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Socket Adapter Brings Pentium M to Desktop
EconolineCrush writes "Intel's Pentium M processor is widely regarded as the company's most compelling chip, and although desktop versions of it won't be available until next year, a new adapter from Asus allows users to run a Pentium M on existing Socket 478 motherboards. When coupled with a compatible motherboard, the CT-479 adapter is much cheaper than existing Pentium M desktop platforms, and also offers better performance by allowing the processor access to dual-channel memory configurations. Considering the Pentium M's frugal power consumption and great clock-for-clock performance, this could be an interesting upgrade for those looking for a low-noise system."
So, I've been running a AMD Mobile Athlon XP Barton (link) in my desktop for about a year, in a standard Socket A motherboard (NForce2 based). It is easily overclockable, and runs cooler than my previous main CPU, an Athlon XP 1800.
Is the PentiumM that much better, or is it just the CPU du jour?
Covered by AnandTech back in March. Now that's gettin old.
"Additionally, we were able to raise the FSB from 133 to 160 MHz without any trouble at all. The result was that our 2.13GHz Pentium M 770 ended up running at 2.56 GHz! At this clock speed, our two year old platform was able to beat the processor heavyweights Athlon 64 FX and Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition in all 3D games! "
At 27 watts max compared to 155. How much was that Athlon 64 FX again?
"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
Several reasons: 1. Desktops are less expensive for the same amount of CPU horsepower. 2. RAM, hard drives, opticals are all faster and less expensive. 3. Desktops are easy to fix if something breaks- parts are standard (except for some Mac parts.) Laptops are all proprietary. A $30 CD drive will cost $200 to replace.
Just "gittin-r-done," day after day.