Would you rather have a portable powered by Core M, or Atom? Why?

[AtenRa]

I've used 5y71 CoreM and Z8300 Cherry Trail tablets, and there is no comparison between the two. The 5y71 CoreM almost feels like a desktop CPU when doing office tasks, the Cherry Trail is making you painfully aware that it's an Atom class CPU.

I had to return the z8300 tablet due to defective touchscreen and did not bother getting a replacement. I may try again with the new Dell Venue 8 Pro 5855 with the Z8500 CPU if it ever goes on dell outlet sale.

Z8300 is single memory, Z8500 has a dual memory thus it should be much much better. Im currently searching for a 10-11.6 windows 2in1 and im looking for the Z8500 for sub $300 prices.

 

[escrow4]

The Lenovo 100S is $244 over here (no, not the magical US where netbooks are the dictionary definition of cheap):

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPa...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458170977&sr=8-1&keywords=100S

But at $200 in the US I would have zero issues in buying one over a tablet for a basic porn er email uses. Even here I may pick one up. I have an old Win 8.1 laptop that is perfectly serviceable (and faster) but its a fat chunky one that weighs a 1kg+ more.

Tech me now comes down to price. Its so disposable spending hundreds on something else isn't really worth it.

 

[TeknoBug]

Z8300 is single memory, Z8500 has a dual memory thus it should be much much better. Im currently searching for a 10-11.6 windows 2in1 and im looking for the Z8500 for sub $300 prices.

^ Yeah I've mentioned this before, the Z8300 uses single channel memory vs Z8500 dual channel- same goes for the Z3735F vs Z3740.

 

[AMDisTheBEST]

Those are cpus for low end netbooks. I would go for an ARM SoC if cheap and mobility are what i want.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The Lenovo 100S is $244 over here (no, not the magical US where netbooks are the dictionary definition of cheap):

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPa...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458170977&sr=8-1&keywords=100S

But at $200 in the US I would have zero issues in buying one over a tablet for a basic porn er email uses. Even here I may pick one up. I have an old Win 8.1 laptop that is perfectly serviceable (and faster) but its a fat chunky one that weighs a 1kg+ more.

Tech me now comes down to price. Its so disposable spending hundreds on something else isn't really worth it.

I picked up a few of them for friends, relatives, and myself, on ebay, from BestBuy (USA), for $120.

 

[Eug]

More people would rather use a potato than Atom.

 

[ehume]

I got an 11" laptop for a conference that puts its syllabus on a flash drive. At $180 without crapware, it was cheap and lightweight. I can leave it and not be unhappy if it's stolen. When they improve it I'll spend a bit more and get a 13" screen. If I had to do work, it would be a different story.

 

[bhtooefr]

Core M, because with proper cooling it should be able to turbo and act as a real processor.
and, has a descent iGPU.

But for Atom(-based) pricing, all you're getting is a Pentium 4405Y, which doesn't have turbo. (iGPU is better, though.)

Interesting that both 4405Y and N3700 have a 6W TDP and a $161 price.....nice catch.

P.S. 4405Y is not a Core M, but it can be configured for 4.5W with cTDPdown.

Well, it's a Skylake-Y. Not a Core M-branded product, but it's the same silicon and package.

Interestingly enough die size is actually smaller on Core M than Braswell (82mm2 vs. 87mm2...though Core M needs a PCH while Braswell does not as it is a SoC).

Citation needed. (I came up with approximately 96 mm^2 for the SKL-Y die, 53 mm^2 for the SKL-Y PCH, from an image of SKL-Y's package.) Also, a MCM (SKL-Y/U have the PCH on-package) will be more expensive than a single-chip module (for one thing, consider that another stage of yields is involved - if a bad PCH gets used, for instance, or if the MCM itself fails), especially a closely-spaced MCM like that, but it could be made up for by the 4405Y possibly being able to use poor yield silicon that would otherwise be wasted.

I'm also suddenly wondering what process the SKL-Y/U PCH is...

 

[cbn]

Citation needed. (I came up with approximately 96 mm^2 for the SKL-Y die, 53 mm^2 for the SKL-Y PCH, from an image of SKL-Y's package.) Also, a MCM (SKL-Y/U have the PCH on-package) will be more expensive than a single-chip module (for one thing, consider that another stage of yields is involved - if a bad PCH gets used, for instance, or if the MCM itself fails), especially a closely-spaced MCM like that, but it could be made up for by the 4405Y possibly being able to use poor yield silicon that would otherwise be wasted.

I'm also suddenly wondering what process the SKL-Y/U PCH is...

82mm was for the Broadwell Core M:

And here is where I got the die size for Braswell/Cherry Trail:

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...rporation-cherry-trail-die-size-revealed.aspx

 

[bhtooefr]

Oh, fair enough, I was using SKL, not BDW. (I was using the same source for BSW/CHT.)

