Intel announced that its latest addition to its Atom series of processors is officially shipping starting with September 21st. The new CPU, named Atom 330, has been designed for nettops, low cost desktops that support mainly the basic Internet functions and can playback MP3s and DVDs. Atom 330 is a dual-core chip manufactured under the 45 nanometer fabrication process.

The new microprocessor comes with a 1.6GHz core clock speed, 1MB of level 2 cache, 533MHz FSB and support for 667MHz DDR2 memory. The new Atom chip should help reduce bottlenecks occurring when multiple processor cores try to access data stored in the main memory. The dual-core Atom comes with a TDP of just 8 watts, double than its single-core predecessor, yet still low enough to push it to the top of the list. The mobile Atom features a 2 watt thermal envelope.

The chip manufacturer announced the availability of the new processor for nettops only, but there are rumors that we'll soon see it on affordable mobile machines as well. The Atom 330 dual-core CPU is available as an integrated package with the Intel 945GC Express Chipset, including integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 along with Intel High Definition Audio. The company announced that the dual-core Atom is pin-compatible with the single-core model, and that a BIOS upgrade would allow single-core platforms to support the new processor.

Intel also released a new price list for its processors, effective September 21st as well. The list shows Atom 330 at the price of $43 for a thousand unit quantities. The price for the 230 model remains $29, while that of the Atom N270 for netbooks is still $44.

There is little competition to the Atom processors on the market, yet Advanced Micro Devices and VIA Technologies announced similar processors. VIA is said to be preparing a dual-core version of its netbook Nano processor and that it should be ready before the end of the year. AMD announced the release of a series of low-power Athlon 64 chips for the third quarter of the year. These Atom competitors will probably make their debut at CES 2009, held in Las Vegas next January.