Centrino

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Components of the Centrino platform. From right, clockwise: Intel PRO/Wireless network adapter, Intel mobile processor, Intel mobile southbridge chipset, and Intel mobile northbridge chipset.

Centrino is a platform-marketing initiative from Intel. It is not a mobile CPU - rather, the term covers a particular combination of mainboard chipset, mobile CPU and wireless network interface in the design of a laptop. Intel claims that systems equipped with these technologies deliver better performance, longer battery life and broad wireless network interoperability. There is usually a lot of confusion with Core 2 Duo and Centrino Duo. Centrino Duo is the combination of Core 2 Duo and Intel Next Gen Wireless Systems. Core 2 Duo however is referring to the mobile CPU directly.

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[edit] Marketing

Intel has reportedly invested US$300 million in Centrino advertising. Because of the ubiquity of the marketing campaign, many consumers mistakenly refer to Pentium M and Intel Core processors as Centrino processor. Many consumers have received the impression that only Centrino provides wireless connectivity in a laptop

To qualify for a Centrino label, laptop vendors must use all three Intel-qualified parts under each platform. Using only the processor and chipset will carry the Pentium M, Pentium Dual-Core, Celeron, Intel Core or Intel Core 2 label instead. Intel issues the label as part of the package deal as a means of qualifying the product.

[edit] Centrino branding

In order for a smooth platform transition over Centrino 2, and current confusion over the Centrino logo, Intel had started to have brand names and logos changed for Napa and Santa Rosa notebook platforms in the second quarter of 2008 onwards. [1]

Intel Centrino technology family
Platform Carmel Sonoma Napa Santa Rosa Montevina Menlow
Logo Original Centrino logo for Carmel and Sonoma platforms Napa Centrino Solo Yonah logo Napa Centrino Duo Merom logo Napa Centrino Solo Merom logo Santa Rosa Centrino Duo Merom logo Santa Rosa Centrino Pro Merom logo
New Logo New Napa & Santa Rosa Centrino logo New Santa Rosa Centrino Pro logo Montevina Centrino 2 Penryn logo Montevina Centrino 2 vPro Penryn logo Centrino Atom logo

[edit] Notebook implementations

[edit] Carmel platform (2003)

Intel used Carmel as the codename for the first-generation Centrino platform, introduced in March 2003.

Centrino Carmel platform
Mobile chipset an Intel 855 series chipset (codenamed Odem or Montara with Intel Extreme Graphics 2), DDR-266 or DDR-333.
Mobile processor an Intel Pentium M processor (codenamed Banias or later Dothan) with a 400 MT/s FSB, Socket 479.
Wireless network an Intel PRO/Wireless 2100B (codenamed Calexico) or later 2200BG mini-PCI Wi-Fi adapter (codenamed Calexico2).

Industry-watchers initially criticized the Carmel platform for its lack of an IEEE 802.11g-solution, because many independent Wi-Fi chip-makers like Broadcom and Atheros had already started shipping 802.11g products. Intel responded that the IEEE had not finalized the 802.11g standard at the time of Carmel's launch, and that it only wanted to launch products based on a finalized standard. In early 2004, after the finalization of the 802.11g standard, Intel permitted an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG to substitute for the 2100. At the same time, they permitted the new Dothan Pentium M to substitute for the Banias Pentium M. Initially, Intel permitted only the 855GM chipset, which did not support external graphics. Later, Intel allowed the 855GME and 855PM chips, which did support external graphics, in Centrino laptops.

Despite criticisms, the Carmel platform won quick acceptance among OEMs and consumers. Carmel could attain or exceed the performance of older Pentium 4-M platforms, while allowing for laptops to operate for 4 to 5 hours on a 48 W-h battery. Carmel also allowed laptop manufacturers to create thinner and lighter laptops because its components did not dissipate much heat, and thus did not require large cooling systems.

[edit] Sonoma platform (2005)

Intel used Sonoma as the codename for the second-generation Centrino platform, introduced in January 2005.

Centrino Sonoma platform
Mobile chipset an Intel Mobile 915 Express series chipset (codenamed Alviso with Intel's GMA 900), DDR2-533.
Mobile processor an Intel Pentium M processor (codenamed Dothan) with a 533 MT/s FSB, Socket 479.
Wireless network an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG or 2915ABG mini-PCI Wi-Fi adapter (both codenamed Calexico2).

