Intel Launches Centrino Duo Notebooks 189
An anonymous reader writes "Intel has officially introduced their Centrino Duo platform. The new Centrino uses the Yonah processor which I guess is now called Core Duo. AnandTech has a review of notebooks based on it and the results are pretty impressive. They tested two identical notebooks, one based on Centrino Duo and one based on Centrino. The Duo notebook lasted 30 minutes longer on battery and was faster in the benchmarks. You can't beat longer battery life and better performance."
I'm fascinated by these identical notebooks (Score:2, Insightful)
Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:4, Funny)
Hard to imagine a major American corporation getting away with such a massive conflict of interest.
Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:5, Informative)
What? Are you saying General Motors can't make cars and trucks because they make engines? Did you know they make diesel locomotives, also?
I have several (old) Intel computers in my basement. Oddly enough, they use Intel CPUs.
Many manufacturers produce "brand labeled" products in the same plants, using the same parts that they use in their own products; for example Westinghouse producing their own washing machines, and also producing an identical unit with the Kenmore label.
Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:3, Interesting)
The fun thing? The cases were identical to the AT&T (Olivetti?) 386s. I'm not sure if AT&T was re-branding the Intel PCs or if it was the other way around.
This was around 1990.
Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:2)
Get out! No seriously, like no way, man!
Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:2)
I guess this means Wikipedia could be incorrect. <blink blink>
Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:3, Interesting)
The first is a circa 1979 Intel MDS-235 [antonis.de], the second generation of the MDS-800 [pcmuseum.ch], the machine CP/M was written on. It was a Multibus machine, with a 2MHz 8085 processor (almost certainly the first production 8085 machine), 64K of static RAM (filled a full card), an integral 8" Single Density 128K floppy drive, and an external dual 8" Double Density 256K drive enclosure. My drive enclosure differs from the pictured one - the drives in mine are horizontal, so the un
"Windows XP Vista"?? (Score:4, Funny)
From Centrino Duo page:
"Ready for Windows XP Vista*
Support for the latest software when it arrives."
What the hell is "Windows XP Vista"? A new Linux distribution?
Centrino encompasses chipset, cpu and wireless... (Score:2)
Actually... (Score:5, Funny)
It's Service Pack 3 for Windows® XP®, but instead of calling it SP3 they call it Vista® and put a price tag on it.
HTH.
Re:Actually... (Score:2)
Oh, here's just another example of Microsoft copying Apple!
Re:"Windows XP Vista"?? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:"Windows XP Vista"?? (Score:2)
According to SCO they own the patent though...
Re:"Windows XP Vista"?? (Score:2)
There's a reason why a bunch of Linux servers have more than one CPU
'course you can beat that.... (Score:4, Funny)
Cause you can. Make it weigh less than 1kg and you have a real winner.
Already available... (Score:2)
Re:Already available... (Score:2)
Re:subnotebooks?? (Score:2)
ThinkPad X60s, around 2.7lbs? (Yes, there should be a couple models. But, watch for heat. I suspect the "s" simply means "smaller heatsink". (actually, it means "slim", but...))
Re:'course you can beat that.... (Score:2)
is 30 mins that significant ? (Score:4, Interesting)
Obviously if your train journey lasts 30 mins more than your current battery life then is does.
But I would go with a margin of error of at least 30 mins in battery life depending on individual usage plus wifi, bluetooth, external devices etc.
Re:is 30 mins that significant ? (Score:2)
Re:is 30 mins that significant ? (Score:2)
This is the first significant advance in laptop technology in years. Until now I saw little to obsolete my 1.6 GHz Pentium-M, which is 2.5 years old.
Re:is 30 mins that significant ? (Score:2)
Well, from TFA, Lenovo's preproduction T60 with Centrino Duo has a 5h battery life, and does accept an extra battery in the extension slot.
Although they couldn't test it, the Anandtech guys clearly stated they didn't doubt the thing could go beyond 9h battery life total...
Re:is 30 mins that significant ? (Score:2)
Re:is 30 mins that significant ? (Score:2)
or
does the box say the battery lasts seven hours so thats what you quote.
you have it run for almost seven hours but never risk pushing it to the limit.
you run the laptop utilising wifi, usb, heavy processing etc and just assume that if you did not then it would last for seven hours.
Re:Should we rely on CPUs for battery life? (Score:2)
I have not found this to be the case.
