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Intel Portables Hardware Technology

Intel Launches Centrino Duo Notebooks 189

Posted by CowboyNeal from the better-than-solo dept.
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."
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Intel Launches Centrino Duo Notebooks More

Intel Launches Centrino Duo Notebooks

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  • How can they be identical if they are based on different motherboards?
  • It looked like, from the title, that Intel was launching, not just a new chip for notebook machines, but actual notebook machines. That would certainly have Dell and HP shaking in their boots!

    • Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:4, Funny)

      by MichaelSmith ( 789609 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @06:49AM (#14407984) Homepage Journal
      It looked like, from the title, that Intel was launching, not just a new chip for notebook machines, but actual notebook machines. That would certainly have Dell and HP shaking in their boots!

      Hard to imagine a major American corporation getting away with such a massive conflict of interest.

      • Re:Intel Launches Notebooks (Score:5, Informative)

        by $RANDOMLUSER ( 804576 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @07:29AM (#14408070)
        > ...massive conflict of interest

        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.

        • Indeed, back in the 386 era, we had a few Intel 386 PCs in our testing lab.

          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.

        • I have several (old) Intel computers in my basement. Oddly enough, they use Intel CPUs.

          Get out! No seriously, like no way, man!

  • "Windows XP Vista"?? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Lemmingue ( 788112 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @06:43AM (#14407976) Homepage

    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?

  • 'course you can beat that.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by shintaro ( 731020 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @06:50AM (#14407986)
    >> You can't beat longer battery life and better performance.

    Cause you can. Make it weigh less than 1kg and you have a real winner.

  • is 30 mins that significant ? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rednuhter ( 516649 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @06:50AM (#14407989) Homepage Journal
    is 30 mins that significant ?
    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.
    • To put it in terms of a football game, 1-0 is not a very safe lead but it sure beats 0-1. No matter your margin of error, 30 mins is 30 mins longer. I've run out of battery many times, now if it happens 30 mins later that's good. Looking at the stats, the differences seem to be exactly zero when it comes to DVD viewing, which is my primary entertainment on long trips...
    • IMHO 30 mins is more than significant, it's almost amazing when it also comes with a performance boost of up to 60%. I'm only disappointed anandtech didn't to any float-point heavy benchmarks, as I'm mostly interested in scientific computing and I've heard Yonah has a much better FPU than P-M.

      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.

  • What about graphics performance? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Rinikusu ( 28164 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @07:07AM (#14408023)
    How well has Intel improved the performance of its integrated graphics chipset? I'd like to see what I can look forward to if Apple decides to go with Intel and not ATI or nVidia. While I understand these aren't meant to be gaming "powerhouses", I'd still like to do some light gaming on it. (FWIW, I've play World of Warcraft, at around 20fps, on my old iBook G4 800 and my desktop P3 750 (ti4200), which was acceptable. I'd like to see at least this level of performance).

    • For a fair comparison, compare an i945 desktop (similar chipset, same IGP) to an i915 desktop (same IGP, nearly identical chipset as the old Sonomas) and an i865 desktop (there WERE i865 LGA775 boards, and the i865, while very different from the i855 (the i855 is derived from the i845), it has the same IGP, unlike the i845.)

    • ... don't expect much. The blurb [intel.com] for their "Vista-ready" chipset, they're not promising anything:

      "Intel's next generation mobile platform, code-named "Napa", is scheduled to launch in early 2006. Napa-based laptops using either Intel's integrated or certain 3rd party discrete graphics are targeted to support the new Windows Vista Display Driver Model."

      Translation: you'll still need a third-party GPU if you want decent 3D graphics performance.

      • 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.

    • How well has Intel improved the performance of its integrated graphics chipset? I'd like to see what I can look forward to if Apple decides to go with Intel and not ATI or nVidia.

      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

  • ... the SLIGHTLY better power consumption is probably a result of moving from 90nm to 65nm - it is possible that a 65nm single-core would still have better power consumption !!!
    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)

      by Zackbass ( 457384 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @11:11AM (#14409017)
      So...why exactly does comparing this new Intel processor with a fictional AMD processor that they can't even mass produce until at least next year matter in the least? The process is just as much a part of the processor as the architecture and Intel has the better process tech. Asking for an AMD with Intel's 65nm process is equivalent to asking for an Intel processor with AMD's superior dual-core architecture.

