 2700+ budget Mobile processor still consumes more power than the Centrino platform, which uses Intel's Pentium M chips. Another big difference between the rest of Athlon64 Mobile processors from AMD and the 2700+ budget level Mobile processor is the amount of L2 cache. The 2700+ processor has 512KB cache while the rest of the models house 1MB cache. The 2700+ is clocked at 1.6Ghz; the same clock speed as the 2800+, which has 1MB L2 cache.

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    1. Re:tech info by number · · Score: 5, Informative
      What you want are the Processor Electrical Specifications for any and all CPUs you can think of.

      If you're serious about quiet (or preferably, silent) computing, the most valuable site I know of is Silent PC Review.

  2. Big Mistake, AMD... by Deraj+DeZine · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should have gone the other way, making fast, but hot processors, and then marketed their notebook/travel iron combos.

    No, I don't iron my clothes either, but it's the thought that counts, right?

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  3. Less heat? by rms_nz · · Score: 5, Funny

    If laptops start producing less heat, then what are we going to use for leg warmers on those cold winterery days?

  4. Low Voltage Battery + Smaller battery = ? by SCSi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So this means that laptops will still have the same low battery life as they do now. Why dont they make low voltage processors with larger batteries so you can get more than a few hours of runtime.

  5. Re:the final frontier by tibike77 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Intel (as Microsoft and other "dinosaurs") will never get "really low in stockprice", because they have too much accumulated wealth to get out of most situations. Personally, I have used a mix of all kinds of MoBos and CPUs from everybody (yeah, even a Cyrix) and I can't say I have been extremely pleased nor displeased by any of them. The only news here is (therefore) that a new "cooler" (pun intended) CPU is here for the laptop market, hence prices will go down... shoppers rejoice :)

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  6. Re:Why is it called low-voltage? by Humorously_Inept · · Score: 5, Informative

    Voltage is a squared term in the general power function for a CPU. Lowering the voltage will have a significant effect on power consumption. As you might imagine, the chip's operating frequency is another term in the function.

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    ~Someday, I hope to be an aspiring author.
  7. hmm by TechnologyX · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ferrari line

    But I'm on a Ford Tempo budget.. guess it's back to leg burns for me

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  8. Re:Great news for people like myself... by proxima · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cheap, light, and fast, pick three; I like cheap and light.

    Whoops, I meant pick two of course.

    --
    "The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent." --Carl Sagan
  9. A non-overheating Italian car by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 5, Funny

    Acer plans to use them in their Ferrari line of thin laptops.
    Is this the same laptop that was reviewed here a while ago? The one that makes revving sounds when booted up? Anyway, there's something wrong with putting a cool-running processor in a product named after an Italian car. Italian cars are supposed to overheat - when I had my FIAT/Pininfarina Spyder, part of the fun was sitting in traffic on a hot, humid summer day with the heater fully on to avoid cooking the engine.
    b0s0z0ku

  10. Why... by rekoil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    can't anyone see the appeal of using chips like these in a ultra-quiet desktop model? A/V hobbyists would go nuts over them, providing that the CPU horsepower is sufficient...

  11. Low-voltage + PowerNow == PentiumM Competition by david_reese · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Previously, only the VIA and Transmeta chips were in the same range of power consumption (actually much less) as the Pentium-M (which, tho I'm an AMD fan, is a pretty sweet processor). But those processors were pretty lightweight in the power department.

    Now the Athlon64 mobiles, which already run at a cool 800Mhz when not taxed, combined with a voltage decrease, should create something that is at the same time powerful, yet battery-preserving.

    Kicker: it's AMD64, so if you have 64bit OS and apps, it will really dominate.