Mobility evolution

Evgenie Rudometov

www.rudometov.com

Intel company has declared release of a new platform for notebooks

Functionality of notebooks fast increases. Advantages of this type of computers on advantage have estimated already ten millions users. As the result, the given sector promptly develops, overtaking on rates traditional desktopnye systems.

First of all the success of notebooks is provided thanks to development of solid-state technologies and microarchitecture of processor kernels. Appearance of two-nuclear models of central processor units has allowed to increase considerably speed of information processing and to reduce energopotreblenie. Frequency growth has ceased to be a main objective of evolution of chips. Instead productivity on watt of the spent energy became criterion. It has demanded not only processings of microarchitecture of inner patterns of the main chips, but also depositing of respective alterations in the architecture of platforms of the notebooks realising processing technique Centrino.

As is known, the first generation has appeared in 2003. Here it is necessary to remind, that brand Centrino has been admissible to put only on those products in which have been installed the processor of Intel PentiumM (kernel Banias), a bar chip set i855 and the unit of wireless data transfer Wi-Fi from Intel.

The first platform for notebooks Centrino carried name Carmel. As its basis the processor on kernel Banias has served. This central unit of a platform was replaced by a new product. In 2004 there was a new variant of the processor kernel Dothan which is modification Banias became which basis. The new kernel has been created on processing technique of 90 nanometers. As a result of appearance of the new processor platform Carmel has received further development. However it could not provide implementation of all its advantages.

In 2005 platform Sonoma has been developed, the transportable variant of a chip set i915 – the chipset of system logic of desktop systems became a basis platfory together with the processor. From other features it is necessary to mark support of the bus of 533/400 MHz, dynamic storage DDR2-533, the integrated drawing GMA900, a new variant of Wi-Fi unit. This solution became the second generation of processing technique Centrino.

The third generation has appeared in the beginning of 2006 after appearance of the new processor constructed on the basis of essentially new kernel. Development has received name Yonah, and the two-nuclear processor — IntelCore Duo. The one-nuclear variant — Intel Core Solo has been released also . The platform constructed on the basis of a transportable chip set i945 with built in drawing GMA950, has received name Napa. It has saved all advantages of the previous development. From new parametres it is necessary to mark rise of frequency of the processor bus and memory to 667 MHz. There was even more perfect processor — IntelCore 2 Duo, constructed on kernel Merom which possesses not only bolshej productivity and energoekonomichnostju, but also supports 64-bit calculations. Platform Napa remained invariable and has saved brand Centrino.

And here in 2007 transportable platform Santa Rosa which realises following generation Centrino was published.

In the given platform the transportable variant dvuhjadernogo IntelCore  2 Duo (Merom), supported by an appropriate transportable chip set of the bar i965, earlier known as Crestline will be applied . Besides appropriate set with the same name for desktop systems became a basis of this set. Frequency of the processor bus has received new value — 800 MHz. The wireless communication unit will undergo to considerable upgrade. The new unit earlier known under name Kedron, supports specification IEEE802.11n, that five times faster IEEE802.11g — nearby 300 Mbit/with. One more important innovation is the special unit which basis is made by flash-memory NAND in size of 1 Gbytes. In a new platform advanced design in the field of safety and handle, and also following generation of the built in drawing uses. The specified resources urged to increase productivity at low energopotreblenii and it is essential to expand functionality of a notebook. Often used information should be stored in the flash-memory unit that will reduce loadtime of programs and data and will reduce number of calls to a hard disk drive (processing technique Robson). The given processing technique together with hardware-software resources of the processor considerably will reduce energopotreblenie. According to experts of Intel saving of energy from implantation of processing technique Robson will make 400 mvt.

For one more spare is liquid crystal (ZHK) the display consuming to 35 % of energy. Implantation energosberegajushchih appropriate processing techniques allows to increase offline work time. One of them — processing technique Display Power Saving (DPST), regulating operation of highlighting of the Zhk-matrix without visible loss of quality. One more processing technique which has received name Dinamic Display Power Optimization (D2PO), is routed on reduction energopotreblenija. The principle of its operation is grounded on the analysis of type of the map. In a case if the active application, for example game frequency of change of frames will make 60 Hz is started. If operation is carried out with the static map there is a transition to interlaced image generation, that is at first there are even strings, then odd, as in the TV. Thanks to this processing technique it is on the average saved 400 more mvt.

Besides, respective alteration the power supply subsystem — Mobile Power System and handle of a disk subsystem by means of Intel Matrix Storage Manager will undergo .

All these developments are routed on saving of energy and allow not only to improve thermal modes of compact transportable systems, but also it is essential to raise an operating time from the self-contained supply — dopolnitelnitelnyj a gain will make till 60 minutes.

Estimating advantages of the described innovations realised in platform Santa Rosa, it is necessary to mark, that at different exhibitions prototypes of notebooks have already been shown. Their mass output is planned in May of this year.

Progress in processing techniques and advanced design will provide further growth of productivity and lowering energopotreblenija. Predictably, transition from existing processor microarchitecture of Intel Core embodied in processors of the bar of Intel Core 2 Duo, to future Nehalem (2008 ) and Gesher (2010 ) will lead to further growth of productivity and saving energopotreblenija.