Centrino Notebooks

[(Shovel)]

Just saw the billboard ad for the new Vaio Z series (Centrino). I want one... badly.

However, the price tag is (thankfully) prohibitive (£1500 for the 1.3Ghz) so I'm safe for now.

I'm wondering, ignoring the marketing of Centrino and picking out the extended battery life of the Pentium M as the main feature, how much do you/I/we expect to pay for them? And are there P-m laptops that don't conform to the Centino standards that are going cheaper?

*if* I can get one cheap at some point in the medium term future, I might actually be tempted by it

 

[Jonty]

Hi (Shovel)

Background

Intel-powered notebooks basically come in three flavours. You firstly have ones which use desktop Pentium 4 processors. These provide all the power you could want, but because they are not designed for mobile use, the systems generally weigh a lot more (~4.5kg), eat battery life like you wouldn't beleive, and generate a lot of heat.

The second variety are those notebooks which use Pentium 4-M processors. These are modified Pentium 4's designed specifically for notebooks. They are more battery friendly, generate less heat, but as a trade off, they generally cannot keep up with their bigger brother, the desktop Pentium 4.

The third flavour is the Pentium M, which Intel have launched as part of its Centrino initiative. These new processors have been designed from the ground up just for notebooks (hence that's why there's no '4' suffix). They are far more battery friendly than ever before (2x-3x better in most cases) and are just as capable as its bigger brothers. The clockspeeds are lower (initally 1.3-1.6Ghz, with 1.7 and 1.8Ghz coming soon) but their true performance is akin to the best Pentium 4-Ms.

Systems

Currently, Centrino notebooks are dear, because (as you rightly point out) they're new. There's also the fact that you're not just getting a new processor. Centrino technology refers to the motherboard and other components, most noteably the groundbreaking integrated wireless-LAN capability. Every component is designed to compliment every other component. For that reason, Centrino notebooks are, as you highlighted, smaller, lighter, more battery friendly and just as powerful.

As the technology becomes more readily available, prices will drop. At the moment, there are relatively few Centrino notebooks out there, apart from the high-end systems which manufacturers have chosen to launch with Centrino technology. Given time, Centrino technology will permeate through any manufacturer's whole range. There's also the fact that Intel are soon to start producing slightly faster Pentium M processors, which should be adopted as the new high-end standard, leaving today's kit to be 'demoted' to mid-end notebooks.

As for getting hold of a Pentium M laptop without the added Centrino technology, I don't believe that's possible. Because of the radical design of the CPU, it's likely the CPU just wouldn't fit in any other motherboard apart from those designed by Intel with Centrino technology. As Pentium Ms cannot be readily bought as a standalone product (as upgrading notebooks is a hideous task) you couldn't even try and upgrade any existing platform you have.

Conclusion

Well, I've rambled on enough. Intel will no doubt be able to explain things better than I can. Centrino systems will come down in price, but their desirability and relatively recent entrance into the market mean prices are currently inflated. Once demand steadies out and newer Pentium Ms are produced, the prices will drop. So, as you wisely state, I'd say it's best to wait for now

Kind Regards

 

[Embattle]

A laptop with a 1.6Ghz Pentium M will perform as well as, or better than, a P4M 2.4Ghz. It is sort of like Athlons and how while at lower clock speeds they actually perform as well as Higher clocked P4s.

TBH I found the prices were quite competitive from the start being in mind that it is quite a good product.

 

[(Shovel)]

Indeed. I quoted £1500 for tho 1.3Ghz Sony Z, which is a very good price considering the new technology and the wafer thin size of it.

However, student budgets for "nice to have" kit makes me hold out more for the bargin prices. We'll see what happens I guess.