Intel's Silverthorn becomes the Atom, Menlow the Centrino Atom

Another brain-shattering announcement that you've all been waiting for is here. Intel has officially dubbed the Silverthorn and Diamondville chips "Atom," and the Menlow platform has become the "Centrino Atom." We know, it's hard to believe the day has come, but it's finally happened. Obviously, the 45nm Atom chips, and Centrino Atom technology will be targeted for MIDs, UMPCs, and all manner of small, internet-centric devices. Undoubtedly an unending vista of total awesomeness awaits us now that they've got some fancy new names.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[eidorian @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:20PM]

The names of these things just get more lame every time!

[mac @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:31PM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Atom anyone?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:39PM]

names lam, but the new name makes the logo look just so cooler for some reason

[Eh @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:07AM]

Atom is going to be da-bomb.

[flYY @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:20PM]

"an unending vista"

I c wut u did ther

Haha, and also, hopefully these make it into phones sooner rather than later

[Abuzar @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:20PM]

"Undoubtedly an unending vista of total awesomeness awaits us now that they've got some fancy new names."

Unusual of engadget to put Vista and Awesomeness in the same sentence, you usually don't see that from them! haha

[ethana2 @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:56PM]

I usually don't see that anywhere...

But then, I don't associate with windows users much...
until after I've converted them ^_^

[Flashpoint @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:22PM]

I miss the good old days when Intel stuck to the "PENTIUM ---> PENTIUM 4" labeling.
Now unless you are a serious gadget freak, you'd have absolutely no idea what your selling.

And to be certain they make their daily revenue, Best Buy employess will sell you whatever they feel like. I know people who go to these stores to buy a laptop for Microsoft Office and come home with Core 2 Duo's and 3 MB of RAM for nearly $2000.

I realize its all about marketing but Intel would probably do better if they made their CPU speeds and uses more transparent to the lay end user.

[Les @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:26PM]

3MB of RAM! Holy crap, I wish my computer had that!

:)

[Eric M. @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:32PM]

3MB of RAM! Wow you can open up like two whole notepad documents with that!

[Demaar @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:39PM]

I agree. I think Intel were foolish to throw away the brand recognition the Pentium name had. Even if it was getting a bit of a stigma with enthusiasts, the vast majority of people out there had no clue.

OK, I was never a fan of the Pentium name (how long ago are 586es now?), but still, such a waste. Now they're throwing out the Core Duo name. Very wasteful.

[Ethyriel @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:49PM]

"I miss the good old days when Intel stuck to the "PENTIUM ---> PENTIUM 4" labeling.
Now unless you are a serious gadget freak, you'd have absolutely no idea what your selling."

They lost that when the moved TO the name Pentium. Until that the generation was in the name. In fact, I'd say Core and Atom are probably better names since they don't sound like meaningless baby talk.

[Jon Doe. @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:50PM]

Best Buy employees aren't there to help you, they are there to make sales. Its not their fault the average consumer has the critical thinking capabilities of a 8 year old, else they would go to Google and type [enter computer name here] and review.
But hey. After this evening's 60 minutes and the dumbfucks on it who won't vote Obama not because of an informed decision, not because they don't like his policy choices, but they "heard" he refuses to say the pledge of allegiance...well yah know....I simply don't care about the dumbfucks in the world anymore. Let em get fleeced. Let em get scammed. Let them loose their life savings if they really are this fucking moronic. When did schools stop teaching critical thinking skills? Or is this something that you either have or don't have?

[Big John @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:42PM]

"And to be certain they make their daily revenue, Best Buy employess will sell you whatever they feel like. I know people who go to these stores to buy a laptop for Microsoft Office and come home with Core 2 Duo's and 3 MB of RAM for nearly $2000."

Ignoring your MB / GB typo, you're completely full of shit.

[robotrock @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:57AM]

The first pentium made sense. As in Penta meaning 5 or 586.

Pentium II? Shouldn't that be Hexium or something similar? They just went bananas after that...

[snife @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:09AM]

I am a complete geek - but I dont think its a requirement to know Centrino etc given the marketing Intel put into their new brands. While Pentium/2/3/4 was more straightforward (as was judging by megahertz rating) - I dont think it was necessarily better, expecially when it only used to refer to the CPU and not the package (chipset/wireless) that it does now. You'd be surprised at how many consumers know the terms, everyone wants Centrino but they dont necessarily know what it actually means.

[Liam @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:23PM]

Appropriate. It's small! More appropriate than "pentium I, II, III' in any case.

[ethana2 @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:50PM]

i1386?

[Eric M. @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:35PM]

Up and atom Atom Ant..ergg..I mean Up and Atom and Centrino Atom!