The Mobile 915 Express chipset, like its desktop version, supports many new features such as DDR2, PCI Express, Intel High Definition Audio, and SATA. Unfortunately, the introduction of PCI Express and faster Pentium M processors causes laptops built around the Sonoma platform to have a shorter battery-life than their Carmel counterparts; Sonoma laptops typically achieve between 3.5-4.6 hours of battery-life on a 53 W-h battery.

[edit] Napa platform (2006)

The codename Napa designates the third-generation Centrino platform, introduced in January 2006 at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show. The platform initially supported Intel Core Duo processors but the newer Core 2 Duo processors were launched and supported in this platform from July 27, 2006 onwards.

Centrino Napa platform
Mobile chipset an Intel Mobile 945 Express series chipset (codenamed Calistoga with Intel's GMA 950), including ICH7M southbridge.
Mobile processor Processors - Socket M / Micro-FCBGA
  • an Intel Core Solo, Core Duo (codenamed Yonah) processor, or
  • an Intel Core 2 Duo (codenamed Merom) processor with a 667 MT/s FSB for Napa Refresh platform, or
  • an Intel Core 2 Solo (codenamed Merom) processor with 553 MT/s FSB for Napa Refresh platform (Sept 2007).
Wireless network an Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG mini-PCIe Wi-Fi adapter (codenamed Golan).
  • Some newer models (as of 1st quarter 2007) of the Napa Refresh platform contain the newer 4965AGN (a/b/g/draft-n) wireless cards.

Intel uses Centrino Duo branding for laptops with dual-core (Core Duo) and (Core 2 Duo) processors and retains the Centrino name for laptops with single core (Core Solo) processors. Some of the initial Core Duo laptops, are still labeled as Intel Centrino rather than Centrino Duo.

[edit] Santa Rosa platform (2007)

The codename Santa Rosa refers to the fourth-generation Centrino platform, which was released on Wednesday May 9, 2007.

The Santa Rosa platform is branded as "Centrino Pro" when combined with the enhanced security technologies Intel introduced with vPro and "Centrino Duo" when they are not used. [2]

Centrino Santa Rosa platform
Mobile chipset an Intel Mobile 965 Express series chipset (codenamed Crestline): GM965 with Intel's GMA X3100 graphics technology or PM965 with discrete graphics, and ICH8M southbridge, 800 MT/s front side bus with Dynamic Front Side Bus Switching to save power during low utilization.
Mobile processor Processors - Socket P / Micro-FCPGA / Micro-FCBGA
Wireless network an Intel WiFi Link 4965AGN (a/b/g/draft-n) mini-PCIe Wi-Fi adapter (codenamed Kedron).
  • Wireless-N technology boasts a 5X speed increase, along with a 2X greater coverage area, and supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signal bands, with enough bandwidth for high definition audio and video streams.[5].

The Santa Rosa platform comes with dynamic acceleration technology, allowing single threaded applications to execute faster. When a single threaded application is running, the CPU can turn off one of its cores and overclock the active core. In this way the CPU maintains the same Thermal Profile as it would when both cores are active. Santa Rosa performs well as a mobile gaming platform due to its ability to switch between single threaded and multithreaded tasks. [6] Other power savings come from an Enhanced Sleep state where both the CPU cores and the chipset will power down.

The wireless chipset update was originally intended to include WWAN Internet access via HSDPA (3.5G), (codenamed Windigo) co-developed with Nokia.[7][8] After announcing a working partnership, both later retracted the deal citing the lack of a clear business case for the technology. Support for WiMAX (802.16) was originally scheduled for inclusion in Santa Rosa but appears to have been delayed until Montevina in 2008 [7].

[edit] Montevina platform (2008)

The codename Montevina refers to the fifth-generation Centrino platform, now formally named Centrino 2 to avoid confusion with previous Centrino platforms. It was scheduled for release at Computex Taipei 2008, which took place on June 3–7, 2008,[9] but was delayed until July 15, due to problems with integrated graphics and wireless certification.[10] Montevina supports Penryn, Intel's 45nm die-shrink version of Core 2 processors.

