Dualcore Intel Atom (update)

With reference to my earlier post, I can safely say that the upgraded Intel Atom is arriving to our doorstep. That is why I am thinking whether I should be buying a netbook now or just wait until October 2009 before it is being launched by Intel. According to an Italian website, the new Intel Atom Z630 which features a proper dualcore Atom instead of hyperthreading on the present line of Intel Atom, will be made available to the new range of Sony Vaio P2s. I just could not wait for the great news to appear!!!

No doubts that people would be thinking of buying a netbook but the question is: when? Should they be buying it right now or should they wait for the dualcore Intel Atom to appear around October 2009? Well, it is around four months to go though but I am sure that if people are looking forward to the new cpu, I am sure that it will be worth the wait. It is just like those people who queued for the new Iphone 3GS in Manhattan. I feel that whilst the new Iphone 3GS did not strike me as a new toy, nevertheless, I do feel that I will have to wait for the new Atom dualcore to arrive before making my move. I would really hope that my 9 year old laptop will be able to survive until then.

I can't really talk much about the AMD based Intel Atom killer - Neo. This is because there are not many OEM using the cpu except for HP's DV2 range of laptops. You need to understand that the AMD Neo is not a multithread cpu so it is basically a single core without any hyperthreading. It runs slower than Intel's Atom N series cpu. It goes the same to VIA's Nano CPU. It is also a single core cpu. I feel that it will be much better for me to stick to my Pentium 4-M 2.2Ghz laptop until I can find a proper dualcore Atom cpu laptop... Well, not too long to look for, isn't it? I would just have to wait for another four to five months.

I feel that the netbook market is coming up with better cpus and graphics card. We will be seeing Lenovo's Ideapad S12 which would allow customers to choose either to buy the 12.1" netbook based on the Nvidia 9400M graphics or the Intel Integrated graphics. I would advise people to choose the former as the price difference between the two are insignificant when you are dealing with the performance. It is projected that the S12 with the Nvidia Ion platform will cost US$499 while the S12 with Intel's integrated graphics will cost US$449. Well? If you are looking for Lenovo's S12 with Nvidia's Ion platform, just be patient and wait for mid-August 2009.

Consumers have lots to choose from so choose wisely...

Update: 20/07/2009 - With the robust forecast of the netbook, Intel has decided to delay the launch of the dualcore 'Pinetrail' to 2010. How convenient! I think they should continue to improve on the netbook's specification and not delay it, don't you think so?