You are hereAMD Athlon Neo MV40. How 'New' is it and Does it Beat the Intel Atom N280?
AMD Athlon Neo MV40. How 'New' is it and Does it Beat the Intel Atom N280?
The Intel Atom N280 and AMD Athlon Neo MV40 are the two most popular Netbook processors. I emphasise Netbook here because I have seen attempts to sell machines having either of these as laptop and at times even desktop computers! Anyone buying a machine equipped with these processors expecting anything more than Netbook level computing power will be disappointed. If you need a laptop buy a real laptop.
NOTE: This article discusses specific processor numbers.
AMD has been lagging behind in the netbook market, where Intels Atom processor has found a strong foothold. The Atom is primarily a single-core processor (though some variants of the Atom are dual core). It is a redo of the Intel Celeron, but with a serious thought to power consumption. While not as powerful as dual-core processors, it found place in the Netbook market due to its 2 to 4W power consumption and cheap price, making netbooks like the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE and Samsung NC10 last upto 8 hours on a battery.
AMD decided to follow Intels lead and repackaged the Athlon K8 to call it Athlon Neo. The Athlon Neo MV40 is a 64-bit single-core processor running at 1.6GHz. It is rated at 15W, which is higher than the Atom. So don’t expect very long battery life for something that has the Athlon Neo in it. What about 64bits? Well 32 or 64 bit does not add much value in the Netbook market1. The Athlon Neo does provide better graphics capability using ATI X1250 or ATI HD3410 graphics chipset and Netbooks with Athlon Neo will be able to support Windows Vista.
So how does something with Athlon Neo inside compare up with the Atom inside? Here is a showdown table:
| Attribute | Athlon Neo MV402 | Intel Atom N2803 (2009) | Intel Atom N4504 (2010) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed: | 1.60GHz | 1.66GHz | 1.66GHz |
| Core: | Single | Single | Single |
| L2 Cache: | 512Kb | 512Kb | 512Kb |
| Power: | 15W | 2.5W | 5.5W |
| 64-bit: | Yes | No | Yes |
| Technology: | 65nm | 45nm | 45nm |
| Virtualization: | Yes | No | No |
So should you buy the Athlon Neo? Well it depends on what you are looking for. On the plus side, the Athlon Neos better graphics support means Netbooks equipped with it will support HD playback and Windows Vista. Let one thing be clear though, Athlon Neo equipped computers are still Netbooks designed for light use and not laptops. Marketing hype, prices and short battery life may place them on the same shelf as laptops, but it does not make them a laptop and they will crumble when multi-tasking and running demanding applications and games. The same applies to Atom equipped Netbooks.
If you are looking for a portable laptop for serious work, stay away from both the Athlon Neo and the Atom. If you want to browse the net in a coffee house on a Netbook and you need windows Vista and don't mind carrying the charger around, then maybe the Athlon Neo is for you, otherwise choose the Atom and forget your charger at home!
- 1. The bit count limits the maximum amount of RAM the system can have. It has no affect on speed. Netbooks hardly ever have more than 2GB of RAM.
- 2. Athlon Neo MV40 Specification.
- 3. Intel Atom N280 Specification.
- 4. Intel Atom N450 Specification.
