Posts tagged with 2nd Gen Ultrathin

Back in April of this year, HP introduced the world’s first value ultrathin notebook, the HP Pavilion dv2. It was chock full of AMD technologies like the new AMD Athlon^TM Neo processor and even had an ATI Radeon^TM discrete graphics card, all in a slim and affordable package. The press noticed. Could it get better?  Let me give you my first impressions on the AMD 2nd generation ultrathin platform, introduced today along with our new “Vision Technology from AMD” campaign designed to de-mystify the PC buying experience.  This time, I got to test out an MSI X-Series notebook and it impressed.

Notebook based on AMD’s Second Generation Ultrathin Platform

It’s real easy to describe the 2nd generation ultrathin design: Take the 1st generation, give it a second CPU core and take nearly the performance of the first generation’s discrete card, shrink it and place it into the chipset decreasing energy consumption.  Oh yeah, and add sprinkles of VISION Technology.  Easy, right?  Don’t tell the engineers I said that.

Specs for MSI notebook based on AMD’s 2nd Generation Ultrathin Platform

• CPU: AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual Core Processor L335 at 1.6 GHz.
• GPU: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics
• Display: 12″ at 1366×768 resolution with HDMI for 1080P bliss and VGA port out

• RAM/HDD/Optical: 2GB (dual channel)/160GB/None
• Memory Slot: SD/SDHC/MMC
• Networking: Bluetooth, Gig-E, and BGN wireless
• 3 USB ports
• 1.3 MP Webcam

Size Matters

The best way to do a size comparison is to compare it to something someone may be familiar with.  Below are comparisons to a BlackBerry Bold and an MSI U100 Netbook.

MSI notebook based on AMD’s 2^nd Generation Ultrathin platform next to a BlackBerry Bold

MSI U100 Netbook next to MSI notebook based on AMD’s 2nd Generation Ultrathin platform

MSI U100 Netbook on top of an MSI notebook based on AMD’s 2nd Generation Ultrathin platform

HD Video Playback-Bring It On

The MSI ripped through HD video off of the web from YouTube HD as well as Hulu HD (to my surprise).  I also played HD files from my Sony Webbie (1080P/30FPS) and Kodak ZI6 (720P/60FPS) inexpensive HD palmcorders and it didn’t even break a sweat.  I plugged an external Blu-Ray drive and two movies with Cyberlink 8, “I Am Legend” and “Speed Racer”, and I never saw CPU utilization go above 25%.  Add this to the ability to project externally at 1080P video to my HDTV along with high-fidelity audio over the HDMI port and cable and I was real happy.

Games- Not Sweating the Small Stuff

Like the AMD 1st generation ultrathin platform, the 2nd generation ultrathin platform can (of course) play mainstream games well like the Sims and Spore, but even the more hard-core games (albeit at low settings) like Left 4 Dead. I must caveat by saying that if you consider yourself a gamer, go for a system that has a higher end GPU like the higher end ATI Radeon HD 3000 or HD 4000 series.  But if you play games but don’t consider yourself a gamer, no need to worry, you get a real ATI-branded graphics capability, not a generic brand in many systems.

Web Browsing- Flash Eater

I already described how this MSI notebook tore through YouTube HD and Hulu HD so why bring up anything else?  Well, it’s called Flash and it’s the basis for a ton of web sites and it chews up inordinate amounts of power.  Try this test- open up task manager to see how much CPU is being used then go to americanidol.com and then disney.com.  If you have one of those underpowered machines, you know what happens.  If you have a notebook based on the 2nd generation ultrathin platform, you get a good experience where the CPU isn’t pegging at 100%.

Conclusion

The 2nd generation ultrathin platform turned out exactly as I would have hoped: lighter, cooler, and more powerful to enable consumers to have an even better experience than they did with the first generation.  No-compromise computing in a thin package at a good value.  As “Active” and “Resting” battery life benchies go, the lab is working on those and I will update my blog when I get them.  Until then, let me know if you have any questions.

Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.