Of the many mobile phone Nickel Metal Hydride batteries I've had for two phones that used them, they ALWAYS died around 6 months old and when they did die, it was VERY sudden. Like from full capacity to almost none after a "full charge" in 2 to 3 charges. For one of those phones (Nokia 6110), I replaced the dead NiMh with a Nokia Li battery. I later needed longer talk time than the standard slim Li could give, so I bought the largest L
What about graphics performance? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What about graphics performance? (Score:2)
According to Intel... (Score:2)
... don't expect much. The blurb [intel.com] for their "Vista-ready" chipset, they're not promising anything:
Translation: you'll still need a third-party GPU if you want decent 3D graphics performance.
Re:According to Intel... (Score:2)
A quick follow up on this: I was perhaps a little too cynical. The Intel 945GM chipset (the "Napa" chipset that includes an integreated GPU)uses the Intel GMA 950 [intel.com], which actually sounds fairly reasonable for a GPU optimized for low power consumption. Whether or not the PowerBook uses the GMA 950 is a different story through.
Re:What about graphics performance? (Score:2)
In case you didn't know, Apple's Developer Transition Kit PC [apple.com] (which supposedly runs OS X quite well) uses Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA 900) [osx86project.org].
Intel's newer integrated graphics (GMA 950) performs a little faster, but is not much different architecturally. Since the chipset shares system and graphics memory, the use of
Re:What about graphics performance? (Score:2)
Well if you take history as a lesson, you can only know that Intel graphics worth was always equal to the same weight pile of shit.
Intel graphics card is (and was always) barely usable.
Actually one IMPORTANT thing is missing ... (Score:2, Insightful)
As a result I would really want to see how things will be compared to a 65nm (dual-core or not) AMD Turion and before paying around 500 US$ for the CPU only I would rather wait for a dual-core 64 bit CPU (eventually with 4 MB L2).
Re:Actually one IMPORTANT thing is missing ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Actually one IMPORTANT thing is missing ... (Score:2)
Centrino is the name of the 'platform' which includes the chipset, wireless solution, processor and every other component. AMD is relying on third parties to provide the chipsets, motherboards and graphics. Intels methodology around the entire platform is probably the most significant factor in the power savings. That isn't to say that 65nm doesn't help, but I would be suprised if AMD could beat Intel (in terms of power consumption on a mobile platform) simply by switching to 65nm technology. Its pretty moo
Objective (Score:5, Funny)
Yes you can! Just spend more on advertising.
I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
because server centric hasn't arrived. (Score:3, Insightful)
One major reason is cost, the end clients have become more powerful and the price has dropped. The difference in cost between having a low powered end client versus a standard one isn't enough to justify anyone moving to a different model.
Then toss in the adversion most people have to "not owning it" and it becomes clear why this has never taken off. Look at
Re:because server centric hasn't arrived. (Score:2)
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
if all you want is really only a thin client then batteries are probably a waste too, since you will want a cable to that fat server anyway (we agree that wireless does not scale for users per space, right?)
another core idea of the thin client philosophy is that you won't have to carry around your personal computer at all, because your personal work environment can be accessed from any client and those generic clients are supposed to be available everywhere you go, at least anywhere
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
I multi-task on my current laptop. I have music playing, email and IM clients and then whatever it is I'm really doing. Perhaps a bit of photo editing. Perhaps scrubbing through some video footage or writing a DVD. At times this gets the CPU running flat out, this generates heat and is will have the CPU drawing maximum power. Dependant on scheduling and whether the applications are well threaded its possible for the same load on a dual core system to be
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
See the top tier designer/web geeks (even though they mostly use Apple machines) and "unstuck" alpha geeks in general (unstuck as in "don't spend their whole life in a basement), most of them make e
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
Re:With VPN? (Score:2)
what's the advantage of SSH over telnet?
Internal security matters too. If you have telnet enabled on your "behind the VPN server", local users could use telnet too, and be sniffed by others on the corp network.
So it's easier to make the policy "no telnet on servers", which has the downside of requiring double encryption for remote users--VPN and ssh both--but has the advantage of requiring all connections, even local ones, to be encrypted.
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
Microsoft even tried introducing a "dumb terminal" RDP-based wireless tablet platform. It bombed because people simply did not want to be teathered to an access point.
There's also the fundemental issue of PC economics
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
Maybe it's just me, but I use my laptop on the go for physics simulations and music production. It's the fastest machine I have, there's no need for fast CPU on my server. For the kind of work I do, a dual core laptop would be most welcome.
Dual core notebooks will use a lot of batery too.
