Intel Announces Three New ULV Processors for Notebooks Discussion

[SemiExpert]

Originally Posted by Mr_Mysterious

Am I hoping too much to expect them in a netbook (or some such form factor, that is 12", less than 3.5lbs, excellent heat management and battery life) for under $500 within a year?

Based on the perfomance alone, you'd think that ULV CPUs would fit into the price category. But no, they are very pricey. Think $200-300 retail. Poor value for money in terms of performance.

The great mystery is why 17 watt CPUs are so anemic and expensive when the P-series 25-watt CPUs were competitive with 35-watt T-series CPUs? Does the last 8 watts make that much of a difference?

Anyway, at the sub-$500 pricepoint you're looking for, AMD will predominate with the superior value and superior graphics performance of its APU line.

Originally Posted by hp79

lol. Who would have thought we would actually be able to get one of these for under $500 within a year?
I picked up a $480 Toshiba portege r835 with intel i5-2435m (2.4GHz/3GHz turbo) weighs 3.2 pounds, 13.3" screen, has dvdrw, battery lasts 7.5 hours (normal internet with power saving), and has excellent heat management (not the best, but works well when it's not loaded at 100%) from Officemax couple days ago. I also have a Samsung Series 7 Slate with i5-2467M, a ULV cpu, and I didn't really like the performance of it.

I wish Ultrabooks also used normal voltage cpus and let the customers choose the power profile depending on the usage. When all you do is office work and internet, it's much better to have the ability to boost to higher clocks for seconds.

I think your point is well founded. If a Portege R83x can fit a full powered CPU and optical drive into a rather thin, 3+ pound for factor, what's the advantage of an "ultrabook?"

I think the easy answer is that there's no advantage to the "ultrabook" concept, and that the entire concept is a failed emulation of the Macbook Air, a product that's been successful because of OS X and the long term development of the product at Apple. In contrast, "ultrabooks" have been rushed to market and preloaded with Windows 7.

Regardless of price, the R835 represents superior performance and functionality over the Z835 "ultrabook," and at $480, it's a stellar value.

[Pseudorandom]

I agree with SemiExpert. The MacBook Air is a success because they are the only ultraportables to be able to run OS X without violating the OS X EULA. If I were a Mac user, I would prefer a thicker MacBook Air with a standard voltage CPU, but that doesn't exist so I would have to get an Air or lose portability, but Ultrabooks have to compete with faster, longer lasting, and often just as portable traditional ultraportables such as the R830 or X220.