Intel fills gaps with low-power processors

Santa Clara (IL) - Intel introduced four low-power processors for notebooks as new members of the Celeron M and Pentium M series.

The new Pentium M chips are the Low Voltage 738, the Ultra-Low Voltage 733 and 723 running at speeds of 1.4 GHz, 1.1 GHz and 1.0 GHz, respectively. The Celeron M Ultra Low Voltage 353 running at 900 MHz completes the Celeron lineup.

All new processors target ultra-portable notebooks with a weight of up to three pounds, Intel said. Thermal Design Power (TDP) of the announced processors ranges from 5 W for the Pentium M and Celeron M Ultra Low Voltage models to 10 W for the Low Voltage Pentium M. Voltage is posted at 0.94 V and 1.11 V. Regular Pentium M processors, formerly code-named Dothan, are rated at a TDP of 21 W and Voltages of 1.276 to 1.34 V.

The announcement will promote new discussions about the competitiveness of Intel's chips with Transmeta's Crusoe and Efficeon processors. While Intel is expected to keep its lead in performance, comparable Transmeta processors post TDPs of 6.5 W to 9 W - that however includes power consumption of the Northbridge, which Intel does not include in its processor specs.

Pricing or the Pentium M processor Low Voltage 738 (1.4 GHz) is $284, the 1.1 GHz Ultra Low Voltage 733 rings up $262. The 1 GHz Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage 723 is priced at $241 and the 900 MHz Celeron M Ultra Low Voltage 353 at $161 (all prices for 1,000-unit volumes).