Intel has decided to unveil the next generation mobile platform even before the hardware is ready. The platform will be known as Centrino 2, previously known as Montevina. Centrino 2-based systems can be ordered from the major system builders today, but the launch of the systems will not happen for another month. The poor availability is because of problems with the GM45 chipset, says Intel. The chipset, together with the new mobile Intel Core 2 Duo processors, is the heart of the new platform.
The processors are more or less identical to the 45nm Penryn processors that arrived with the Santa Rosa platform, but have been upgraded to 1066MHz bus (800MHz with Santa Rosa), and higher clock frequencies. The flagship is called Core 2 Extreme X9100 and operates at 3.06GHz with 6MB L2 cache and 44W TDP, not too shabby by a mobile processor.
What may also interest you is that Intel has launched three new processor models with a TDP of 25W, which should make it possible to create even slimmer and power efficient computers.
The major updates of the Centrino 2 platform comes from the chipset and not the least the integrated graphics circuit. Intel GMA X4500HD is both more powerful and has a lower power consumption than the previous chip. It also brings hardware accelerated playback of H.264 material. This should prove a great improvement for laptops with Blu-ray players.
There are not many big reviews of Intel Centrino 2 yet, mainly because of the poor supply, but a preview has been posted over at Anandtech.
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