Intel's 15 Most Unforgettable x86 CPUs

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Pentium M: Laptops Flex Their Muscles

In 2003 the market for portable PCs was booming and Intel had only two processors for them: the aging Pentium III Tualatin and the Pentium 4, whose high power consumption made it unsuitable. But a savior was to arrive from Israel: the Banias (alias Pentium M). This processor, based on the P6 architecture (the same as the Pentium Pro) had high performance and low power consumption. It even beat the Pentium 4, while consuming a lot less power. This was the processor used in the Centrino platform and it was quickly followed (in 2004) by the (faster) Dothan model. The Pentium M left its mark on the world of mobility, and the Stealey (A100) still uses the Dothan architecture (with lower frequencies and TDP).

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Code name	Banias	Dothan
Date released	2003	2004
Architecture	32 bits	32 bits
Data bus	64 bits	64 bits
Address bus	32 bits	32 bits
Maximum memory	4 GB	4 GB
L1 cache	32 KB + 32 KB	32 KB + 32 KB
L2 cache	1,024 KB	2,048 KB
Clock frequency	0.9–1.7 GHz	1–2.13 GHz
FSB	400 MHz	400, 533 MHz
SIMD	MMX, SSE, SSE2	MMX, SSE, SSE2
SMT/SMP	no	no
Fabrication process	130 nm	90 nm
Number of transistors	77 million	140 million
Power consumption	9-30 W	6-35 W
Voltage	0.9–1.5 V	0.9–1.4 V
Die surface area	82 mm²	87 mm²
Connector	Socket 479	Socket 479

As with the Pentium 4, the FSB actually operated at a quarter of the nominal frequency (QDR). The connector used, the Socket 479, actually had 478 pins, but they were arranged differently from the Pentium 4 Socket 478 (though adapters were made).

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82 Comments Comment from the forums

Arkz

great article with only a few slight errors (like saying the core2duo has 1-4 cores... i don't think there's a 1 cored version lol)

Looking forward to the AMD article.
Reply
aleluja

To correct you. Core 2 Duo has ONLY 2 cores, not more, not less.
Core 2 Quad, has 4 cores and Core Solo has 1 core.

Reply
@Arkz

Yes there is a singal core,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#Single-Core_Mobile_processors

Ok it is not under the same branding but it is part of the same microarchitecture
Reply
-Fran-

I might be wrong, but i resemble that the Pentium 166 (32bits adress bus and all) had support for 4Gb of memory. I remember IBM sold it's top line (at that time) with 64Mb support (even with SDR PC100/66 support). Correct me if i'm wrong please.
Reply
neiroatopelcc

The core 2 does supply 1-4 cores - 2 cores per die, where one might be disabled, and one or two dies on a socket. It's no less right to call a core2duo a cpu with 1-4 cores, than it is to put the pentium d on the same page as a single core prescot, as it's the very same principle.
Reply
cangelini

Arkzgreat article with only a few slight errors (like saying the core2duo has 1-4 cores http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coree ... i don't think there's a 1 cored version lol)Looking forward to the AMD article.
Thanks for the heads-up! I tweaked that passage to better represent the Core 2 architecture's available configurations!
Reply
randomizer

vosesterOk it is not under the same branding but it is part of the same microarchitecture Exactly. The article says:

ArticleThere are many versions of the architecture, resulting in configurations with a different number of cores
There is no mention of the branding, so there is no actual error there, just misinterpretation.
Reply
ImSpartacus

Arkzgreat article with only a few slight errors (like saying the core2duo has 1-4 cores... i don't think there's a 1 cored version lol)Looking forward to the AMD article.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116039

Yes, it isn't called a "Core 2 Duo," but it uses the Core architecture and only has a single core enabled.

But I will have to say, there aren't any 3 core models...
Reply
magicandy

Good to hear you're not only doing an AMD article, but an ATI one as well (in response to the Nvidia article you did earlier, assuming). A sign of class from the new Tom's is a welcome one.
Reply
harrycat88

I wish they would get rid of those stupid SNAP Linkbubless and Inteltex misguiding links. Who ever invented those stupid annoying double lined text popups should have been burned at the stake
Reply

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