ATI to go mobile with Pentium M

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
ATI Technologies plans to create a family of chips that could become the backbone for future notebooks based on Intel's new Pentium M processor. The Markham, Ontario, graphics chipmaker on Tuesday announced that it has signed a licence with Intel focussed on bus technology for the new Pentium M. The bus is the pathway for shuttling data between the processor and the chipset, a group of support chips that handles the movement of data inside a computer. The licence will pave the way for ATI to add to its family of chipsets with built-in graphics. The Radeon IGP family currently includes chipsets for desktops and notebooks using Intel Pentium and Celeron chips, and AMD's Athlon XP chips. Though Intel itself sells the majority of the chipsets used to build computers with its processors, the chipset business is an important new frontier for graphics chipmakers like ATI and Nvidia. Meanwhile, notebooks are the hottest items in the PC market as a whole, making it an appealing place for ATI to offer a new chipset. Nvidia builds the Nforce chipset, which is used widely in computers based on the Athlon XP processor. Nvidia also builds the chipset for Microsoft's Xbox. ATI, on the other hand, has been building chipsets for Intel Pentium 4 systems, including both desktops and notebooks. Gaining a bus licence from Intel is a key first step in building a chipset for Intel processors with the chipmaker's blessing. Others, such as Via Technologies, have been known to build such products without that approval. Right now, the only Pentium M chipset is Intel's 855. That chipset comes in two basic flavors, one of which includes a built-in graphics processor. Manufacturers choose integrated graphics to cut costs on inexpensive systems or to save space inside thin and lightweight notebooks. ATI's chipset is likely to come in between the two offers, presenting a second option for notebook manufacturers that are looking to use built-in graphics. Most high-end Pentium M notebooks will likely go with the 855, and include a separate graphics board. ATI, which launched two new Radeon mobile graphics processors earlier this month, did not reveal many of the details on its Pentium M chipset plans. The company did not say which graphics core the new chipset would use or when it planned to launch the chipset. It did not announce the terms of the deal.
See Chips Central for the latest headlines on processors and semiconductors. To find out more about the computers and hardware that these chips are being used in, see ZDNet UK's Hardware News Section. Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email. And sign up for the weekly Chips Central newsletter.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

59 minutes ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

2 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

2 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

3 hours ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

4 hours ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

10 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

12 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

12 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

14 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

15 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

15 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

16 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

16 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

17 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

17 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

17 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

17 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

17 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

21 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

22 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs