With clock speeds that currently range as high as 2.13 GHz, the Dothan-based Pentium M with 2 MB L2 cache offers the kind of performance we expect from a modern system. Depending on the application in question, the mobile processor offers performance comparable to a Pentium 4 running between 3 and 3.2 GHz. Using the chip, it is now possible to build a desktop computer with a power draw that stays a good deal below 40 watts with the help of AOpen's i915GMm-HFS. Even when paired with a brawny 3D accelerator card, this system won't exceed the 100 watt mark. Without a doubt, this combination is a very interesting option for always-on computers, as it helps keep the power bill low and doesn't waste energy. Bravo, AOpen!

The Pentium M doesn't do so well in the synthetic applications. However, those don't necessarily mirror performance in real-world scenarios. Indeed, when paired with a GeForce 6800 GT, our Pentium M ran current 3D games such as Doom 3 or Far Cry just as well as a fast Athlon 64 or Pentium 4.

However, when raw number-crunching power is needed, for example when rendering videos and graphics or encoding video and audio files to popular formats such as MPEG2, MP3 and MPEG4, the Pentium M is clearly left in the dust. Unsurprisingly, these fields are dominated by the brawnier Pentium 4 and Athlon 64 processors. For these applications, the higher power consumption of the desktop processors is tolerable, since they actually offer a tangible performance increase in return for their power use.

As a result of the lower signal strength used between the motherboard components and the CPU, mobile chipsets aren't especially suited to overclocking. Users looking to combine the energy efficiency of the Pentium M with high performance from overclocking should keep an eye out for socket 479 with a desktop chipset. We expect to see more of these hybrid boards enter the market over the coming months.

In conclusion, we would say that aside from some of the Athlon 64 processors, the Pentium M is really the most sensible choice if you want to build an x86 machine.