NVIDIA Demo Tegra & Atom Video Playback: Intel Should Be Worried

If you were in any doubt that NVIDIA were aiming for Intel's jugular with their new Tegra platform, the company's latest demonstration should definitely confirm it.  Billed as a comparison of how the Atom and Tegra handle video, it uses power consumption to show how economical the NVIDIA chipset can be.  In the image below (which Intel wouldn't thank me for describing as "the Tegra's smack-down rig") you can see an Atom-powered ultraportable on the lower shelf, playing standard-definition video, while on the top shelf a Tegra-powered notebook playing high-definition video.Check out the full comparison video after the cut

While the Atom notebook draws 12 watts to play its video, the Tegra system requires only 1.3 watts for playing back high-definition footage.  Impressive stuff, especially since Tegra is one-tenth of the size!  In the video below, a Tegra-based mobile device outputs 720p video onto a big-screen TV via HDMI.

The comparison comes as preliminary benchmarking for the Atom CPU is released.  PC Pro tested an ASUS Eee with the processor, and found that it performed "pretty similar" to the previous Celeron Eee.  Running Vista, which is a chore no ultraportable should be asked to take on, simultaneously opening Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint took the Eee in excess of 20 minutes.

[thanks Star!]