Intel revealed the Intel Atom 330 Aug. 20, a dual-core version of its Atom
"Diamondville" processor for low-cost "nettop" PCs.
Like the Intel Atom 230, the Intel Atom 330 uses 45-nm technology, features
a 533MHz front side bus and is designed to work with Intel’s 945GC chip set (the
82945GC northbridge and 82801GB southbridge).
Unlike the Intel Atom 230, however, the Intel Atom 330 features dual cores,
plus second-level cache that has been doubled from 512MB to 1GB.
The Atom 330 will ship initially in a low-cost D945GCLF2 mini-ITX board that
has Gigabit Ethernet, S-video, six-channel audio, eight USB
ports and PCI expansion.
Intel did not specify the Atom 330’s dimensions, clock speed or power
consumption. But the picture in the link below of the D945GCLF2 suggests that
the Atom 330 fits into the same 22-millimeter by 22-mm footprint as the
Atom 230. In the meantime, the new processor has been rumored to have a TDP
of 8 watts, twice that of its earlier sibling.
However much power it consumes, the Atom 330 will be a relatively minor
contributor to motherboard TDP as a whole.
That’s because the relatively thirsty 82945GC and 82801GB consume up to 25
watts on their own, according to a previously published Intel road map.
Reviewers have measured the D945GCLF’s power consumption under load as falling
between 50 and 60 watts; for more details, see our earlier coverage, here.