Intel Mobile Computer Silverthorne Chip has some Competition
Via Technologies’ upcoming Isaiah processor likely outperforms Intel’s Silverthorne chip designed for mobile computers based on limited information about the chip that’s been made available so far, according to the Isaiah’s chief designer.
“Silverthorne is liable to be a little faster than our current C7 [processor], but the new Isaiah will be substantially faster than that,” said Glenn Henry, president of Centaur Technology, the Via subsidiary that does processor design for the company.
But don’t look for Isaiah processors to match the performance of Intel’s high-end processors, the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad.
“The Core 2 is going to be faster. Not massively so, but the Core 2 for performance is the fastest architecture in the world. It will be massively hotter too, and of course massively more expensive,” Henry said.
Announced Thursday, Isaiah is a 64-bit processor architecture that is significantly more powerful than the Esther cores used in Via’s current line of C7 processors, while consuming the same amount of power. Single-core chips based on the Isaiah architecture will be available soon, with volume production using a 65-nanometer process expected by the end of June.