    • 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)

    by ObsessiveMathsFreak ( 773371 ) <obsessivemathsfreak.eircom@net> on Friday January 06, 2006 @07:27AM (#14408067) Homepage Journal
    You can't beat longer battery life and better performance.

    Yes you can! Just spend more on advertising.
  • Maybe it's just me, but a dual core notebook seems a little wierd. As internet connections speed up we do more and more on the server, the notbook (phone, trio, etc) becomes more of a slow single core type system IMO. Dual core notebooks will use a lot of batery too. I'd rather have a thinner client than that.
    • Face it, this idea everything would be done on a server and you would only need a "thin client" or such has been nothing much more than a pipe-dream.

      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
    • yes, and choice is bad...

      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
    • Why have dual-core anything? Why have a separate GPU?

      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

    • Maybe it's just me, but a dual core notebook seems a little wierd. As internet connections speed up we do more and more on the server, the notbook (phone, trio, etc) becomes more of a slow single core type system IMO. Dual core notebooks will use a lot of batery too. I'd rather have a thinner client than that.

      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

      • Well, I'm a web teir developer. I'm not going to claim to be top tier :). But, I have a laptop that runs windows that I use to telnet into a Linux box.
        • Top tier developers use ssh.
    • Maybe you live in some sort of utopia with universal wireless internet coverage. But most people don't. The irony is that widescale laptop deployments have pretty much killed the idea of "thin clients" and cemented the model of PC-centric computing.

      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 ... Intel does the bulk of R&D (now even
    • Until you have worldwide, extremely fast, unmetered, wireless internet access, thin client laptops are not going to catch on. The whole point of a laptop is that you can work anywhere.

    • 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

    • As the internet gets better, and as the laptop gets faster, we end up doing more and more on the laptop. My work computer is a laptop, no desktops around. Why wouldn't we want better laptops?

  • can't beat that? (Score:3, Funny)

    by __aahlyu4518 ( 74832 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @08:18AM (#14408181)
    "You can't beat longer battery life and better performance."

    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)

    by DoofusOfDeath ( 636671 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @08:25AM (#14408195)
    You can't beat longer battery life and better performance.
    Does that mean you'll pay me $10,000 buy a dual-Opterion desktop, attached to 100 hours-worth of UPSs and covered with Limburger cheese? :)

    (The point being that better lifetime and performance are no brainers only if all other quality measures don't suffer.)

  • Intel Outside (Score:4, Interesting)

    by digitaldc ( 879047 ) * on Friday January 06, 2006 @08:28AM (#14408202)
    "The new slogan is supposed to signify Intel's shift away from focusing "inside" and starting to look at platforms and solutions for the end users."

    What does this sentence mean? Intel is going to make their own hardware and software now?
    • What does this sentence mean? Intel is going to make their own hardware and software now?

      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
    • They have been focusing on platforms for a while now. Take a look at their Centrino [wikipedia.org] and as an example. [wikipedia.org]

      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,
    • Intel is going to make their own hardware and software now?

      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
  • There is around a 5-10% performance increase in benchmarks I utterly distrust (i.e. the same benchmarks that always favor Pentium4 3.0ghz to AMD64 4000+), and the battery is generally around 5-10% less for cpu intensive applications. Where's the improvement?

    And please show us some real benchmarks.

  • wireless support? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gaima ( 174551 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @09:19AM (#14408352)
    So, this new fangled wireless card Intel have produced, 3945ABG.
    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.

    • Are we Linux users going to get a driver for it?

      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

    • My bad.

      http://support.intel.com/support/notebook/sb/cs-00 6408.htm [intel.com]

      Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
      Driver is expected to be available Q1 2006.

  • You can't beat.. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by FinalCut ( 555823 )
    OP Said:You can't beat longer battery life and better performance."

    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)

    by rjnagle ( 122374 ) on Friday January 06, 2006 @11:24AM (#14409112) Homepage
    Ok, pardon me for asking the obvious question:

    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)?
  • I am happy to see Intel producing duel core tech but it apears that this centrino is not 64 bit so I don't see the point in it. Both Intel and AMD are making 64 bit x86 processors so that is likely to be the standard of the future... so why buy a processor that is still 32 bit?
    • So what 64 bit-only apps do you run?

      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.

      • So what 64 bit-only apps do you run?

        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.

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