Pentium Iii Mobile To Give More Bang For Your Buck
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday October 5, 1999
INTEL is revving up for a mobile megablitz, with the first Pentium III notebook chips (running at up to 500MHz) expected in four weeks and a dual-speed 600MHz version within the next six months.
The arrival of the Pentium III notebook processors means that Intel will finally be able to offer both of its premium desktop processors - the Celeron and Pentium III - in made-for-mobile packages.
But it's the dual-speed technology, which Intel has christened SpeedStep (formerly codenamed Geyserville), which is more significant for users bedevilled by low battery life.
Since the first road warrior hit the bitumen, notebooks have stretched battery life by disabling components such as the hard drive and screen when they're not in use. Each successive generation of faster chips has brought notebooks closer to delivering desktop-level grunt but exacted an increasing toll on their batteries. That drain is compounded by the trend towards large panel displays.
Notebook manufacturers keep a tight leash on components to obtain respectable battery life on the road, but this also pegs performance when users are sitting back in the office with their machine plugged into 240v.
Pentium III Mobile processors that use SpeedStep will automatically reduce their clock speed and system voltage when running off batteries. The reduced power consumption will markedly extend the number of hours per tank-full. When plugged into an AC socket the system revs up to full throttle for no-holds-barred performance.
The first SpeedStep chip will redline at 600MHz and notch back to 500MHz on batteries; later versions will toggle between 650/550MHz and 700/600MHz in the first six months of 2000.
Intel's initial Pentium III Mobile processor family will run at 400MHz, 450MHz and 500MHz but will not feature SpeedStep, which requires support from the operating system and new BIOS routines. However, notebooks will benefit from the shift to the Pentium III's 100MHz data bus, compared with 66MHz pipe in the mobile Celeron and Pentium II chips.
SpeedStep is likely to be given its own logo and promotional profile as a selling point for vendors. The technology is also expected to be restricted to Pentium III processors as a means of differentiating the Pentium III and Celeron mobile chips and their markets, as well as helping justify the higher cost of Pentium III models.
© 1999 Sydney Morning Herald
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