Intel: MacBook Air sheds custom CPU for 45-nm Penryn "S"

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/421328487/

Filed under: Laptops

We can finally bring an end to all the fuss made about the custom, 65-nm processor dusted-off special for use in the MacBook Air -- it's gone, although still available inside the Voodoo Envy if you're feeling nostalgic. Intel confirmed its replacement by the smaller, off-the-shelf, 45-nm Penryn-class 1.6GHz and 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo procs which go by the product names SL9300 and SL9400, respectively. So while those clock speeds are identical to the first generation MacBook Air, the bump from 4MB to 6MB of L2 cache in the new Core 2 Duo "S" processor should give the processor access to more information, faster, while providing less drain on the battery thanks to a drop in TDP from 20W to 17W. For the record, while Intel laments the loss of Apple's laptop graphics business to NVIDIA, an Intel spokesperson says it'll "work hard to win back the business." Hmm, we talking Larrabee by any chance?

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