The new Pentium M CPUs come in 1.7-GHz, 1.8-GHz, and 2-GHz speeds, and boast several improvements over the prior generation of Pentium M chips, most notably a larger Level 2 cache--2MB, up from 1MB. They are the first chips to use Intel's revamped CPU naming scheme (go to Processors: Intel Plays Name Game for more), which complements the clock speed with a model number.
The Pentium M CPU line has been at the core of Intel's Centrino mobile technology, consisting of the processors, the chip set supporting them, and Intel's wireless (Wi-Fi) implementation. The newest Pentium M chips will go into Centrino notebooks at once; look for an overall upgrade of the technology in the near future (more about that later).
Numbers Up
We tested the four notebooks configured with 1GB of RAM and Windows XP Professional. They came with different Pentium M processors: Dell's Inspiron 8600C ($2899) and HP's Compaq Business Notebook Nc6000 ($2499) ran the 2-GHz Pentium M 755; Gateway's 450XL ($2440) relied on the 1.8-GHz Pentium M 745; and IBM's ThinkPad T42 ($1994) carried the 1.7-GHz Pentium M 735.
As expected, the Inspiron 8600C and Compaq Nc6000 notebooks, which had the fastest processors, earned the top scores (137 and 136, respectively) on PC WorldBench 4--the best results we've seen for Windows XP Pro laptops. The Gateway 450XL, scoring 130, and the ThinkPad T42, earning 133, weren't far behind. Overall, the average score of these four new notebooks is about 10 percent higher than the 122 average of 11 notebooks we've tested running on 1.6-GHz Pentium M CPUs. Note, however, that all of the older systems had only half as much RAM, in addition to the slower processors.
The four new laptops performed well on our other tests (see the chart on page 31). On average, they completed both our AutoCAD and Photoshop tests in about three-quarters of the average time that three 1.6-GHz Pentium M laptops tested earlier (Centrino Notes Raise the Bar) took on the same tests. Battery life remained good: Three of the new units lasted between 4 and 5 hours, and the HP over 6 hours.
The Dell and the Gateway are desktop replacements with big screens (15.4 inches and 15 inches, respectively). The Dell weighs 8.3 pounds, and the Gateway 7.5 pounds. For their part, the mainstream HP and IBM units have 14.1-inch screens; and with their AC adapters, they weigh 6.6 and 5.7 pounds, respectively.
Under The Hood
The 2mb of l2 cache and improved handling of instructions certainly helped the new chips' test scores, but the battery life has remained so good thanks to the 90-nanometer manufacturing technology. The 90-nm process helps keep overall power consumption below that of the older Pentium M (21 watts versus 24.5 watts for 1.7-GHz chips) while yielding higher performance, says Roger Kay, IDC's vice president of client computing.
Centrino's wireless capability is better than in the past, too: You now get Intel's Pro/Wireless 2200BG integrated Wi-Fi adapter, which (as the name implies) supports both 802.11b and the faster 802.11g Wi-Fi, as do all 802.11g adapters. Bear in mind, however, that 11g adapters will operate at the slower speed in Wi-Fi network environments with connected 11b adapters.
One thing missing in the new Centrino units is a better chip set, but that should be rectified by year's end, when Intel plans to release a chip set code-named Alviso. That chip set is part of the next generation of Centrino, code-named Sonoma. Sonoma's many improvements will include a 533-MHz frontside bus (up from 400 MHz) as well as support for fast DDR2 memory, the PCI Express bus, better audio, and 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi.
If you're in the market for a powerful notebook now, the latest crop of Pentium M systems offers a terrific blend of performance and battery life for a $100 to $200 premium over previous models. But if you're not in a hurry, wait for Sonoma so you can get the most out of a new notebook.
Anush Yegyazarian
