Intel launched two processor families today. First the Clarkdale desktop family, but also the mobile equivalent. Arrandale is the code-name of this second family and like its siblings it sports 32 nanometer technology and integrated GPU. Arrendale is a bit wimpier though but also a lot more energy efficient than the desktop family, but judging from the first reviews the roles are reversed in a mobile environment.
The performance of Arrandale is a big step up from the current Intel Core 2 Duo. With the same amount of cores, but with HyperThreading to add and aggressive Turbo modes the performance is a lot higher with Arrandale. Even the integrated graphics circuit looks quick compared to other mobile graphics circuits from Intel, especially with the Turbo mode running.
Unfortunately the 32 nanometer technology and energy saving features haven’t been enough to lower power consumption to the levels we were hoping for. Arrandale gets more work done per watt, but the battery times are still not better than a few hours under load.
During CES we will be seeing more of Arrandale, but already a couple of reviews of ASUS K42F, sporting Intel’s Core i5-540M, have been posted. The processor is located somewhere in the middle of the 11 (!)different Arrandale processors Intel has launched today.
More on Arrandale below;
:: PC Perspective :: Anandtech :: HotHardware :: TechReport ::
