Dual Core Intel Atom N550

Intel has both single core and dual core Atom processors for desktop computers. For netbooks, however, mostly single core processors are available at the moment but Intel is working on dual core versions as well. Now word is that the new chip will be called Atom N550.

The Intel Atom N550 dual-core processor will come with a clock speed of 1.5GHz, 1 MB of L2 cache, and a couple of cores to support hyperthreading.  Thankfully, even though these processors will be more powerful, power consumption will be minimal.  In fact, they’re said to require less power than the standard Intel Atom N450 and Intel Atom N470 single-core chips.

The new chipset will have a total power draw (TDP) of 8.5 watts. The TDP includes the power consumed by the CPU, integrated graphics and memory controller. Of course, this chip will consume more power than the single core Atom N450 and N470 processors, but that is the price you have to pay for adding another core. That said, the dual core Atom processors are unlikely to offer a significant boost in performance, but they will have more power to handle multitasking.

According to reports, the recommended price range for these dual-core netbooks is $350-$400. In addition to the N550 part, these netbooks will also sport 1GB of DDR3 memory and either a 20GB-30GB SSD or 250GB HDD. Other specs will be the same as what you’ve come to expect from a modern day netbook, only you should be able to do more with the addition of a dual-core processor.

It should be noted that some Intel-based dual-core netbooks already exist, but the current crop are all built around Nvidia’s ION platform. These typically run between $450 and $500 and include a bit more screen real estate (11.6-inch and 12.1-inch panels are common for ION-based netbooks).