Samsung says that their new Chromebook is more than a pretty face
Folks looking to upgrade their current Samsung Chromebook to the Chromebook 2 — set to be released in April — will notice a big boost in performance, according to the latest from Samsung on the matter. That’s because the new Chromebook 2 is powered by the eight-core Exynos 5 Octa versus the dual-core CPU in the previous version.
Maximizing performance in tight power and thermal budgets is critical in today’s mobile devices. Compared to Exynos 5 Dual, our new Exynos 5 Octa application processors deliver up to 125 percent increase in computing and two times the multimedia performance. This enables designers to develop leading-edge products with significantly improved battery life. — Dr. Kyushik Hong, vice president of System LSI marketing, Samsung Electronics
The 11.6-inch model will feature an Exynos 5 Octa whose four “big” cores run at 1.9GHz, while the four “little” cores run at 1.3GHz. The 13.3-inch model has “big” cores running at 2.0GHz and “little” cores are clocked at 1.3GHz. Both processors are built on 28nm technology and feature multi-core Mali GPUs.
It will be interesting to see how the latest power-chips from Samsung compare with Intel versions, and you can bet we’re going to be having a look when these come out in April.
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa Powers New Chromebook 2
First Chromebook to utilize eight core SoC with big.LITTLE technology for high performance and energy efficiency
SEOUL, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, announced that its Exynos 5 Octa mobile application processor is the power behind the new Samsung Chromebook 2*. The Exynos 5 Octa family features an eight-core ARM® big.LITTLE™ processor configuration built for efficient handling of multiple tasks in high-end mobile devices today.
“Maximizing performance in tight power and thermal budgets is critical in today’s mobile devices,” said Dr. Kyushik Hong, vice president of System LSI marketing, Samsung Electronics. “Compared to Exynos 5 Dual, our new Exynos 5 Octa application processors deliver up to 125 percent increase in computing and two times the multimedia performance. This enables designers to develop leading-edge products with significantly improved battery life.”
The 11.6-inch model of new Samsung Chromebook 2 is powered by Exynos 5 Octa based on four big cores (ARM Cortex®-A15 processors at 1.9GHz) and four little cores (ARM Cortex-A7 processors at 1.3GHz) and the 13.3-inch model is also powered by Exynos 5 Octa, configured with big.LITTLE technology (ARM Cortex-A15 processors at 2.0GHz and ARM Cortex-A7 processors at 1.3GHz).
Built on 28nm High-K Metal Gate process technology and incorporating powerful multi-core ARM Mali™ GPUs, the Exynos 5 Octa family of application processors brings superior performance as well as maximum power efficiency to Chromebooks allowing for a smaller, slimmer battery package that is equally or more efficient than that of previous models.
“ARM big.LITTLE multi-processing technology delivers the highest performance and efficiency across the widest range of workloads and it is a significant endorsement to see it used in the new Google Chromebook,” said Nandan Nayampally, vice president of marketing, CPU group, ARM. “We welcome Samsung’s continued commitment to deploying the leading-edge technology on their latest chips featuring the ARM Cortex-A processor series, ARM Mali-T628 GPU and ARM Artisan™ physical IP.”
“The Samsung Chromebook 2 offers great performance and battery life in a slim, fanless design, making them great devices for consumers, businesses and schools,” said Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management, Google. “We’re particularly excited to see the new 13-inch form factor from Samsung, powered by Exynos 5 Octa processor, which brings Chromebooks up market with high quality components and capabilities, like a full, bright HD screen and top-notch audio for a rich Google+ Hangouts experience. These specs make the Samsung Chromebook 2 a great primary device for everyone.”