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Intel Centrino 2 refresh said to arrive in April 2009

While the usual g33k is looking forward for the Nehalem-enriched Calpella, Intel is preparing to introduce a little update to its mobile platform before it. Planned for Q2 2009 and now expected to debut in April the Montevina (Centrino 2) refresh will see to the release of a couple of new 45nm Core 2 Duo processors, the T9900 and T8800, and will make use of the upcoming GM47 chipset, as well as the current GM45 and PM45.

The GM47 will be released in Q1 2009 and while most of its features are already found on the GM45, it will include an updated IGP dubbed 4700MHD. The GM47's graphics core is clocked at 640 MHz, as opposed to the 533 MHz of the GM45's IGP. The Montevina refresh may not be spectacular but it should keep laptop makers busy until Calpella will be ready for release.

Intel's Centrino 2 Platform Delayed

TGDaily is reporting that Intel's next-gen Centrino 2 platform (aka Montevina) has hit a series of snags and won't launch until July 14 at the earliest.
Aside from delaying new Centrino 2 notebooks generally (duh), it also significantly quashes the chances of new MacBooks at WWDC—particularly since one of the issues is with the integrated graphics chipset, which is causing serious failures in OEM notebooks.

Apparently, the Centrino 2 launch will be rolling, with some chipsets hitting in July and others following later. One of the other problems is with FCC certification of the sets with 802.11n, so that wireless N support "may see a slower ramp as Montevina can only be shipped with support 802.11 a/b/g for now."

If you recall the Santa Rosa launch last year, new MacBook Pros shipped about a month after the chipset debuted, pointing toward an August launch for new Centrino 2-based notebooks. [TGDaily]

Intel to use Centrino 2 to promote solid-state drives

Intel will offer to bundle its promised solid-state drives with its upcoming Centrino 2 platform, it has been claimed. The plan is being portrayed as a bid to push SSDs into the mainstream.

Today, SSDs generally command a significant premium over the price of equivalent notebooks fitted with a hard drive. Quite how far Intel will use the bundle approach to drive down the cost of implementing SSDs remains to be seen.

Centrino 2 - codenamed 'Montevina' - is due to debut late June, according to industry moles. Back in March, Intel executive Troy Winslow said the chip giant would ship 80GB and 160GB 2.5in- and 1.8in-format SSDs in Q2, so the timing of both product types could easily coincide.

According to insiders cited by Digitimes, the Flash drives will be branded Intel High Performance SSD, with the model codes X25-M and X18-M for 2.5in and 1.8in sizes, respectively. The first SSDs will be 80GB. They'll use a SATA interface.

That makes the 1.8in model a logical update for Apple's MacBook Air - reviewed here - allowing the company to deliver a second-gen machine that connects to storage over a SATA bus rather than the slower, parallel ATA bus the current version uses. The report claims the 160GB version won't arrive until late Q4, with 250GB SSDs following next year.

Intel nudges Centrino 2 debut back

Intel's next major Centrino revamp - dubbed 'Centrino 2' - isn't coming until the end of June, and not this month, as the company's executives have stated in the past.

According to whispers coming out of Taiwan's notebook manufacturers, the chip giant will release the X9100, T9600, T9400, P9500, P8600 and P8400 'Montevina'-oriented processors in that post-Computex timeframe.

They'll be priced at $851, $530, $348, $316, $241 and $209, respectively, we understand. They're all dual-core, and they'll all be fabbed at 45nm.

The 'P' chips have a maximum power draw of 25W, the 'T's 35W. The 2.4GHz P8600 has 3MB of L2, as does the 2.26GHz P8400. The P9500, like the T9600 and T9400, has 6MB of L2. Those three are clocked at 2.53GHz, 2.80GHz and 2.53GHz, respectively. All five CPUs sit on a 1066MHz frontside bus (FSB).

The X9100's FSB is 1066MHz too, but it'll draw 45W, be clocked to 3.06GHz and pack in 6MB of L2.

Centrino 2's late-June arrival gets it just into the H1 2008 launch window announced by Intel in the past. In September 2007, CEO Paul Otellini let slip that Centrino 2 would arrive in May 2008.

Once Centrino 2's out of the way, Intel can focus on its key Q3 launch: the first mobile quad-core chip. The $1038 QX9300 contains 12MB of L2 - 6MB per core pair - and sit on a 1066MHz FSB. Its clock speed has been said in the past to be 2.53GHz.

Intel prices up four wireless modules for 'Centrino 2'

Intel's upcoming WiMax module for laptops, 'Echo Peak', is going to add at least $34 to the price of a new notebook, if leaked pricing information is to be believed. But watch out for cheaper offerings.

Why? Because Intel will be offering two versions of Echo Peak. It's said as much itself, but thanks to Taiwanese industry moles cited by DigiTimes, we have the prices.

The top-of-the-line Intel WiMax/Wi-Fi Link 5350 module costs $54, the cheaper one $44. That $10 premium buys you a module capable of using a 3x3 multi-antennae array. The $44 unit - aka the Intel WiMax/Wi-Fi Link 5150 - can only connect to a 1x2 array.

That's three transmit and three pick-up antennae versus one transmit and two pick-ups, so the former should get you superior wireless reception. That's not to say the 5150 won't perform well, only that the 5350 will perform better.

So make sure you check the spec of the WiMax laptop you plan to buy, and don't assume all Intel WiMax/Wi-Fi Link modules are created equal.

The Echo Peak modules are due to debut in May with the arrival of 'Montevina', the next version of Centrino - Centrino 2, as it'll apparently be branded.

So too will 'Shirley Peak' - formerly 'Dana Point' - a WLAN module without WiMax. Shirley Peak will likewise appear in two forms: the 3x3 Wi-Fi Link 5300 and the 1x2 Wi-Fi Link 5100. It's said they'll be priced at $30 and $20, respectively.

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