In mobile computing, the processor must dance a fine line between performance and power-savings. Go too far to either side and you'll have power users complaining about slow performance, or road warriors criticizing poor battery life. Intel has always had an answer to this in the form of its battery-sipping CULV (Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage) mobile processors.

Intel released a few CULV Core i5 and i7 dual-core processors early in 2010, but with its latest CULV "Arrandale" models the chipmaker has fully refreshed this product line and moved away from a Core 2 base. Processors are available in Core i3, i5 and i7 flavors (as well as a pair of new Pentium and Celeron models), and include the flagship Core i7-660UM, which runs at 1.33GHz and has a top Turbo Boost clock speed of 2.4GHz. The Core i5-540UM and -430UM and Core i3-330UM round out the update, with all three processors running at 1.2GHz.

The base TDP is also consistent at approximately 18 watts, and these newest CULV dual-core processors support Hyper-Threading with support for up to four simultaneous processing threads. The level of L3 cache differs between models, with the Core i7 CULV having a full 4MB while the Core i3 and i5 feature only 3MB. Both the Core i5 and i7 models get the benefit of Turbo Boost dynamic overclocking, while the low-end Core i3 is stuck at its base clock speed.

These new chips are also physically smaller than standard mobile chips, and will let notebook vendors use more powerful CPUs in their ultraportable systems, which will translate into higher performance with greatly extended battery life. This is a perfect combination for any mobile user, and even the pricing is not too bad, with the Core i5-540UM selling from Intel for $241 and even the top-end Core i7-660UM sitting not much higher at $305.

While still on the subject of mobile processors, VIA Technologies recently had a real "blast from the past" announcement with the formal unveiling of its Nano DC dual-core processor in a technology demonstration. The Nano DC has been delayed several times, but at Computex 2010, VIA finally showed off an actual prototype chip and stated that it would hit the market within six months. Expect the Nano DC to compete against Intel and AMD in the low-power notebook/netbook markets.

The World's Fastest Mobile GPU

Nvidia has experienced some difficulty keeping up with AMD on the desktop, where the hot-rod ATI Radeon 5970 has taken over as the top dog. The company has fared better in the mobile sector and recently launched what it boasts is the world's quickest mobile graphics processor -- the GeForce GTX 480M.

The specifications of the GeForce GTX 480M are certainly impressive, starting with 353 CUDA processors running at 425 MHz graphics and 850 MHz processor core clock speeds. The mobile GPU is linked to 1.2GHz GDDR5 memory using a 256-bit bus, and supports SLI, so on paper it seems more like a high-end discrete graphics card rather than something you would find in a notebook.

Nvidia has also taken the interesting step of fully unifying its desktop and mobile graphics driver development. Doing so ensures that any performance increase or new feature introduced to the company's desktop graphics cards will also be available to corresponding mobile GPUs.

That means the GeForce GTX 480M supports features like 3D Vision, CUDA, OpenCL and PureVideo, while an integrated driver set creates a level playing field between the two primary business groups. The performance of the GeForce GTX 480M should easily outpace that of AMD's Radeon Mobility HD 5870, while the driver standardization should give Nvidia another leg up on the competition.

USB 3.0

Peripheral connectivity is one significant advantage notebooks hold over their tablet counterparts, especially the boarded-up iPad. Any PC requires a vast array of connectivity options, with USB 2.0 being just one of them. But it's a very important one both in terms of flexibility and performance, and very soon we'll see mainstream notebooks making a long-anticipated upgrade to the higher throughput of USB 3.0.

USB 2.0 is almost ubiquitous in the PC world, and this has created a wealth of devices that take advantage of this interface. But as USB-based hardware became more ambitious, especially on the data storage side, the chinks in its 480Mbps-transfer-rate armor started to become apparent. This helped create a demand for alternative interfaces such as eSATA, which sports a full 3Gbps transfer rate.

USB 3.0 takes this one step further, delivering data transfer capabilities of up to 5Gbps while maintaining backwards compatibility with existing USB devices. This is achieved through a secondary Super Speed bus that only USB 3.0 devices can access, leaving the standard High Speed channel for USB 2.0 transfers.

This entails a physical change to the USB 3.0 (Type A) cable attachment, which now has additional pins. USB 3.0 also nearly doubles the available power output to 900 mA, which will allow more substantial devices, such as larger hard drives, to be powered entirely through the USB port. Currently, USB 3.0 is a high-end feature available only on select notebooks, but look for it to become more common through 2010.

The addition of USB 3.0 will really help notebooks differentiate from standard tablets, and help satisfy the ever-growing need for portable storage and media device recharging. Not only do products like the iPad lack even basic USB ports, but USB 3.0 will also be more difficult to implement in PC tablets as well, which depend on a sleek form factor and extended battery life. Notebook vendors really need to promote this feature hard.

AMD Demos Fusion

Last but certainly not least, we have the very first AMD demo of its Fusion APU technology, which took place at Computex 2010 in Taipei. It consisted of a high-res Aliens vs. Predator demo running in real-time on the Fusion chip, which had the desired effect. But apparently due to secrecy concerns, there was little information about the actual hardware, which combines a CPU and GPU onto the same die.

This is important news for portable computing, as Fusion will come in two flavors: "Llano" for standard desktops and notebooks, and "Ontario" for smaller laptops, netbooks and similar devices. The fact that it has actually materialized in chip form is reason enough to celebrate, and we can expect to see real-world Fusion-based products in the first half of 2011.