Ultra-low voltage and ultra-high performance-Pentium M processor
A long time ago, it was reported in the industry that Intel was secretly developing a mobile processor code-named "Banias", but it gradually subsided. Now it seems that "Banias" at that time is the Pentium M processor now. The frequency of this CPU jumps from 900MHz, and currently the highest frequency is 1.6GHz. Although the absolute frequency is not very high, Intel claims that the performance of Pentium M processor with 1.6GHz will exceed that of Pentium 4-M processor with 2.4GHz.
The secret of super performance
The performance of Pentium M processor is so powerful because it combines the advantages of PentiumIII-M and Pentium4-M-it is manufactured in 0. 13 micron process, and the front-end bus is 400MHz, which greatly improves the upper frequency limit and reduces heat generation. The secondary cache has been increased to 1MB, which is very beneficial to enhance the processing capacity (remember Celeron 266 without secondary cache? ); Due to the increase in the number of caches, the corresponding instruction branch prediction technology has also been improved (if the prediction hit rate is not high, the large-capacity secondary cache will not increase much performance). Of course, the enhanced SpeedStep technology (code name "Geyserville III") is also essential.
In addition, Intel did not announce the U-length of Pentium M pipeline, which was supposed to be 15 or 16, but the actual performance did not decrease because of the pipeline growth. It combines the advantages of PentiumIII with high efficiency and low frequency and Pentium4 with low efficiency and high frequency, and its actual performance will definitely exceed both.
Low voltage and low power consumption
Another major improvement of Pentium M processor is that the power consumption is greatly reduced. The 900MHz Pentium M processor only needs a minimum voltage of 0.85V, and the power consumption is only about 4 W. In fact, the maximum power consumption of Pentium M architecture (that is, "Centrino") is quite a lot, which is lower than Pentium 4-M architecture and slightly higher than Pentium III-M architecture. However, laptops are not always working at full capacity. For example, when using software such as Word and Excel, the CPU is not required to work at full capacity. At this time, the system will reduce the working frequency of the processor and reduce power consumption through SpeedStep technology. In this way, the average power consumption of Pentium M processor architecture is much less than that of Pentium III-M, and readers can see the power of Pentium M in the later evaluation section.
Completely different twins-Intel 855pm/GM chipset
In order to support Pentium M processor, Intel introduced two chipsets-I 855 PM and i855GM. At first glance, the only difference between the two is whether there is a built-in graphics chip. In fact, these two products are completely different. Comparing the maximum and average power consumption of these two chipsets carefully, we can find that the power consumption of i855GM (3.2W/ 1.7W) is higher than that of i855pm (less than 2W/ 0.7w).
Except for the differences mentioned above, the functions and characteristics are basically the same: the North Bridge chip is i855PM/GM, which supports 400MHz front-end bus and 1GB DDR266 memory; South Bridge chip is ICH4-M, which supports ATA 100, USB2.0, built-in modem and AC97 sound card chip.
"Wireless" Your Life-Intel PRO/ Wireless 2 100
One of the three elements of Centrino is the wireless network module Intel PRO/ Wireless 2 100. "Wireless Internet access" is probably the future development direction of computers in many people's minds. In fact, wireless networks have come to us, such as GPRS mobile phones, GPRS PCMCIA cards for notebooks and wireless network cards. Now the notebook computer with Centrino technology has built-in this function, and no additional equipment is needed. Intel PRO/Wireless 2 100 supports 80.2 1 1b and Wi-Fi standards, and the speed is 1 1Mbps. Some high-end hotels, office buildings and other places have already supported Wi-Fi, that is, as long as you see the "Wi-Fi" sign.
Only notebook computers that use Pentium M processor, Intel 855PM/GM chipset and wireless LAN module can use the "Centrino" trademark, so it is not difficult to see Intel's ambition to monopolize the notebook chipset and wireless network card chip market. ...
Products with Centrino processor
Traditionally, Intel Centrino processors are sent to different notebook computer manufacturers for testing and product certification before going on the market. Judging from the current product release of Centrino processor, Centrino processor has basically been recognized by various manufacturers, including products from major manufacturers such as Dell, IBM and Toshiba, while domestic products such as ASUS and Lenovo have also been listed. Just like its name, "Centrino" has quickly become synonymous with the most fashionable notebook computer.
In order to let everyone experience the unusual feeling brought by Centrino processor to notebook computer with us, we tested the new notebook computer equipped with Centrino processor provided by ASUS.
The "Centrino" notebook computer launched by ASUS is named M2N series, which is a unified product with 14. 1 inch screen and built-in DVD drive. It uses Pentium -M 1.3GHz to Pentium -M 1.6GHz Centrino processor and Intel 855GM chipset. The specific model of the test product we got is M2400, which uses the highest-end Pentium -M 1.60GHz processor, and 5 12MB DDR266 SDRAM, DVD/CD-RW in one, IBM 40G 40GNX hard disk. M2400 is very light and thin. If the optical drive is removed, the travel weight of the whole notebook computer is less than 2kg.
