Intel Unleashes Speedy Notebook CPU
Exclusive PC World tests show impressive performance boost in first Tualatin-based notebook.Tom Mainelli, PCWorld.com
SAN FRANCISCO-- Intel went after speed-hungry notebook users Monday, with the launch of its 1.13-GHz Mobile Pentium III Processor "M." Early PC World tests indicate the chip could lead to noticeable notebook performance gains, and scores of vendors are lining up to offer products based on the new chip.
Calling the awkwardly titled chip "a generational leap forward," Frank Spindler, vice president and general manager of Intel's mobile platform group, told analysts here today the new processor is the company's first produced using its new 0.13-micron process technology.
The new process lets the company shrink the size of the chip while speeding up performance and adding extra features.
Intel is offering the CPU, formerly codenamed Tualatin, at two new top speeds: 1.13GHz and 1.06GHz. It will also backfill its lineup with chips at 1GHz, 933MHz, and 866MHz.
PCWorld tests of the 1.13-GHz chip in a pre-production Dell Inspiron 8100 running Windows 2000 racked up the highest PC WorldBench 2000 score ever for a notebook, earning a 210 on our tests of office, communications, and graphics applications and multitasking. Its 15-percent advantage over the average for five previously tested non-Tualatin 1-GHz PIII notebooks (also running Windows 2000) is impressive--a bit higher even than the chip's 13-percent clock-speed increase.
Ready for Purchase
Numerous vendors will support the new chip, but only a few are selling products today. Among them is Compaq, which is offering its Presario 1700 through its Web site, says Lorena Kubera, director of portable product marketing.
The site offers various numerous configuration possibilities for sale now and shipping within the week. A sample configuration with the 1.13-GHz PIII-M chip, 128MB of PC-133 memory, a 10GB hard drive, 24X CD-ROM drive, 8MB of video memory, a 14.1-inch active-matrix display, Microsoft Windows 2000, and Microsoft Office 2000 sells for $1997.
Dell is now selling both Latitude and Inspiron notebooks using the new processor, although it could take up to 25 days for products purchased today to ship, says Steve Hollington, product marketing manager.
A sample configuration of an Inspiron 8000 priced at $2607 nets you the 1.13-GHz chip, 128MB of PC-133 memory, a 30GB hard drive, 16MB of DDR video memory, an 8X DVD drive, a 15-inch active-matrix display, Microsoft Windows ME, and Microsoft Office XP.
Better Process, Better Performance
Intel's switch from its 0.18-micron process to the new 0.13-micron process also lets the company squeeze 512MB of performance-improving secondary cache on the new chip. That's twice the L2 cache of existing mobile PIII chips. The larger, better L2 cache should mean better performance across the board, meaning a new 866-MHz PIII-M should outperform an existing 866-PIII, Spindler says.
Another side benefit of the new process is that the chip uses less power (and produces less heat) to do the same job. Intel claims the new chips run 20 percent faster than existing chips based on the older 0.18-micron process, while using 40 percent less power.
To further enhance the chip's power-saving capabilities Intel improved its SpeedStep technology for the PIII-M, Spindler says. The enhanced technology lets users do more than choose between maximum-performance or battery-optimized modes by choosing an automatic setting. The new setting revs the chip between low and high frequency speeds based upon the needs of the application running at the time.
Slow to Ship
While Dell and Compaq are selling products now, other vendors will take longer to ship their first products. Other vendors on hand to show support at the chip launch included Acer, Asus, Clevo, Fujitsu, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sony, and Toshiba.
Representatives from HP, Gateway, Acer, and Toshiba all discussed plans for future PIII-M products, but say the first products won't ship until next month or later. HP's first PIII-M notebook will be the Omnibook 6100, says Lara Kahler, worldwide product marketing manager for HP's mobile computing division. Due to ship in the coming weeks, the new notebook also will soon include integrated wireless networking.
A slight lag between Intel's launch and the introduction of new products isn't unusual in the mobile market, says Kevin Krewell, senior analyst with MicroDesign Resources. While most desktop vendors can launch a new product at the same time as Intel announces a new desktop processor, notebooks can be a bit trickier.
"Notebooks take a lot longer to design," he says. That's especially true when you're talking about a new type of processor. And in addition to the new chip, Intel is launching a new chip set to match, so that takes time to integrate, he says.
A Chip Set to Match
The Intel 830 MP chip set incorporates a handful of improvements to spur better performance, says Intel's Spindler. Among those improvements is a 133-MHz processor system bus (up from 100MHz); support for the faster PC-133 RAM (up from PC-100); and the ability to support up to 1GB of memory.
Today the company is offering the 830-M with support for external graphics; in the near future it will offer two separate products with different levels of integrated graphics, he says.
In the meantime, MicroDesign Resources' Krewell says it it's very important that Intel's introduction of the PIII-M and 830-MP chip set go smoothly. The chip in particular represents the company's future, since all of its processors will one day move to the 0.13-micron process, he says.
"This is the first one on this process," he says. "Launching this successfully is key."