Intel to upgrade notebook screens to DisplayPort

It’s often been observed that as far as Intel’s annual developer forums are concerned the flagship events in San Francisco are where the Big Picture stuff happens but those held in China and Taiwan are where the rubber hits the road.

After all it’s in the far-flung east where almost all of the world’s PCs are built and an increasing percentage are designed as well. So events like IDF Taiwan often provide a glimpse at techo-trends beyond the processors themselves.

One that caught our eye this year was the revelation that Intel is promoting DisplayPort as the new interface between the notebook’s motherboard and its display. DisplayPort is already being positioned as the successor to DVI for connections between a PC and desktop display as well home theatre systems although the royalty-free DisplayPort is more likely to co-exist with the de facto HDMI standard rather than replace it.

With the release of Calpella-class Centrino 2 notebooks in late 2009 DisplayPort will also be embedded into the systems to replace the current LVDS (low-voltage differential signalling) technology linking graphics adapters to the screens.

“We’re now shifting that over to DispayPort which runs off a lower voltage and has a shorter voltage swing” explains Jeff LeGassick Intel product marketing manager. “We can also move the display interface from the Southbridge over to the Northbridge which is what we’re doing on Auburndale (the Calpella CPU) and then we can turn off all the HDMI and VGA ports.”

Jeff LeGassick estimates that embedded DisplayPort will save “about 350mw of power at the system level” which is sufficient to recoup “about 20 minutes more battery life”. Which doesn’t seem like much on its own if you’ve never been caught facing a flat battery while there’s still just ten more minutes of work to be done. It also shows that pushing mainstream notebooks towards realistic all-day battery life relies on plenty of small savings outside what the processor itself is capable of delivering.

Embedded DisplayPort also cuts down on the amount of wiring inside the notebook says LeGassick. “If you’re trying to drive a 1440 x 900 screen that requires two channels of LVDS whereas you could do it on one lane of DisplayPort so you also have 30-45% of wire reduction. The components that you use are also optimised so you have a lot of real estate left over” he said enabling all of which should lead to laptops which are slightly thinner lighter and less complex than today’s models. “Another benefit is a reduction in EMI (electro-magnetic interference) so system builders can save on save come costs on their EMI mitigation.”

And with DisplayPort already integrated into the motherboard it’s expected to be a no-brainer for the laptop to also sprout a DisplayPort socket for connection to an external monitor.

LeGassick showed ACP a riot of DisplayPort-ready screens from popular vendors ranging from 12.1 inches to 17 inches and said “we also have a prototype for a netbook which is 10 inches.”

“Display vendors will be ready to go to volume production by Q01 (2009) so system builders can ramp up and be ready for Calpella” LeGassick says. “But the 2009 Montevina refresh can also take advantage of this technology so it depends on the OEM. If they’re ready to go (for Montevina) it’s totally available.”

David Flynn attended IDF Taipei 2008 as a guest of Intel.