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Intel Shows Off 'Banias' Chip for Mobile Devices
deano writes "Intel has unveiled the first prototypes of their latest mobile "Banias" processors. The article states Banias systems with the Intel Odem Chipset will come out early 2003 and feature 802.11b. The article also speaks of the new Itanium with a 6Mb cache!"
6 MB cache? The UltraSparc III has an 8 MB cache. Intel is still playing catch-up.
Of course, it wan't that long ago I was excited to have 8MB *RAM*.
Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
It sounds like this chip will become 'unexpectedly' popular for desktop systems as well as portables. Things like wireless Ethernet will be useful on the desktop too, and if the chip runs cool then it won't need a noisy fan. (And reduced power consumption means you can use a fan-less PSU as well.)
I wouldn't be surprised to see Intel making a desktop version of this chip as the Celeron replacement, depending on what AMD come up with.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
Isn't Bania that other comedian from seinfeld who was kind of annoying and always stole Jerry's bits?
The wireless ethernet is part of the chipset, so basically, it'd be like onboard ethernet, but why on earth would you want a friggin mobile cpu in a desktop? You don't have to worry about power consumption, space limitations, excessive heat, etc.
There are already alternatives for wireless on desktops as well, I believe linksys makes a PCI card for wireless now, you can also buy a pcmcia thingy for a desktop and slip a pcmcia wireless card in that.
The chipset probably won't have AGP or PCI support, or limited, so why on earth would you want it in a desktop?
The article does mention that:
To cut energy consumption, Banias automatically shuts off its different subcomponents when not in use. Although it's designed for notebooks, the chip will also appear in thin "blade" servers.
I'm curious what the cost of turning off the subcomponents is to performance? Anyone have a clue?
What?