The game between Intel and Microsoft

Computer Store News: The performance of Intel Atom processors is getting stronger and stronger, and it is becoming more and more suitable for tablets. Aaron Souppouris, editor of the American technology blog The Verge, wrote on Thursday that the development of the Atom processor Windows tablet will eventually declare the death of Microsoft's Windows RT system.

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In the release process of Windows 8, Microsoft adopted a risk diversification approach. In order to make the operating system suitable for tablets, Microsoft also released Windows RT. This is the first version of Windows that supports ARM processors, which have been adopted by most smartphones and tablets. Windows RT brings a long battery life, but it can't run previous Windows applications, even though the system has an confusing "desktop" mode. This means that applications currently used by users in Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 cannot run in Windows RT. The advantage of using an ARM processor is that the ARM processor consumes less power than the x86 processor in a traditional Windows notebook, so there is no need to use a fan for cooling.

At the same time, Intel has been improving the performance of its processors over the years. These processors were originally used in cheap netbooks, and the next such product is the latest generation Atom processor Clover Trail. Unlike traditional Core processors, such as the Core i5 used in the Microsoft Surface Pro, the Clover Trail is energy efficient enough to support fanless design. Intel said that in the Windows 8 tablet, this processor can bring 10 hours of battery life. With Clover Trail, Intel sent a clear message to Microsoft: Windows RT is completely unnecessary. This processor brings two advantages: long battery life and full compatibility with the Windows ecosystem.

Intense competition

If Microsoft is diversifying its risk, Samsung has surpassed any computing device vendor in diversifying its risk. Samsung currently sells a variety of different Android tablets, Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Recently, Samsung has introduced a tablet PC with Windows 8 and Windows RT system. I have used the Samsung Ativ Smart PC 500T tablet with the Clover Trail processor, and Samsung has another Ativ Tab tablet with an ARM processor and Windows RT system.

From the hardware configuration point of view, these two products are almost identical, only the processor is different. The Ativ Tab uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 APQ8060 chip, which includes a 1.5GHz dual-core ARM processor and the Adreno 225 graphics display core. This processor has been used by several Windows RT notebooks, such as the Dell XPS 10. The Smart PC uses a 1.8GHz dual-core x86 Atom Z2760 chip with a PowerVR SGX 545 graphics display unit. In addition, the hardware configuration of these two products is almost identical, so it is suitable for comparison. Its configuration includes an industry-standard 1366x768 display (but slightly different in size), 64GB of storage, and 2GB of RAM. As a Windows tablet, both products come with a variety of interfaces, including MicroSD, micro HDMI, and a full-size USB interface.

For Windows tablets with Atom processors, Windows RT is not the only comparison, especially for Ativ Smart PCs. Some Windows 8 Ultrabooks with integrated touch screens are also available at a reasonable price, and Microsoft has introduced a Surface Pro with a Windows 8 system. These tablets and notebooks with Core processors are slightly more expensive than those with the Clover Trail processor, and battery life is usually less than half a day. However, these devices can meet all the needs of users, as long as the user is not a game enthusiast. The Atom processor can't bring this kind of performance.

Samsung Tablet

Performance

When I turn on the Smart PC, the tablet runs much faster than the Windows RT tablet. computer. The performance of the Clover Trail is far better than I expected. I used to use the Surface RT with the Nvidia Tegra processor and the Samsung Ativ Tab, so the Smart PC is like a fresh air to me. On this tablet, all of Microsoft's Metro style apps load and run faster, while running multiple apps at the same time doesn't cause slowdowns.

The biggest surprise for Smart PCs is their ability to run traditional Windows applications. I am a user who has high performance requirements for the processor. In the past, the Atom processor could not run the application in my daily work, but Samsung's tablet can meet my work needs. I can easily use Photoshop to process and edit photos, write reports in Word, and use MetroTwit to view Twitter messages. Playing YouTube or Netflix HD videos is not a problem at all. Of course, Ultrabook and Macbook Air software runs faster, but the Smart PC is just a slim, fanless tablet. It should be noted that we have found that other Clover Trail tablets such as the Lenovo ThinkPad 2 do not perform well when running the Chrome browser. It's hard to understand why the same hardware has a completely different performance for Chrome browsers, but there is no doubt that the Clover Trail tablet is worth a try before you buy a tablet.