TFA said the new CPU consumes less power than the current generation of Pentium M. If you look at the scaling of power with GHz, it's more efficient to increase performance by the number of cores, than by increasing
Re:I guess I don't see the point (Score:2)
can't beat that? (Score:3, Funny)
Sure you can.... longer battery life, better performance and lower pricing
And it's easy to top that one as well
Lifetime and performance (Score:3, Insightful)
(The point being that better lifetime and performance are no brainers only if all other quality measures don't suffer.)
Re:Lifetime and performance (Score:4, Funny)
I agree, but only because the article is about laptops. Vibrators on the other hand, would be greatly enhanced with nothing more than having a better lifetime and performance.
Intel Outside (Score:4, Interesting)
What does this sentence mean? Intel is going to make their own hardware and software now?
Re:Intel Outside (Score:2)
I think all it means is that they are focusing on building more strong brands like "Centrino" that can outclass the machine-maker's own. To get people going to the store looking for a "Centrino" or a "Viiv", not a "Pavillion" or "Satellite" or "Inspiron". They basically get to float right over all the competition between Dell/HP/Toshiba/etc. and market themselves straight to the consumer.
The message to the manufacture
Re:Intel Outside (Score:2)
Centrino certification means that you have specific chipsets, processors, and wireless controllers - meaning that you know it's going to freaking work. Compare this with e.g. Dell's offerings, which need special drivers that you can only get from Dell, meaning that if you have (for example) an Inspiron 5150 and you don't have the system's driver CD, then you have to download the drivers from the Dell site,
Re:Intel Outside = B2C instead of B2B (Score:2)
Well, they've been making their own hardware since before many of us were born.
The strategy they're now adopting seems to be to start selling more hardware directly to consumers, rather than just selling components to OEMs who then integrate and sell to consumers.
Frankly I'm surprised that the "Intel Inside" campaign has been so successful for the past 10 years, since they're basically spending millions to market a 1-inch sticker to consumers. It's
Where's the improvement (Score:2)
And please show us some real benchmarks.
wireless support? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are we Linux users going to get a driver for it?
An extra 30 minutes battery life, and a dual core CPU for multitasking, would both be quite beneficial for me, but without Linux wireless drivers (no ndiswrapper please) it's a no-go.
Re:wireless support? (Score:2)
Intel was very reluctant initially to release the Centrino wireless specs. But after a lot of customer lobbying, petitions and what not, they got one of their best programmers to work full time on producing a free, open source, sourceforge-hosted driver for their cards. Not bad.
They did keep most of the centrino-internals secret in the firmware, which you have to download separately, but still, I think some key people inside Intel (pun intended) have u
Re:wireless support? (Score:2)
http://support.intel.com/support/notebook/sb/cs-0
Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Driver is expected to be available Q1 2006.
You can't beat.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, except with even longer battery life and even better preformance for even less money. I think that would beat it.
how much will these laptops cost? (Score:3, Insightful)
How much are these laptops going to cost?
When are they going to be available?
I was going to buy a laptop for running Fedora Core at the end of January. I was planning to spend 1000-1200$ Is this out of my league (and time frame)?
Re:how much will these laptops cost? (Score:2)
Has Dell or HP or Lenovo announced release dates for Centrino Duo Notebooks? Or prices?
Not 64 bit - not interested (Score:2)
Re:Not 64 bit - not interested (Score:3, Informative)
You're going to have more than 64gb of memory in your notebook (Pentium series can address that much with paging)?
Fair enough 64 bit will be required eventually, but really, 32bit is good enough for a while yet.
smash.
Re:Not 64 bit - not interested (Score:2)
Well I run Linux and I like to run it in 64 bit. As far as anything else, what is the point in buying yesterdays technology even if it works just fine today? I would rather buy technology that will work tommorow.
Please RTFA (Score:5, Insightful)
In the article, Anandtech clearly states that their request for identical notebooks was filled by Asus's W-series notebooks. Since Asus is a huge ODM, they provided identical notebooks with the only difference being the new chipset, processor combo. The processors (Dothan and Core Duo) were even matched clock for clock at 1.86Ghz. The comparison is amazingly good and shows very clearly that the new processor has a great boost and performance and battery time. Next time, please RTFA before posting drivel.
Re:Please RTFA (Score:2, Troll)
Did you just buy your userid on ebay? =)
No, I've been here since the beginning (Score:2)
Re:No, I've been here since the beginning (Score:2)
Re:Please RTFA (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't dispute that the benchmarks probably are representative for average real-life applications, but depending on the specific application, YMMV considerably. Dual core is not always an advantage, despite marketing hype.
