Last week, we noted that the second quarter of this year will bring an abundant variety of netbooks featuring Intel's Atom N280 processor and GN40 HD-capable chipset.  Additionally however, Intel is planning to launch the successor to its current Atom lineup in the second quarter with its 45nm Pineview-M single-core processors based on Lincroft System on a Chip (SoC) low-power architecture.

According to Intel's latest plans, Pineview will integrate northbridge functions such as a memory controller and graphics core to allow for a smaller form factor for nettops and netbooks.  This effectively allows the Atom platform to switch from a northbridge/CPU/southbridge three-chip design to a CPU/southbridge two-chip design (see here).  Moreover, the new chipset can be reduced from 2174mm² down to only 773mm² and the PCB can be reduced from 6 layers to 4 layers, which will effectively lower total production costs.

The new processor features a dual-channel DDR2 integrated memory controller similar to the one found on upcoming 45nm Core i5 desktop processors, codenamed Lynnfield.  More specifically, the CPUs will run higher than 1.60GHz with a TDP of 7 watts, up from 8 watts, and the memory standard has been raised to support DDR2-667.  Intel has decided to keep its GMA950 integrated graphics processor but has raised the core clock to 200MHz, up from 133MHz on the Atom N270 chipset, which roughly equates to a 15 to 20% graphics performance increase. Finally, the new southbridge will be codenamed Tigerpoint-M and will be replacing the ICH7M.

By integrating several critical chipset components into the CPU and producing a two-chip design, Intel has been able to successfully lower the overall power consumption of its new architecture which spells a significant achievement for netbooks - fanless cooling.  With this new generation of Atom processors, netbooks will be quieter, slimmer, and more energy efficient.  Furthermore, netbook sales are definitely set to rise in 2009.

On another note, HKEPC Hardware has published a chart of Pineview's full specifications which can be found here.

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