Technology

Definition

The world of mobile computing has seldom been so exciting. Not, at least, for last 3 years when all that the chip giants could think of was scaling down the frequency and voltage of the desktop CPUs, and labeling them as mobile processors. Intel Centrino mobile technology is based on the understanding that mobile customers value the four vectors of mobility: performance, battery life, small form factor, and wireless connectivity. The technologies represented by the Intel Centrino brand will include an Intel Pentium-M processor, Intel 855 chipset family, and Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 network connection .

The Intel Pentium-M processor is a higher performance, lower power mobile processor with several micro-architectural enhancements over existing Intel mobile processors. Some key features of the Intel Pentium-M processor Micro-architecture include Dynamic Execution, 400-MHz, on-die 1-MB second level cache with Advanced Transfer Cache Architecture, Streaming SIMD Extensions 2, and Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology.

The Intel Centrino mobile technology also includes the 855GM chipset components GMCH and the ICH4-M. The Accelerated Hub Architecture is designed into the chipset to provide an efficient, high bandwidth, communication channel between the GMCH and the ICH4-M.The GMCH component contains a processor system bus controller, a graphics controller, and a memory controller, while providing an LVDS interface and two DVO ports.

The integrated Wi-Fi Certified Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection has been designed and validated to work with all of the Intel Centrino mobile technology components and is able to connect to 802.11b Wi-Fi certified access points. It also supports advanced wireless LAN security including Cisco LEAP, 802.1X and WEP. Finally, for comprehensive security support, the Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection has been verified with leading VPN suppliers like Cisco, CheckPoint, Microsoft and Intel NetStructure.

Pentium-M Processor

The Intel Pentium-M processor is a high performance, low power mobile processor with several micro-architectural enhancements over existing Intel mobile processors. The following list provides some of the key features on this processor:

¢ Supports Intel Architecture with Dynamic Execution
¢ High performance, low-power core
¢ On-die, 1-MByte second level cache with Advanced Transfer Cache Architecture
¢ Advanced Branch Prediction and Data Prefetch Logic
¢ Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 (SSE2)
¢ 400-MHz, Source-Synchronous processor system bus
¢ Advanced Power Management features including Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology
¢ Micro-FCPGA and Micro-FCBGA packaging technologies

The Intel Pentium-M processor is manufactured on Intel's advanced 0.13 micron process technology with copper interconnect. The processor maintains support for MMX technology and Internet Streaming SIMD instructions and full compatibility with IA-32 software. The high performance core features architectural innovations like Micro-op Fusion and Advanced Stack Management that reduce the number of micro-ops handled by the processor. This results in more efficient scheduling and better performance at lower power.

The on-die 32-kB Level 1 instruction and data caches and the 1-MB Level 2 cache with Advanced Transfer Cache Architecture enable significant performance improvement over existing mobile processors. The processor also features a very advanced branch prediction architecture that significantly reduces the number of mispredicted branches. The processor's Data Prefetch Logic speculatively fetches data to the L2 cache before an L1 cache requests occurs, resulting in reduced bus cycle penalties and improved performance.