Mobile Atom SoC to Remain 32-bit at Least Until 2015

The 22 nm Valleyview-T SoC and its Bay Trail-T platform promise a 50 to 60 percent performance improvement or half the power consumption at a comparable performance. Valleyview-T, which is based on the Silvermont core, will debut as a quad-core SoC with a clock speed ranging from 1.6 GHz to 2.1 GHz. Also noteworthy is the fact that the platform will support screen resolutions of up to 2560x1600 pixels, as well as 3D video capture in 1080p/60 fps.

Somewhat surprising is the notion that Intel will keep its Silvermont Atom processor as a 32-bit platform at least through 2014. Customers who need 64-bit capability in Atom will have to consider the microserver-focused Centerton Atom-S processor. It is unclear whether the Silvermont successor, the 14 nm Airmont, will be moving to 64-bit.

We remember that Intel has a history of delaying 64-bit support on mobile platforms. For example, Intel's first 65 nm processor and the first CPU released under the "Core" brand - the Core Solo/Duo with Yonah Core - were offered in 2006 as 32-bit processors only, even if the company offered a 64-bit variant with Sossaman core for servers at the time. Intel claimed that there was no need for a 64-bit CPU in the mobile market it was targeting.

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