Intel Releases ULV 17-watt Sandy Bridge CPUs

[Marcus Yam]

Low power for the speed.

Intel Releases ULV 17-watt Sandy Bridge CPUs : Read more

 

[Kaiser_25]

This Low V CPU is a big step for laptops etc, will increase battery life, extend cpu life, Go Intel, and go ASUS!!!

 

[lunyone]

Can anyone say "here I come Macbook Air"?? These CPU's would seem to fit that bill for Apple, but nice to see other manufacturer's getting in on the low power CPU's. Just think that you can get a netbook for about the cost of just one of these CPU's!!!

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

This is pretty good... would love to have a high-end netbook powered by one of those (so sick of stupid Atom!)

 

[S J W]

Aah this is pointless. For the price you paying for a "Ultra book" (worst gimmick ever) it is still a ridiculously expensive laptop to be walking around with that suffers the same problems as anything other laptop.

For one its fragile; just because its light and thin, it won't give that screen anymore protection.

Number 2, its horribly flashy. For the criminal, the slimmest notebook you see is the most expensive. And these puppies look like they're worth every penny of the 2 grand your gonna be shelling out for these.

Number 3, is its over powered and over priced. A laptop is always a secondary computer needing a safe backup storage device. If your going to be using all of this i7's processing powers, then you'd probably be better off buying a $1000 PC and a $300 laptop, as the work you do is far to valuable to be lying around.

This is just the latest move towards fashion tech. I wouldn't be suprised if this i7's performance pales in comparison to its full powered bigger brothers, so Apple will love the fact they can sell there gullable customers the i7 brand.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

^^ No, don't agree. Stuff that new ULV Sandy bridge in a netbook: say, $250 for the most basic one (1.7 GHz with Turbo to 2.7, 3MB cache), $100 for the mobo (approximate, no idea of netbook mobo prices), $150 for the screen, $100 for HDD/SSD, $100 for the rest. So it's a $600 powerful netbook - exactly what I need, since I already have a desktop and hate my old laptops with a passion, since for the mobility they offer they can't get anything done on the move with these crappy Atoms/Celerons. This is perfect, now just wait for Asus to release something based on it... it will be another best bang-for-buck like G73 or N53SV.

 

[hoof_hearted]

This looks like it would make more sense in tablets. Maybe this is the leadin to their ARM killer????

 

[reggieray]

"The integrated graphics of Intel's Sandy Bridge chips, however, will likely be enough to satisfy Apple's performance targets for the MacBook Air."
True because OS X does not rely on the resource hog Direct X to do visual desktop effects.

 

[fir_ser]

At last! Apple will refresh it MacBook Air from the outdated Core2Duo to an i-series processor.
But when will the MacBook have a similar refresh?

 

[fenx]

s j w: I disagree on all 3 accounts.

1. I think its pretty rare to break a screen, but with that said most ultra portables I have come across use a lot more metal in their construction over plastic; so a stronger frame and less weight means less likely to be damaged. Plus to get the small size they are moving to more solid state components, such as SSD's, not having an optical drive, etc... So you have less components to be damaged and the ones you do have tend to be more durable.

2. MacBook Air come as low as $999 a dicent build is still under $1500. A good full sized laptop is just as expensive.

3. I will break this down into sub groups

a: I completely disagree about Laptop's being secondary computers. They are powerful enough for most users to use them as their primary, having 2 computers cost more in the long run (from a business perspective) as then you have twice as many software licenses, twice as much hardware to maintain, etc... We have many people at my company (myself included) where a laptop is our only computer.

b: I will agree about needing a safe storage device, but with SSD's the likelihood of failure is minimized, and you couple that with a online or network biased backup (such as CrashPlan) and the need for a desktop is gone.

c: Because of the two above reasons I disagree about being overpowered, and to some extent over priced. If you are using these as your primary computers (as I am sure many are) you don't want an anemic CPU such as an Atom. And they are not as overpowered as the the i5 or i7 name implies.
i. They are only dual core
ii. Their base speed is much lower, they can boost up to higher speeds but they don't stay there.
iii. They have smaller cache memory
iv. Their cost to performance ratio is not as good as a desktop, but battery life is worth a lot for a road warrior, and although many might not need an 8 hour battery, it is nice to be able to have one.

As an I.T. person for a medium sized business I can say these facts about laptops:
1. If its heavy, the won't take it on the road, and that decreases productivity and higher turn over.
2. If its slow (not as fast as "their computer" at home) They will whine until someone gets them a laptop that meets their expectations. I can handle whining, but it seems upper management cannot so you will end up getting one anyway.
3. If it has a poor battery life, you basically have to buy them two power adapters. One for their office and One for their laptop bag. At about $100 for a laptop power supply; that instantly takes a big chuck of your savings on a cheaper CPU away. BECAUSE THEY WILL FORGET THEIR POWER ADAPTOR AT HOME.

I can seriously make it an entire work day on my MacBook Air's battery. I haven't needed to, but sometimes its nice to just plop your laptop open and start working.

 

[irish_adam]

[citation][nom]amk-aka-phantom[/nom]^^ No, don't agree. Stuff that new ULV Sandy bridge in a netbook: say, $250 for the most basic one (1.7 GHz with Turbo to 2.7, 3MB cache), $100 for the mobo (approximate, no idea of netbook mobo prices), $150 for the screen, $100 for HDD/SSD, $100 for the rest. So it's a $600 powerful netbook - exactly what I need, since I already have a desktop and hate my old laptops with a passion, since for the mobility they offer they can't get anything done on the move with these crappy Atoms/Celerons. This is perfect, now just wait for Asus to release something based on it... it will be another best bang-for-buck like G73 or N53SV.[/citation]

add on the profit margin and your looking at $1500-2000

well unless u have the ability to make one of these yourself?

