Intel vs. AMD: Better computer chips raise laptops' abilities

By
Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY
July 16, 2008, 5:42 AM ET
2 min read

SAN FRANCISCO -- The hot laptop market has sparked a war among computer chip companies — and they're not just fighting over who can build the fastest processor.

Intel intc on Monday rolled out Centrino 2, its next-generation laptop chips. Centrino 2 laptops are faster than their predecessors. But their biggest benefits are other features, such as better graphics and battery life.

Advanced Micro Devices amd, Intel's chief rival, released a similar set of laptop chips last month. Graphics-chipmaker Nvidia, best known for desktop components, also rolled out a laptop line.

"It's a big shift," says AMD Vice President Patrick Moorhead. The number of laptops sold will outpace desktops by 2009, Intel CEO Paul Otellini predicts. (Laptop revenue already exceeds desktops, because laptops are usually more expensive.) That's prompting chipmakers to put new emphasis on the problems that arise in small, portable computers.

They include:

•Battery life. The best laptop in the world isn't worth much when its battery dies. Intel's new chip line features an ultra-low-power processor and other energy-saving tools. AMD's chips can detect whether a computer is plugged in and adjust power levels accordingly. (Other features also help.)

•Graphics. Laptops traditionally used low-end graphics chips that piggyback off other components. But now 26% have powerful stand-alone graphics chips, says semiconductor analyst Dean McCarron at Mercury Research. Demand has risen as more people watch movies, play games and use graphics-intensive programs such as Google Earth on their laptops, he says.

Nvidia nvda now makes so many laptop chips that when a problem developed in some of them last month, the company said it must take a charge of at least $150 million. AMD's new chip line has a vastly improved graphics processor.

•Wireless Internet. Intel's new chip line features the latest version of Wi-Fi, known as 802.11n. Later this year it plans to roll out chips using a new wireless Internet standard, WiMax, which can send a signal over several miles. Chipmaker Atheros Communications and others are also pushing new wireless standards.

Chipmakers "are putting an awful lot of effort into their (laptop) solutions," says semiconductor analyst Matthew Wilkins at researcher iSuppli. An emphasis on features, instead of just processing power, is a way to stand out, he says.