Intel Readies Core 2 Duo Processors for Ultramobile PCs

Intel is bringing its Core 2 Duo microarchitecture to the ultramobile PC market.

On April 5, the Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker will introduce a pair of Core 2 Duo processors designed for ultramobile PCs.

The Core 2 Duo U7600 and U7500 have been designed with a TDP (thermal design power) of 10 watts. TDP is an Intel term that refers to how much heat a chip has to dissipate. The chips also offer a 533MHz FSB (front side bus) and 2MB of Level 2 cache. The U7600 runs at 1.2GHz; the U7500's clock speed is 1.06GHz.

"Intel will be introducing for the first time our energy-efficient Core microarchitecture to the ultra-low-voltage segment of the market," an Intel spokesperson told eWEEK.

Gateway will be among the first OEMs to offer one of these low-watt Core 2 Duo processors in an ultraportable notebook. Starting May 3, Gateway customers will be able to order an E-100M ultraportable with Intel's U7600, according to Gateway officials.

Currently, Gateway's E-100M uses a 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo processor with a 533MHz FSB and 2MB of L2 cache for a base price of $1,299. The new Core 2 Duo processors will add $75 to the starting price.

The remainder of the E-100M's configurations will remain the same. The laptop includes 512MB of DDR2 (double data rate 2), SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM); a 40GB SATA (Serial ATA) hard drive; support for 802.11a/b/g wireless networks; and a 12.1-inch display. The E-100M also uses Microsoft's Windows XP Professional Edition.

The revamped E-100M is geared toward midsize and enterprise businesses. Since last year, Gateway has been moving to retool its product lineup for these businesses and offer customers additional choices. In addition to its Intel-based products, Gateway offers a line of PCs and servers that use Advanced Micro Devices processors.

Gateway has also worked to expand its storage lineup. The company offers PCs that use Intel's vPro technology, which provides customers with manageability and security features that help monitor corporate desktops.

For its part, Intel has signaled that it continues to offer more and more chips with lower TDPs for ultramobile computing. At a conference in San Francisco in September, company executives showed off several new mobile products that use 5-watt chips. Intel also has plans to introduce 2.5-watt processors.

At the same show, Intel executives said the increasing number of companies investing in mobile devices and the increased availability of wireless broadband services could give ultramobile computing a needed boost.

The Intel spokesperson said several other OEMs plan to use the low-watt processors in the coming months for mobile products such as small-form-factor mininotebooks, subnotebooks, and slate and tablet notebooks.

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International