Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • PC Hardware

    Transmeta Unveils New Processor

    By
    Mark Hachman
    -
    October 14, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      At long last, Transmeta Corp. on Tuesday will take the wraps off of its TM8000, the companys next big chance to move back into mainstream computing.

      Transmeta will launch the TM8000 or “Efficeon” processor at the Microprocessor Forum in San Jose, Calif., following the disclosure of various details about the chip over the last few months. The company is positioning the chip squarely against Intel Corp.s Pentium M “Banias” processor, and the Centrino platform built upon it, claiming that several internal tests show that the TM8000 outperforms Intels contenders in integer and floating-point performance, while offering lower power.

      Transmeta executives are expected to disclose that the TM8000 will be released at speeds ranging from between 1.0GHz and 1.3GHz this fall, with the processors average power consumption ranging from between 5 and 14 watts. A second generation of the family is planned for 2004, with speeds ranging up to 2.0GHz.

      Transmeta will announce three versions of the Efficeon processor: the TM8600, with a full megabyte of on-chip Level-2 cache; the TM8300, with a 512KB L2 cache, and a version of the TM8600 that will fit into a smaller package size, dubbed the TM8620.

      Nvidia Corp. will support the Efficeon launch with a special version of its Nforce3 chipset.

      According to Transmeta, the Efficeon platform is competitive to the Centrino on several levels, including speed, power consumption and die size.

      On a clock-per-clock basis, the Efficeon platform will outperform the Centrino on several benchmarks, the company will claim. Improvements, include a two-times performance jump while calculating AES encryption algorithms as well as higher floating-point and graphics performance. The chip performs eight instructions per clock, double that of the Crusoe.

      According to Transmeta, the Efficeon at idle consumes 0.18 watts, about eight times less power than the Centrino. The nForce3 Go chipset actually throttles the processor in response to load, using the Transmeta LongRun technology, according to Bill Henry, director of the mobile management group at Nvidia.

      In die space, Transmetas TM8600 plus the Nvidia Nforce3 Go 120 chipset have a footprint of 2,066 square millimeters of board space, compared to an Intel Pentium M and its own chipset, which Transmeta said requires just under 3,600 square mms. And the TM8000 requires 119 sq. mm of die space using a 130-nm process.

      Like Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s Opteron processor, the Efficeon will integrate a memory controller, which will connect to DDR-400 memory. The processor will also contain an AGP 4X link to external graphics, as well as a HyperTransport connection to the so-called “south-bridge” components on a logic board.

      The Efficeon chip will be available at 1.0-, 1.1-, 1.2-, and 1.3-GHz speeds. It will ship in the fourth quarter, when prices are announced.

      Transmeta will also take the wraps off LongRun2 in a separate presentation at the Forum. LongRun2 will allow the processors internal code-morphing software to manage leakage current, Swift said. Leakage current trickles across the silicon gates and wastes power when the processor is not in use.

      For Transmeta, the companys past optimistic predictions have outstripped reality. The company has reported annual losses since the companys launch in 2000, and for most of its history, the companys pro-forma and net losses for each quarter have outstripped its revenues. During that time, the companys Crusoe processor has been positioned to a number of market segments, including notebooks, handhelds, and the embedded processor market.

      According to analyst group iSuppli Corp., Transmeta ranks last in 32-bit CPU revenue, trailing companies like Atmel Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., and Marvell Technology Group, with a bare 0.1 percent market share. Transmetas overall CPU revenue fell 27.8 percent from 2001 to 2002 to approximately $26 million, placing the company 17th out of all 19 CPU vendors.

      On Tuesday, David Ditzel, the co-founder, vice-chairman and CTO of Transmeta, will describe the TM8000 at Microprocessor Forum. The company hopes the presentation will be the first step in wooing more OEM PC vendors back to its fold.

      Transmeta executives said theyve learned a number of lessons from the Crusoe, the companys first processor. While the Crusoe carried the torch for “all-day” computing, the company said its OEMs still wanted more.

      “In many ways what we did was revolutionary in the industry, and now its safe to say that the Efficeon processor takes energy efficiency and adds power efficiency,” said Art Swift, Transmeta senior vice president of marketing and a former executive of several Cirrus divisions. “But its safe to say customers wanted more performance than the Crusoe could deliver.”

      Discuss this in the eWEEK forum.

      Mark Hachman

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×