Santa Rosa and Puma: the motors behind today’s notebooks
Notebook buyers have long been familiar with the Centrino name. Laptops can only use the label if they are packed with specific Intel-designed processors, chips and wireless adapters. Together, those components make a more energy efficient computer. Now AMD also has its own line of energy efficient components, including its Turion mobile processors and a selection of chips. Starting in 2008, it plans to continue developing its platform under the name Puma.
Notebooks with Intel’s fourth generation Centrino products went on sale in May and are marketed as the Centrino Duo better known as the Santa Rosa.
This year will mark the first time more laptops than desktops are sold in Germany, says BITKOM, an industry association. Projections call for 5 million in laptop sales, a 14 per cent increase on last year. Meanwhile, the sale of PCs should stagnate at 4.9 million, the same number as last year.
The stars of the new Centrino Due Double Core Processor line-up are the 7100, 7300, 7500 and 7700 and have much higher processing speeds than their predecessors. On top of that, they communicate with other components much faster thanks to an 800 MHz Front-Side-Bus.
However, Peter Knaak, a computer expert with the Berlin-based Stiftung Warentest, a consumer product information organization, says these improvements are barely noticeable.
But the processors have made leaps in energy efficiency. “When they are not operating at full capacity, they are even better at conserving energy,” says Knaak. Of course, the new 965 chip series makes that irrelevant. “Santa Rosa saves a few watts with its processor, but the chip is hungrier.”
Before a laptop can be shipped with the Centrino-Duo logo, it has to be equipped with a 4965 AGN WLAN adapter, which supports the new n-standard for wireless networks.
“It seems to work, even if the standard hasn’t been completely finished yet,” says Knaak, who thinks the WLAN improvements might make a real difference to users. Under optimal circumstances, the new setup increases the amount of data transmitted. Additionally, the signal does not drop off as quickly when the machine moves away from the transmitter.
There are other attachments that will not work with a Centrino, but could be integrated into a Centrino Duo Platform, like the X3100 graphics chip and a flash drive module called Turbo Memory. Using Direct-X technology, it should allow seamless viewing of Window Vista’s Aero graphical user interface.
“These are 3-D effects that only gamers needed up until now,” said Knaak.
AMD plans to pursue the same strategy with its still unreleased platform. “Puma was developed to provide the best graphic and video applications with better system performance and longer battery time,” reports Munich-based AMD. The next stage in the Turion 64 double core processor and the chip set M690 along with special graphics chips from ATI and WLAN adapters should be available by mid 2008.
Whether one needs the latest platform when buying a laptop depends on individual needs and what’s on offer. But Knaak says the Centrino Duo isn’t a must.
“If I was buying a laptop right now, I would skip the Santa Rosa. It has a lot of pro’s and con’s.”