Via's new Nano processor outperforms Intel's Atom by about 20 percent, according to articles published this week by three hardware enthusiast websites. But, while both CPUs draw approximately the same power when idling, the Nano drinks a lot more juice when loaded, the reviewers added.
The Nano, announced in May, has been widely compared to Intel's second-wave Atom 230, announced in June. Actually, there are some important differences between the two CPUs.
For example, the Atom N230 is built on Intel's 45nm process and uses in-order execution of instructions, for the lowest power and size requirements. The Nano is built on a 65nm process, and it promises higher performance by using out-of-order execution, similar to Intel's Core Duo architecture. And, officially, the Atom was designed for MIDs (mobile internet devices) and UMPCs (ultra mobile PCs), whereas the Nano is biased more toward mini-notebooks.
