News Next generation Centrino includes dual core

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/08/23/next_gen_centrino_napa/

 

So it'll run on GMA graphics??

(i know GMA isnt a feature of Centrino, but it is a feature of Intel).

 

i'm waiting for laptop dimensions hardware with standard connection *great-desktop*

 

I'm still trying to figure out what with the odd name choices all the big boys are using for there new kit.

I decided to rename it Gonad wireless, oh, and they better hope napa stuff works well, otherwise that will be renamed to the obvious.... Gimme a C gimme an R

 

Hmm, well seeing how strong notebook sales are, it makes sense to allow games to run, at least at the laptop's native res with no effects, on laptops. Sure you'll never have the power of a desktop, but the amazing portability just doesn't compare. Even a Shuttle/LCD combo doesn't compare to a laptop and power brick as far as portability goes.

About time for DC in laptops. Any word as to whether speedstep (or whatever it's called) can shut off an entire core or just downclock them both evenly? I think what I'd like to see is a smarter version - based on how the CPU usage is divided among applications, it'll either clock up one core leaving the other off or enable the second. Like if it's 95% usage from one app (gaming, photoshopping, etc) and 5% in misc, it'll clock up, whereas if you have four apps at 25% it'll add the second core before clocking up.

I love the hardware MPEG2 decoder... play your divx/xvid/etc crap and not be at 90% CPU usage the whole time... REALLY works well for laptops, as you've got great compression with not a ton of quality loss (portability) combined with a much better battery life as a result, it's all good. And much better than toting around a walletfull of DVDs, not only beacuse that's annoying but because you've just added your optical drive as something that needs constant power, not just the CPU usage from the DVD decoding.

If I didn't know how price gouging would occur as a result, I really wish AMD would focus entirely on desktops and Intel on notebooks, both with servers in the background (but who could say no to a "powered by VIA" server?). Specialization always makes things work better.

 

Hardware MPEG2 decoder is all good as a power saving device, because it will reduce CPU load when watching MPEG2 video, ideal for DVDs or uncompressed DVD rips. However, unfortunately it won't help with your divx/xvid etc. videos as they are MPEG4. A hardware MPEG4 decoder would be cool.

 

Just a question, but whatever happened to tablet pc's? I personally thought them to be a great alternative to notebooks, but they all have crappy cpus in them, and so I never considered buying one.

Also, all this is great, but I hesitate when we start getting to "laptop optimized." If I'm buying a game for a PC, it's best that it run to its best ability on all systems, not be particularly optimized for one. Laptops are great and all, but they AREN'T replacements for desktops, and I worry that we might start catering a little too much to a market that could eventually be replaced in its entirety by Pocket PCs. Because laptops brought portability, but frankly PPCs are taking that to a whole new level.

I'm not saying lappys are going to dissapear or anything, just that their portability is beaten by other things, and game-optimization might be a slippery slope to eventually keep them in the limelight for those who don't really need their size as the rest of the world gets smaller and smaller.

I DO think this is a great place for intel to flaunt its power, though...mobile computing is definitely their strong point, from the pentiumM to the Xscale.