Centrino Montevina platform
Mobile chipset an Intel Mobile 4 Express series chipset (codenamed Cantiga; GL40, GS45, GM45, GM47 or PM45) with Intel's GMA X4500 graphics technology and ICH9M southbridge, 1066 MT/s front side bus. The graphics core GM45/47 is expected to be clocked at 533/640MHz which will contain ten unified shaders, up from the eight provided by GMA X3100.
Mobile processor Processors - Socket P / Micro-FCPGA / Micro-FCBGA
  • a second-generation Intel Core 2 Duo (codenamed Penryn) 45nm processor with 1066 MT/s FSB with clock speeds ranging from 2 GHz to 3.06 GHz, also featuring SSE4.1 support, which adds 47 new instructions to SSSE3. It is planned to consume no more than 29W, compared to Merom's and first-generation Penryn's 34W TDP.
Wireless network Wireless Modules
  • Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300 mini-PCIe adapter (codenamed Shirley Peak 3x3) supporting up to 450Mbit/s, or
  • Intel WiFi Link 5100 mini-PCIe adapter (codenamed Shirley Peak 1x2) supporting up to 300Mbit/s Rx / 150Mbit/s Tx, or
  • Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350 mini-PCIe adapter (code-named Echo Peak-P) supporting both WiMAX and up to 450Mbit/s Wi-Fi, or
  • Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150 mini-PCIe adapter (code-named Echo Peak-V) supporting both WiMAX and up to 300Mbit/s Rx / 150Mbit/s Tx Wi-Fi

The Montevina platform is branded as Centrino 2 vPro when combined with built-in security and manageability features technologies.

[edit] Calpella platform (2009)

The codename Calpella refers to the sixth-generation Centrino platform; it will be competing with the AMD Fusion platform[citation needed]. It will premiere in Q3 2009 with the second iteration of Nehalem processors.[12]

Centrino Calpella platform
Mobile chipset an Intel Mobile Express series chipset with Intel's graphics technology that will allow for optimized decoding/encoding and editing/playback of H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video used in Blu-ray Discs and HD 1080p video, optimized for MPEG-2 (DVD) video playback and editing.
Mobile processor Processors - based on Intel Nehalem microarchitecture (codenamed Gilo)
  • an Intel processor (codenamed Clarksfield) 45nm for Quad Core version, 45-55W TDP.
Wireless network Wireless Modules
  • an Intel WiFi Link (802.11 a/b/g/n) (codenamed Puma Peak) and WiMax (802.16) (codenamed Kilmer Peak).

[edit] Mobile Internet Device

[edit] McCaslin platform (2007)

Centrino McCaslin platform
Mobile chipset
Mobile processor an Intel A100/A110 processor (codenamed Stealey) 90 nm version.
Wireless network

[edit] Menlow platform (2008)

On the 2nd of March 2008, Intel introduced the Intel Atom processor,[13] formerly codenamed "Menlow", a new family of low-power processors designed specifically for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). The components are designed with thin, small designs and work together to "enable the best mobile computing and Internet experience" on mobile and low-power devices.

Centrino Menlow platform
Mobile chipset a low-power chip with PowerVR SGX 535 integrated graphics.
Mobile processor an Intel processor based on Intel Atom Architecture (codenamed Silverthorne) 45nm version.
Wireless network a wireless radio.

[edit] Moorestown platform (2009)

Centrino Moorestown platform
Mobile chipset
Mobile processor an Intel processor based on Intel Atom Architecture (codenamed Lincroft) 45nm version.
Wireless network a wireless radio.

[edit] Centrino and Centrino 2 with Intel vPro technology

Centrino laptops with Intel vPro technology (Santa Rosa platform) and Centrino 2 laptops with Intel vPro technology (Montevina platform) are targeted more for businesses than consumers.[14] These laptops have hardware features that allow a system administrator to remotely access wired and wireless laptops for maintenance and servicing if the operating system is unresponsive or crashed and, when a laptop is connected to AC power (not on battery power), allow a sys-admin to remotely access the laptop when the system is asleep or laptop power is off.

Laptops with vPro have the typical dual-core or quad-core processor and wireless features of the Centrino family. The vPro technology built into the chipset adds management, security, and remote-deployment features for: monitoring laptops (protected event logs, access to BIOS settings, out-of-band alerting, protected data storage), maintaining and updating systems (access to protected system information, remote power up, console redirection), repairing systems (remote boot, console redirection, preboot access to BIOS settings, protected events logs), and securing systems (remote power up, hardware filters for network traffic, agent presence checks/triggers, out-of-band alerting).

The 45 nm Centrino 2 package is based on the Penryn CPU and Q47/Q45 chipset. It includes a better graphics engine (integrated) than Centrino, and three key additional features: Transport Layer Security (TLS) secured communications over an open local area network (LAN) for wired laptops outside the corporate firewall (not supported for wireless states), support for Microsoft Network Access Protection (NAP), and support for out-of-band management and security features in Sx (all sleep states) when the laptop is inside the corporate firewall.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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