Intel has promised radically improved performance and reduced power
consumption for mobile devices with the release of a
mobile-specific processor in 2003, writes Daniel Thomas.
The processor, code-named Banias, is based on a specially
engineered chipset - current mobile processors are simply stripped
down versions of their desktop counterparts - and uses a number of
techniques to improve performance while using less power.
Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum, Paul Otellini, Intel's
executive vice-president, said Banias uses "aggressive clock
gating" to reduce power consumption. This means the processor will
identify internal chip circuits that are not required for specific
code execution and send a signal to a special clock gating circuit
which will then disable the internal clocks controlling these areas
- thereby cutting unnecessary energy expenditure.
"Only the unit [within the chip] that needs to operate is operating
to execute a specific instruction," explained Mooly Eden, general
manager of Intel's Israeli operations, where Banias is being
developed. "All the rest of the chip is sleeping. If we need the
execution unit, it works. If we need the cache, it is working. All
the rest are not consuming any power.
"If we take as an analogy a house: we switch off all the lights we
do not need. The only difference between Banias and the house is
that Banias does this automatically."
A few junctions nearer on Intel's mobile roadmap is the
introduction of the mobile Pentium 4. Frank Spindler, general
manager of Intel's mobile platforms group,
conducted the first technology demonstration of the chip at the
conference, and discussed the potential for new features such as
wireless Internet communications.
"We expect to see a variety of mainstream, full-size, and thin and
light notebooks based on the mobile Pentium 4 processor in the
first half of 2002," said Spindler.
Initially the mobile Pentium 4s will run at about 1GHz but a 2GHz
version should hit the streets by the second half of 2002.