 

[fleshconsumed]

Z8300 is single memory, Z8500 has a dual memory thus it should be much much better. Im currently searching for a 10-11.6 windows 2in1 and im looking for the Z8500 for sub $300 prices.

^ Yeah I've mentioned this before, the Z8300 uses single channel memory vs Z8500 dual channel- same goes for the Z3735F vs Z3740.

Not sure how much difference single channel vs dual channel would make. All the synthetic tests of Z8300 vs Z8500 and Z3735 vs Z3740 that I've seen are more or less identical. I've also read user feedback, and they say the same thing, there is very little visible performance difference between say Z3735 and Z3740. I haven't had a chance to compare those two myself, but based on everything I've read on tabletpcreview forums I don't think it's going to make that much difference.

 

[TeknoBug]

Not sure how much difference single channel vs dual channel would make. All the synthetic tests of Z8300 vs Z8500 and Z3735 vs Z3740 that I've seen are more or less identical. I've also read user feedback, and they say the same thing, there is very little visible performance difference between say Z3735 and Z3740. I haven't had a chance to compare those two myself, but based on everything I've read on tabletpcreview forums I don't think it's going to make that much difference.

I have Z3735F and Z3740 tablets, in real world use there's a noticeable difference when using the web browser (especially with Flash) or MS Office 365. There's even Passmark benchmarks for the two and the Z3740 is higher, same goes for the Z8300 and Z8500. Also I have an A4 5000 laptop which is also single channel, it runs like shit in general mind you.

 

[Essence_of_War]

How the hell is "potato" not winning this? If you offered me an actual potato powered portable, I would snap-keep over Core-M, Atom, and just about any "other" that isn't "also a potato". IT IS A POTATO. THAT IS ALSO A GENERAL PURPOSE CPU. THIS IS EARTH SHATTERING.

 

[NTMBK]

 

[Essence_of_War]

Shut up and take my money NTMBK!!!!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Welp... I know what my next case mod is going to look like.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I would rather have whichever chip is going to be faster in the majority of my use cases.

Since my use cases basically rely on having a bunch of Firefox windows and terminal sessions open, or playing older video games, that will 99% of the time be the "Big Core" chip.

 

[Termie]

I have both Atom and Core M convertibles. The Core M is much, much more usable. These aren't the same class of chip of course, and Core M devices are more expensive.

I used a Bay Trail Atom convertible for two years, but finally decided I couldn't get my work done on it anymore. Too slow.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Well, I dont think anybody outside of intel really knows whether they are deliberately holding Atom back.

Years down the road I hope someone on the inside writes a book and tells the story on Atom. I think this in the biggest unanswered question in the technology sector- why wasn't Atom better?

 

[Raduque]

I have both Atom and Core M convertibles. The Core M is much, much more usable. These aren't the same class of chip of course, and Core M devices are more expensive.

I used a Bay Trail Atom convertible for two years, but finally decided I couldn't get my work done on it anymore. Too slow.

I have both as well. The biggest issue that holds back performance on my Atom device is the eMMC storage. An Atom x7 would have more than acceptable performance if it were using an SSD instead.

My Core m tablet was actually cheaper than my Atom x7 tablet - HP Specter x2($549) vs Surface 3($499 + $149 + $59).

 

[dark zero]

Also is edible and you can eat it by boiling it first.

Also you can go to the competitor.. The Sweet Potato

 

[Termie]

I have both as well. The biggest issue that holds back performance on my Atom device is the eMMC storage. An Atom x7 would have more than acceptable performance if it were using an SSD instead.

My Core m tablet was actually cheaper than my Atom x7 tablet - HP Specter x2($549) vs Surface 3($499 + $149 + $59).

Ha, ha, that's because you paid the Surface tax!!! Typically, though, Core M devices are more expensive.

But yes, eMMC is a problem, whereas you get full-on SATA3 (if not PCIe) SSDs in Core M devices.

 

[ZGR]

Potatoes have superior performance/$

I'd definitely choose the device with properly fast storage. I've experienced too many mobile devices bottlenecked by cheap flash storage. Modern Atom isn't that unbearable to use for basic tasks which I usually do on portables.

 

[Shivansps]

I have used a Z3735D tablet for more than a year now, i prefer Core M, its gona have higher IPC and better igp. Im hoping to see a Pentium 4405Y tablet.

But we need to take price in consideration... right now Atom X5 tablets are selling from 90 to 130 with very good specs, im not going to pay X4 or more for a core M...

 

[Exophase]

What does portable mean?

For something laptop-class, including netbooks, I'd prefer Core M. For a phone or handheld gaming device Atom. For tablets it's kind of a toss up.