As far as we know, in addition to the luxurious configuration, the unique ADTDⅱ intelligent dynamic heat dissipation technology is also a highlight of ASUS M2N series. It includes the following components: hollow copper radiator pipe to improve heat conduction speed; Super-large radiator can effectively solve the heat dissipation problem of thin and light models. In addition, the second-generation intelligent fan speed regulation technology of ASUS notebook computer has also been extended to M2N series, which can reduce noise with low power consumption and ensure full-speed heat dissipation. In addition, ASUS also embodies the leading edge of motherboard products in its own notebook computers. The system diagnosis expert of ASUS PC probe can monitor the temperature of CPU, and ASUS is the only notebook computer brand with CPU temperature monitoring function.
Asus M2N series also sent a PCMCIA card reader, which can read SM, MMC/SD and Memory stick memory cards, so as to support the application of digital audio-visual equipment.
test
Before the test, we should discuss the main frequency of the microprocessor. Some readers questioned the main frequency of Centrino processor before. Compared with the previous Pentium 4 mobile processing chip, the main frequency of Centrino processor is not high, but its advantage lies in greatly improving the efficiency of mobile processor. In the words of AMD, Intel's strong competitor in the field of desktop processors, the "frequency efficiency per clock" of processors is the most important. Therefore, regarding the testing of processors, we can observe that many professional media have adopted the testing method of the whole machine performance, and the traditional CPU logo has basically disappeared, as has the view of Cfan evaluation room, so our testing is more and more focused on business Winstone and content creation Winstone. In testing system, we chose Windows XP Professional+SP1,which is the most random notebook computer at present.
Test results of test items
Business Winstone200 1 64.7
Content creation Winstone2002 40.8
Battery label 4.0 1 4 hours and 23 minutes
Winstone for business and Winstone for content creation are two kinds of testing software, which test the overall and subsystem performance of commercial and multimedia systems respectively. In these two tests, the performance of Centrino notebook computer is surprising, which is basically the same as that of Pentium 4 desktop processor with the same frequency. The rumor that Intel applied Pentium M processor to desktop system seems credible.
Batterymark is the rated software for testing the battery performance of notebook computers. After turning off SpeedStep, we can still get satisfactory battery life, which is 30% higher than that of Pentium 4 mobile processor, which is inseparable from the excellent low voltage and low power consumption of Centrino processor.
Test summary
The performance improvement and function improvement brought by Centrino processor are undoubtedly encouraging. Moreover, Centrino laptop also supports powerful Intel wireless network. Unfortunately, there is no wireless AP (access point) in the evaluation room, so it's a pity that we can't enjoy the fun brought by wireless network (Bian Xiaoken: I heard that several Starbucks coffee shops in Beijing provide wireless AP for free. I wonder if the old editor will let us "experience" it, as long as we are allowed to skip work for one day and reimburse coffee money, hehe).
Processor replacement
With the maturity of wireless network, the consumption of notebook computers continues to heat up. But wireless can't be realized simply by installing wireless network equipment, and a mobile computing platform is the most important basic condition. The Pentium4-M processor introduced last year inherits the excellent multimedia performance of Pentium4, but its high power consumption makes it difficult to move.
On March 12 this year, Intel, the main supplier of notebook computer processors, officially released Centrino mobile computing technology, including a newly designed Pentium -M processor, the corresponding 855 series chipset and even a wireless network card. When Pentium -M was launched, Intel made a lot of publicity. After only two or three months, the products originally positioned in high-end business suddenly became the mainstream of the market. For example, among the products participating in this test, 15 products adopted this processor, accounting for 40% of the total number of products participating in the test, far higher than CHIP's expectation. It is worth noting that 15 products all meet the "Centrino" specification, and the processor covers all frequencies, that is, 900MHz ULV Pentium -M and 1.3GHz~ 1.6GHz standard voltage Pentium -M all appear in the test.
Two months ago, CHIP had compared Pentium-M and Pentium4-M (see page 136 of Chip in April 2003 for details). The following figure compares the underlying processing capabilities of Pentium -M integer, floating-point number and memory throughput at different operating frequencies, regardless of the graphics chip. The contrast system all adopts independent display chips, and the grades are basically the same; The memory is all 256MB DDR266. From the comparative data, we can see that Pentium -M does have higher processing power in terms of integer and memory throughput, and the performance of floating-point numbers per unit frequency is also much higher.
Another strength of Pentium -M is battery life, which is precisely the weak link of Pentium 4 core. Under the condition of using batteries with the same capacity, the service life of Pentium M products is at least 1 hour longer than that of Pentium 4-M of the same grade. Although it can't be said that Pentium -M is really as good as advertised on this basis, its multi-level frequency and the lowest working frequency of 600MHz are indeed effective in saving electricity.
In the end, whether there is really better product quality or the vigorous promotion of Intel and its partners, Pentium -M has advanced into the mainstream at a speed far exceeding expectations. 30345 I hope it is useful to you!