 

[farleytron]

AMK is clueless... he thinks ultra-thin notebooks are something people build at home, apparently. There is no way that the new Sandy Bridge laptops will sell for less than $1500... and will probably be closer to $2000 for the base model.

 

[intelatifan]

Low wattage means low resources ..... less performance ;(

 

[hmp_goose]

[thinks of HTPC these could build]

 

[fenx]

[citation][nom]irish_adam[/nom]add on the profit margin and your looking at $1500-2000well unless u have the ability to make one of these yourself?[/citation]

That is true to some extent; they dont have 200% profit; there are a lot of other manufacturing costs such as labor, R&D (Keep in mind there is no ATX equivalent form factor for laptops each board is custom designed) Same with the chassis, etc... I think we could see these in the low $1000 range ($1000-1250).

 

[DavidC1]

[citation][nom]fenx[/nom]That is true to some extent; they dont have 200% profit; there are a lot of other manufacturing costs such as labor, R&D (Keep in mind there is no ATX equivalent form factor for laptops each board is custom designed) Same with the chassis, etc... I think we could see these in the low $1000 range ($1000-1250).[/citation]

Did you guys not hear about the pricing for Ultrabooks? It's coming near end of this year. The one being made by Asus is said to cost under $1000, which suggest mid to upper $900 pricing. That's with the i5-2557M and SSD, which is more than enough.

Performance of the i7-2677M should be comparable with the average standard voltage 35W chips, while using half the power, hence the price premium.

 

[masterasia]

I want.

 

[f-14]

The new processors listed by Intel are as follows:

Core i7-2677M: 2 cores, 1.8 GHz (turbos to 2.9GHz), 4MB cache, 17 watts, $317
Core i7-2637M: 2 cores, 1.7GHz (turbos to 2.8GHz), 4MB cache, 17 watts, $289
Core i5-2557M: 2 cores, 1.7GHz (turbos to 2.7GHz), 3MB cache, 17 watts, $250

so these all consume only 17 watts on turbo?

 

[Khimera2000]

Thats nice, but the video card still royaly blows. Whats the point of making an ultra portable if your still going to hate the performance?

The thing might be power efficint, and have a dexcent CPU, but all that efficiancy is lost when you need a seperate video card to become a strong contender.

I have systems that run on both intergrated and dedicated video cards, and I have to say that its not CPU power that is the bottleneck any more. its the Video card.

and when you take into account the power requirements of a discreet card the advantages of this chip are all but lost.

 

[SteelCity1981]

Thats nice, but the video card still royaly blows. Whats the point of making an ultra portable if your still going to hate the performance?

Because the vast majority of the people that buy this type of ultra portable laptops aren't going to use it for more then just typical workload computing and want the most battery life as possible which is why they have been big sellers.

 

[fenx]

[citation][nom]Khimera2000[/nom]Thats nice, but the video card still royaly blows. Whats the point of making an ultra portable if your still going to hate the performance?The thing might be power efficint, and have a dexcent CPU, but all that efficiancy is lost when you need a seperate video card to become a strong contender.I have systems that run on both intergrated and dedicated video cards, and I have to say that its not CPU power that is the bottleneck any more. its the Video card.and when you take into account the power requirements of a discreet card the advantages of this chip are all but lost.[/citation]

True, but I think ultra portable are targeted at business people who travel a lot; not necessarily gamers or CAD people. And to be honest the graphics built into SandyBridge CPUs is fairly impressive. I can't speak for these but I can tell you the GPU built into a Core I5-2400 (Desktop CPU) can beat a Geforce G210 in most applications.

 

[Pherule]

i5 and i7 with 2 cores. Sigh, Intel, I hate when you do this BS. i5 should have minimum 4 cores (real cores not 2+HT), and i7 minimum 4 cores with HT enabled.

Yeah I know these are laptops, and I don't care. Label them i3's if they're dual cores.

 

[fenx]

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see an affordable system with a great GPU, lots of memory, a huge SSD, etc... for a home user. But simply put they don't have to, so they won't. (They being "The Man")

 

[ares1214]

Comparison vs Llano and Zacate would be cool...

 

[S J W]

Exactly,

You have to account for profit margin mark up. And over here in blighty, those $1000 laptop will cost £1000 here. And for $999 for a Macbook, all your buying is old dual core 2 processor and a load of nasty apply plastic.

The i7 price will command a huge mark up with its name, as they're not going to release these beating the previous i5 gen chips hands down on price AND PERFORMANCE. Unless you here they're making a i10 processor, this marks the top level laptop CPU. Once you combine these with the price of a SSD, (128gb min) which will appear mandatory in the price quote from the cheapo to the mid level "ultra book" your knocking on the door of $2000.

Again, how can a 2 core i7 offer anywhere near the same performance of the i7 quad core sandy/ivybridge.

Ok so maybe you don't break the screen from dropping it, but a laptop still isn't designed to handle even minor drops, and naturally spills too. I just can't see a reason to need the peformance of a TRUE i7 in your laptop to warrant anyone from needing to spend the money on one of these Ultra books? If your using this as your only PC? Well then how much CPU power does MS office, Nero, Citrix actually use? It sounds like they're wrapping a ferrari engine on a bicycle without upgrading the frame or wheels in any way. Except that engine has its air supply strangled and fuel injectors limited. In the end its a sick looking bicycle with a fancy ferrari engine on it. In practise its crappy £200 bike with an electric motor on it.

I mean "Ultra Book" is a total gimmick, and it has to sarcifice performance to asthetics somewhere as in the end your paying the price for the r&d of the chip and the copper in the cooling unit inside for everything.

This is JUST A LAPTOP. It is nothing special at all.