Socket Adapter Brings Pentium M to Desktop

EconolineCrush writes "Intel's Pentium M processor is widely regarded as the company's most compelling chip, and although desktop versions of it won't be available until next year, a new adapter from Asus allows users to run a Pentium M on existing Socket 478 motherboards. When coupled with a compatible motherboard, the CT-479 adapter is much cheaper than existing Pentium M desktop platforms, and also offers better performance by allowing the processor access to dual-channel memory configurations. Considering the Pentium M's frugal power consumption and great clock-for-clock performance, this could be an interesting upgrade for those looking for a low-noise system."

PentiumM in desktop vs Mobile Barton in desktop

[non-poster]

So, I've been running a AMD Mobile Athlon XP Barton (link [newegg.com]) in my desktop for about a year, in a standard Socket A motherboard (NForce2 based). It is easily overclockable, and runs cooler than my previous main CPU, an Athlon XP 1800.

Is the PentiumM that much better, or is it just the CPU du jour?

Re:'compelling' chip?

[Kris_J]

Given that it has high performance for very low power consumption, it compels one to buy it. 130W less than a P4 @ 3.4GHz under load? Depending on your video card, that might make the difference between a power supply with fans and one without.

So What...

[__aaclcg7560]

I never found the Intel chips to be compelling or exciting or inexpensive. I don't understand why some people go out of their way for an Intel chip when an AMD chip will do the job. Seems like you pay a premium for an Intel chip to be either compelling or exciting but definitely not inexpensive.

Re:But it's not 64 bit!

[snuf23]

I dunno. I guess you'd have to ask Apple that question!

Seriously, expect to see lots of improvements in the Pentium M. I'm sure dual core and the Intel 64bit extensions will be added in to the line. It's likely the desktop versions won't be called Pentium Ms.

Re:Review, Pentium M on desktop hardware

[rsrsharma]

Covered by AnandTech back in March. [anandtech.com] Now that's gettin old.

Re:But it's not 64 bit!

[linguae]

Because Apple sells more than just Power Mac G5s. The Pentium M would be perfect for Apple's consumer lines (Mac Mini, eMac, iMac, iBook) and Apple's PowerBook line, because of its low energy consumption and good performance (compared to the G4 that the Pentium M will replace). iBook and PowerBook users won't have to worry about their laptops frying their laps, for one. Plus, perhaps we might see some of that Centrino stuff in Apple's notebook lines, since they will probably use the Pentium M.

As for the Power Macs, Intel has a 64-bit Pentium 4 (i.e., one that understand AMD's 64-bit extensions to the x86 instruction set) and the 64-bit Xeon. The Xeon is a server-class chip, so it might be seen on the XServes that Apple sells and is comparable to AMD's Opteron.

Intel actually sells a wide variety of chips for various different types of computers. I'm still a little disappointed that Apple is dropping the PowerPC (I still hate the x86 ISA and architecture with a passion), but Intel seems to have a pretty nice and well-rounded product line that is more suitable for a company like Apple. It's a shame that IBM have failed to deliver on their promises with 3GHz G5s and a cool laptop version of the G5; I would kill for a 64-bit non-x86 laptop with Mac OS X right now. But oh well.

Re:So What...

[jericho4.0]

From Tom's Hardware;

"Additionally, we were able to raise the FSB from 133 to 160 MHz without any trouble at all. The result was that our 2.13GHz Pentium M 770 ended up running at 2.56 GHz! At this clock speed, our two year old platform was able to beat the processor heavyweights Athlon 64 FX and Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition in all 3D games! "

At 27 watts max compared to 155. How much was that Athlon 64 FX again?

Re:Next logical step for quiet PC's.

[level_headed_midwest]

Several reasons: 1. Desktops are less expensive for the same amount of CPU horsepower. 2. RAM, hard drives, opticals are all faster and less expensive. 3. Desktops are easy to fix if something breaks- parts are standard (except for some Mac parts.) Laptops are all proprietary. A $30 CD drive will cost $200 to replace.

Re:Fairly Cheap

[scum-e-bag]

Why not diversify the processor line by selling both fast low wattage processors and slightly cheaper fast high wattage processors?

The Intel marketing dept doesn't want to look foolish after having spent all that money on promoting the P4...

Re:Next logical step for quiet PC's.

[scum-e-bag]

In such a case, you are not going to want a Pentium-M. You will want raw cpu power which is not the Pentium Ms forte.

Re:PentiumM in desktop vs Mobile Barton in desktop

[cbreaker]

Other processors come close. And they got more stuff on board, like memory controllers and multimedia extensions.

Again, it's not a 1:1 battle for the least watts of heat like it's not a 1:1 battle for more Mhz. There's other factors.

I think the Pentium 3.. erm.. Pentium M is a fine chip and I always liked the P3 more then the P4. P4 turned me off from the start with it's lackluster performance and expensive Rambus RAM. Pentium 3's continued to beat the P4 in performance for some time until the P4's got into the 2.0+ Ghz range.

AMD has never let me down with any of their chips, way back to the 486DX4 to the K6 to the Athlons and beyond. I see lots of promise on their mobile lines; and after feeling jaded from the Pentium 4 launch I'm not holding my breath for the Pentium-M.

Re:Next logical step for quiet PC's.

[mcrbids]

Several reasons: 1. Desktops are less expensive for the same amount of CPU horsepower. 2. RAM, hard drives, opticals are all faster and less expensive. 3. Desktops are easy to fix if something breaks- parts are standard (except for some Mac parts.) Laptops are all proprietary. A $30 CD drive will cost $200 to replace.

Based on this post, I'd guess that (pick one)

1) You've never used a laptop system.

2) You've only used a dysfunctional laptop system.

3) You are tight of means.

I resisted having a laptop, until my work more or less forced me to buy one. I bought a 1.7 Ghz Dell Inspiron 600m, and I run RedHat Fedora Core on it. It took a few months for me to get used to 60 GB instead of 250 GB. I think it was when I upgraded to 1.5 GB of RAM that it really started to grow on me.

Now, I go anywhere, compute on the couch, back patio, coffee shop, airport, etc. I take "workations" now, where I go on vacation with my wife/kids, knowing that I'll be working a partial workweek. Throw the laptop in the back, and off I go...

Once you've experienced the freedom and comfort of a good laptop system, you'll *never* want to go back! I know I sure won't!

Re:'compelling' chip?

[Antique Geekmeister]

It's also vastly better for Beowulfs and cluster computing, since such a reduction in power consumption will seriously cut cooling costs and reduce the need for extra power cabling and uninterruptible power supplies to handle power outages. Extending the power outage lifetime of a data canter by 50% by using a different CPU at no significant performance cost is a big, big deal. Keeping computing cluster cooling costs and requirements of chilled air down is also a big, big deal.