Intel Santa Rosa Details Confirmed

Intel Santa RosaShmuel (Mooly) Eden, the General Manager of Mobile Platforms Group at Intel, has confirmed earlier published details on Corporation’s forthcoming notebook PC platform, code-named “Santa Rosa”, scheduled for release in May. He has also confirmed the release of Core 2 Extreme notebook processor.

Intel’s “Santa Rosa” and forthcoming Core 2 Duo processors designed for the next-generation laptop platform will feature an 800MHz front side bus, which is up from 667MHz of current “Napa” platform.

The “Santa Rosa” notebooks, planned to be sold under Centrino Pro and Centrino Duo brands, incorporate Intel Mobile 965 Express chipset. The Mobile 965 will have improved graphics processor over the current 945 chipset. Intel Graphics Media Acellerator 950 will be replaced with GMA X3100, which will not be DirectX 10 capable, as it was reported previously.

“External connectivity is good, with a PCIe x16 link for adding discrete graphics and the usual options for flat-screen, TVs and CRT displays. 2D enhancements include improved de-interlacing via Intel’s Clear Video Technology. If you’re familiar with the HQV benchmark, a Santa Rosa-equipped laptop scores around 95 out of a possible 130 (compare that to the preceding 945’s pitiful score of just 5 marks). The chipset misses out on integrated HDMI support, a la AMD 690M, though,” Hexus reports.

Trusted Reviews has reported about a “power saving trick” of the Santa Rosa’s graphics solution.

Intel Santa Rosa's 965 Chipset“Intel hasn’t missed a power saving trick with its graphics solution either, with Santa Rosa being able to dynamically change the refresh rate on the display. Now I know that a TFT panel doesn’t actually have a refresh rate in that there is no scanning going in, but the liquid crystals are still twisted or untwisted a certain number of times a second. What Intel has implemented is that when the user is using the machine for duties that don’t benefit from a fast refresh rate – like editing a Word document – it will drop from say 60Hz to 30Hz. How much power will actually be saved by reducing the amount of liquid crystal twisting is debatable, but Intel works on a cumulative saving, so any small percentage of power saved is worth while”, Trusted Reviews explained.

The 802.11n draft wireless connectivity, a new Wi-Fi standard but not officially ratified by IEEE, is provided by Intel’s 4965ABGN Kedron module and will enable greater wireless range and up to five times faster data transfer speeds than current 802.11g reportedly.

Intel’s forthcoming laptop platform uses ICH8M south-bridge providing 10 USB ports, ExpressCard, PCIe and PCI connectivity.

The NAND flash memory based disc-caching technology, called Intel Turbo Memory and code-named “Robson”, is used to speed up loading times of frequently-used data.

Eden also said the notebook manufacturers will announce some Santa Rosa models at the time of platform launch in May, but the big push will come two months later.

Regarding notebook processors, Eden unveiled that the Merom CPU lineup will include an overclockable Core 2 Extreme unit, designed for use in gaming laptops. The dual-core Extreme Meroms will be accompanied later by quad-core models reportedly. He has also mentioned the “Penryn” processors, which will be made using 45nm technology. The “Penryns” are scheduled for release in first half of 2008, along with “Montevina” laptop computer platform.

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