[Spyvie @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:58PM]

Dirk wears white socks

[Jonathan Worrel @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:40PM]

Watch the next one will be called Intel Electron

[mac @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:41PM]

I, personally, would buy an Intel Quark or Muon.

[Frobs @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:44PM]

I for one, would welcome our new sub-atomic processing overlords

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:50PM]

intel neuron woud'nt be that bad either.

[ghop @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:05PM]

eh, it be a little boring though, no charge either way...

[rockintom @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:01PM]

Intel Positron! It ANNIHILATES the competition. :D

[eidorian @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:42PM]

Exactly.. the names just get more confusing. It's just a marketing mess.

[Jon Doe. @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:59PM]

What is so confusing? Who cares about the name. 9 times out of 10 if you go into a store its going to have the latest processor in it and run pretty much any game\OS\Ripping software on the market. Hell now a days most games are about GPU power and RAM size. CPU is becoming more and more irrelevant and frankly all you really need to know is clock speed and if its single\dual\quad core and that can usually be found on the device desc next to the price.
Hell in this case these products are going to be integrated in devices like phones, PMP, UMPC's and such where processor names are even less relevant. Seriously who cares.

[Spyvie @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:03PM]

@Jon Doe: Try watching HDTV on a new Turion 64 X2 equipped notebook, then tell me processor power doesn't mean anything any more

[Abuzar @ Mar 3rd 2008 9:22AM]

Yes John because clock speed and how many cores it has will tell you EVERYTHING, right?

So a Pentium D at 3.6Ghz beats out a Core 2 Duo at 3Ghz right?

[eidorian @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:42PM]

Exactly.. the names just get more confusing. It's just a marketing mess.

[iofthestorm @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:48PM]

Can't wait to see a dual-core eeePC with one of these or similar subnotebook or whatever the hell those things are called. I was going to get an eeePC but then the rumors of the HP 2133 started appearing and now this is almost certainly destined for an eeePC soon, so I think I'll have to (painfully) wait a while longer to get my mini laptop fix.

[Sauerkraut @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:51PM]

not quite there yet lol

[Jayayess1190 @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:56PM]

I bet one of these will be in the new EEE.

[alias_ @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:55PM]

the names intel is thinking up lately are getting lamer, and i agree with the first post. in order to attract consumer attention.

since when did pentium 1,2,3,4 become obsolete man, i miss those days.

on the other hand amd is getting pretty simplistic "Phenom" beat that intel "Core2Duo" and not "CoreDuo2" :)

[Chris @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:17PM]

Ok, now that they have awsome names they need to show us some awsome stuff thats powered by them.
(Hey Steve, its never to early to show us the iphone 2)

[mattwier @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:21PM]

Sweetness!

[Neg2LED @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:39PM]

All Hail the atomEEEcPC!

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:40PM]

youngsters and there vandalism these days..heh heh :P

[AlexL @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:56PM]

But neutrinos are smaller than atoms! How you are supposed to fit an atom in a neutrino?

[Eptin @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:05PM]

"Atom Inside"? Really??

[amoo3 @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:10PM]

So this is what now, Pentium 6?

[ethana2 @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:52PM]

Nope, they're past that. Somebody get us model numbers please..
..do they still end in 86? If so, let's hear them.

[Leroy Vargas @ May 13th 2008 8:34AM]

>> Nope, they're past that. Somebody get us model numbers please..
..do they still end in 86? If so, let's hear them.

No, Intel abandoned the 80x86 nomenclature starting with the Pentium.

Pentium: 80501, 80502
Pentium MMX: 80503
...

[TIMMAH! @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:31AM]

Terrific, another name which people are not going to know what the heck it means.

[mushrooshi @ Mar 3rd 2008 2:23AM]

Up next:

Intel unvieled their new "Chocolate Factory" processors.

[Nate @ Mar 3rd 2008 9:48AM]

I know I'm a big dummy, but could someone explain what Intel chips are good for what? Since I have a job I can't afford to keep track any more.

[Maff @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:50AM]

atom, core-based mobile chips for umpc's and the like, what's there to get?

news: Both processors will have a thermal design power specification—an Intel term that refers to the amount of heat a chip dissipates—of 2.5-watts or less and a clock speed of 1.8GHz

The chip is less than 25 square millimeters, and 11 of the chip's dies--the slivers of silicon with 47 million transistors each--would fit in an area the size of a U.S. penny

thanks to zdnet

[Chris @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:44PM]

To be perfectly honest, I think that Intel is attempting to send a subliminal message that they are about to figure out quantum processing. Think about it; the Atom, smaller than a penny, reaching speeds of 1.8 GHz. Yeah, I think the intimidation factor got turned up a notch.

[bones @ Mar 4th 2008 2:36PM]

up and at them!