Intel's future Atom plans sound a lot like AMD's Fusion

From InfoWorld: Next year, Advanced Micro Devices plans to release the first of its Fusion chip family , which combines processor cores and a graphics engine on the same chip. But AMD isn't alone in its efforts: Intel also plans to combine graphics capabilities with its processors, including low-cost Atom chips for laptops and desktops.

Called Pineview, the new chip package will likely hit the market late next year and includes a processor that combines an Atom core and graphics on the same chip, a version of the Lincroft system-on-chip (SOC) that powers Intel's upcoming Moorestown platform for mobile Internet devices.

While the Atom processor core used in Pineview remains largely the same as current Atom chips, Intel has made refinements to the design that further lower its already miserly power consumption, said Belliappa Kuttanna, the principal architect of Intel's Atom architecture, in an interview.

The upcoming Atom processor also includes an integrated memory controller with direct links to main memory to improve system performance.

"Now that we're in an SOC environment, we have opportunities for more efficient power management of the subsystems within the SOC, like graphics, display, etc., that involve some CPU interaction, so we went ahead and added those types of mechanisms to Lincroft," he said.

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