Smart PCs are great for small games such as downloading and running games like Jetpack Joyride, Cut the Rope and Riptide. On the Surface RT and Ativ Tab, my personal gaming experience is very bad, the quality of the animation is poor, and the frame rate is unbearable. The Smart PC brings an iPad-like gaming experience to Windows 8 tablets. However, applications in non-Microsoft App Stores are not very good. I tried two of my favorite games, Limbo and Braid, on the Smart PC, but there were significant frame rate issues. If you are not familiar with these two games, in short, these are two independently developed games. Running these games with a notebook with the Intel HD 3000 graphics core two years ago is completely fine. "FTL" works better on Smart PCs, but if you want to run games that are not optimized for the Metro interface, then Smart PC is not a good choice. The PowerVR graphic display unit is not up to the task. For the Smart PC, this is a practical bottleneck, which means that the current generation of tablets with Atom processors will encounter similar fate.

The performance of the current Atom processor is not enough to allow users to completely abandon the ultrabook, but has made great progress in battery life. The Smart PC's one-time charging run time has not reached the 10 hours of Intel's promotion, but it is already very good. With 9 hours of no charging, I can browse the web, play YouTube videos, write reports, and listen to music. However, when the tablet reaches its performance limit, battery life will drop significantly. However, even for video and photo processing, or playing games, the tablet can support more than 5 hours. The SmartPC has a battery capacity of 30 watts and its battery life has exceeded that of Surface RT and Ativ Tab.

My tests clearly show that the performance of a Smart PC can't match the full-featured Win8 computer, but Intel has a good balance between performance and battery life. If you want a "super tablet" to replace the notebook, then Surface Pro is a safer option. But if users don't want to spend $899 to buy a tablet, then the Clover Trail processor tablet is the right choice. You can run familiar Windows software and Metro style apps on these tablets and get longer battery life than Windows RT.

Multiple Choices

I don't recommend the Smart PC 500T. The hardware of this tablet is cheap, not in line with Samsung's style, and the hardware integration is not very good. Microsoft's Windows business CFO Tami & middot; Tami Reller said that almost every hardware vendor will launch the Clover Trail tablet this year, so consumers will have more choices in the future. Samsung's tablet is priced at $599.99 and is $100 higher than the Surface RT. Pricing for future Clover Trail tablets is expected to be similar. With an extra $100, you can use a lot of old software on the Windows platform and get better performance and longer battery life. With this in mind, it's hard to understand why Windows RT can still survive.

One of the main selling points of Windows RT is the longer battery life. For more powerful performance and lower power consumption, ARM processors have emerged. However, due to the inherent defects in application support, Windows RT tablets will have long-term disadvantages compared to Win8 devices. Adobe and Google are not eager to port their most important applications to the Windows RT platform. Obviously, Microsoft's partners share the same view. Samsung recently cancelled plans to sell Windows RT devices in the US and suspended sales in Europe. A few days ago, Nvidia CEO also expressed disappointment with Windows RT. Data from Microsoft is also not optimistic: Even though it was sold through channels such as Best Buy and Staples during the holiday season last year, Surface RT still sold only 1.1 million units in five months.

ARM and its chip partners are constantly developing next-generation processors, and Intel has its own plans. Intel has announced the launch of Bay Trail, the next generation of Clover Trail. The Atom processor will be based on 20nm technology instead of the Clover Trail's 32nm. This means a reduction in chip size and a reduction in energy consumption. Improvements in the manufacturing process will increase the computational performance and graphical display performance of the Atom processor without adversely affecting battery life. According to Intel, the Bay Trail will be a quad-core processor with twice the performance of the Clover Trail. There are rumors that the next generation of Atom processors will abandon the PowerVR graphics display unit, using a graphics solution similar to the Core processor. A more powerful graphics core and improved computing performance will be a powerful combination. The first Bay Trail tablet is expected to be released by the end of this year, and such a tablet will declare the death of Windows RT, especially if Microsoft also released a Surface tablet with Atom processor.