Re:Please RTFA (Score:2)
(I base this on my experience with working on a dual-CPU desktop sitting next to me. I'm really looking forward to a dual-core laptop.)
Re:Specs, please! (Score:4, Funny)
That's right. The link does not contain that. But the pages it links to do...
Re:Specs, please! (Score:3, Informative)
Um, maybe in the article?
Indeed, it is hard to imagine that you can have "identical" notebooks with different chipsets.
"The beauty of the W5F and W5A is that they are virtually identical, with the only real difference being that the former is based on the Napa platform while the latter is a Sonoma notebook. ASUS even went one step further and shipped us notebooks with processors clocked iden
doesn't mean jack shit (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously, once I got over having expectations for either Christmas presents or the Keynote, I stopped being so disappointed and started enjoying both Christmas and MWSF much more.
I can remember a group of us being stunned that our hoped-for "Apple PDA" turned out to be the iPod. We felt so betrayed at the time. But look how that turned out. And meanwhile, the PDA market has mostly been stagnant, or has merged with (read: become
Re:doesn't mean jack shit (Score:2)
It was supposed to be a multi-purpose product line (hence "pod", not "tunes") with
Still, when the Treo 750p comes out with support for an 80GB 1" hard drive, I'm going to have to wonder what the iPod is for. That's why they're driving to ultra-small - a Treo can't catch that space. DRM would be the only re
Re:doesn't mean jack shit (Score:2)
Re:doesn't mean jack shit (Score:2)
Re:doesn't mean jack shit (Score:2)
Re:Does anyone use Centrino? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Does anyone use Centrino? (Score:2)
Re:Does anyone use Centrino? (Score:2)
That said, 15+ hours on a single charge is still awesome.
Re:Does anyone use Centrino? (Score:2)
Re:Does anyone use Centrino? (Score:2)
Pentium 5 scores -1 redundant (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't know anyone who uses this chip
Centrino mobile technology is a chipset, not a chip. Until now, it has consisted of a Pentium M CPU plus specific supporting chips including a specific brand of onboard 802.11b adapter.
When's the P5 coming out?
Given that "Pentium" comes from the Greek word for the number 5 plus a Latin suffix, wouldn't "Pentium 5" be redundant?
Re:Does anyone use Centrino? (Score:2)
Re:Core Duo (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Core Duo (Score:2)
It's so lovely to hear this. The super-hot P4/Netburst are what happened when marketing took control of the company and we got super long pipelines just to market-up the megahertz. Fortunately the Great Eye of Marketing didn't spy the guys in Israel working on the Pentium M.
All this means is there's someone at Intel with a set of balls and some authority who knows what's important to a chip company. That he's apparently kicking down everyth
Re:Core Duo (Score:2)
They did practically hit the wall as far as megahertz goes. Starting at 90nm it got a lot h
Re:Core Duo (Score:2)
I find "Core Solo/Duo" most annoying in the same sense as Microsoft's generic names like Windows and Word. It gives the impression that Intel is some kind of definitive reference for processors, particularly with regards to dual cores — which is ironic since they're not exactly pioneers of that technology.
Re:Core Duo (Score:2)
Re:Core Duo (Score:2)
At least I hope so.
Of course, once the Mermon and whatever-else-the-64-bit-chips-are-called-I-can't
Re:Core Duo (Score:2)
Quite an astute observation. Makes me laugh too. Thanks.
Re:CPU name (Score:2)
Re:Please Apple, Beg IBM To Take You Back! (Score:2)
If this is a nightmare, I, for one, don't want to wake up.
Re:Please Apple, Beg IBM To Take You Back! (Score:2)
But not as G5. G5 is available now as notebook CPU if I remember correctly. But it is true it was out after Apple announced move to Intel.
in addition to the battery life.
Yeah, compared to another Intel:) Don't you know that PB lasted twice on battery as Intel? PB 5.5 hours, my centrino 3 hours?
I don't see how you figure it will be an overall loss
Obviously you're die hard Apple fan. Do you think it is coincidence that more and more PC users
It does improve things (Score:2)
SMP machines with dual CPUs (or in this case, dual CPU cores) don't tend to have problems like that, so yes, having a dual core actually makes your MP3s sou
Re:So that's way... (Score:2)
Not very much prolonged battery life.
Not very much of speedup.
I'm still waiting for some Cell based laptop. Otherwise it is Turion for me. These numbers were just too much dissapointing (after all that performance-per-watt crap from Intel) to even think about laptop with this hardware. And yes, primary choice for me is 64-bit Linux, so yes, I'm biased.
Re:Beating the battery (Score:2)