Intel’s 15 Most Unforgettable x86 CPUs-Part 2

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).

Intel Pentium M

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).