Intel's Montevina/Centrino2 For Providers
On July 15, 2008 Intel debuted a new notebook platform code-named "Montevina" and branded as Centrino2, a new integrated wireless card, and a new notebook chipset. Montevina is a moderate update - it follows last year's Santa Rosa, which was the most significant update to Intel's notebook platform since the original Centrino.
In mainstream notebooks where a combination of good battery life and high performance is desired, Montevina/Centrino2 is intended to replace the Centrino Duo and Centrino Pro notebook platforms.
| Montevina Versus Previous Generation Centrino |
|---|
| |
Montevina |
Santa Rosa |
| Current Clock Speeds |
2.1 GHz to 3.06 GHz
1.4 GHz to 1.6 GHz (LV)
1.06 GHz to 1.2 GHz (ULV) |
1.8 GHz to 2.6 GHz
1.4 GHz to 1.6 GHz (LV)
1.06 GHz to 1.2 GHz (ULV) |
| Level 2 Cache |
3-6 MB |
2-4 MB |
| System Bus |
1066 MHz |
800 MHz |
| Intel Chipset |
GM45 |
GM965 |
| Fabrication Process |
45 nm |
65 nm |
Like all Centrino brands, Centrino2 is an umbrella brand - one that describes the combination of three Intel products:
Centrino2 = Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad (Penryn) + Intel GM45 chipset + Intel 802.11a/b/g/n
- into a platform. Adding iAMT makes the chipset a Centrino2 VPro.
Along with the new Centrino2 branding comes a new logo, seen at right.
As with previous Centrino versions, notebook manufacturers will not adopt Montevina exclusively, preferring in some cases to use non-Intel Wi-Fi cards and other third-party components. Dell, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Toshiba are all adopting Montevina for most, but not all, of their professional notebook product lines.
What's New
Montevina offers many new features and capabilities. Among the most important are:
- Faster processors - Montevina supports the new Penryn 64-bit Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors
- Integrated DisplayPort - support for DisplayPort along with full supplemental support of HDMI, DVI, and VGA
- Faster integrated graphics - the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500 has significantly improved performance over previous integrated graphics (Intel claims approximately three times the 3D performance with more moderate improvements to 2D performance)
- Intel Turbo Memory 2.0 - code-named "Robson 2", Intel Turbo Memory 2.0 is an optional add-on that refers to an add-on flash cache unit that promises to substantially increases the efficiency of hard disk operations. Please note that last year's Turbo Memory 1.0 had substantial driver influenced reliability issues in systems used the University.
Montevina Notebooks
Although Apple has not as yet revealed their Montevina product plans, it is reasonable to assume that at least some Montevina components will make an appearance in these notebook product lines:
- MacBook - a revision of Apple's lightweight and value notebook design
- MacBook Pro 15-inch - a revision of Apple's mid-weight notebook design
- MacBook Pro 17-inch - a revision of Apple's desknote design
It is less certain as to whether Apple will use Montevina components in updates to the MacBook Air.
Dell plans to release Montevina-based laptops across their entire Intel-based Latitude product line. For the initial round of releases, Dell has announced:
- Latitude E6400 and Latitude E6500 - a major revision of Dell's mid-weight notebook designs, with the 14-inch E6400 replacing the Latitude D630 and the 15.4-inch E6500 replacing the Latitude D830. For more information, see ISC's Latitude E6400 review and Latitude E6500 product notes.
- Latitude E4200 and Latitude E4300 - a major revision of Dell's lightweight notebook designs, with the 12-inch E4200 replacing the Latitude D430 and the 13.3-inch E4300 being a new model line. Full information on these systems is expected to be available sometime in September.
Lenovo plans to release Montevina notebooks in their ThinkPad X, T, and R lines. For the initial round of releases, Lenovo has announced these products of interest to University users:
- ThinkPad T400/T500 - a significant revision of Lenovo's flagship mid-weight notebook, with the deletion of the 14-inch 4:3 screen configuration. For more information, see ISC's ThinkPad T400 and ThinkPad T500 product notes.
- ThinkPad X200 - a major revision of Lenovo's smallest lightweight ThinkPad, with the long-awaited move to a widescreen display. The X200 will not be generally available until at least September. For more information, see ISC's ThinkPad X200 product notes.
For More Reading
Intel's notebook products web site
ISC's Notebook Purchasing Guide
--John Mulhern III and Andrew Romond, ISC Technology Support Services (August 12, 2008)
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