Yonah to suck up more power

Yonah, a new notebook chip coming from Intel early next year, will run slightly faster than expected, but may also consume more power than its contemporaries.

Intel road maps seen by CNET News.com indicate the next-generation Pentium M will debut at speeds up to 2.16 GHz and possibly 2.33 GHz--slightly faster than the 2GHz or less anticipated by sources in August. Yonah will also come with a 667-MHz bus, which is a channel for ferrying data between the processor and memory; today's Pentium Ms feature a 533-MHz bus. The price will also be the same.

Yonah chips, though, will carry higher maximum-power-consumption ratings than current Pentium Ms. Most likely, that's because most Yonahs will sport two processing cores, rather than the single core found in today's notebook chips.

While few consumers will ever hit the maximum power consumption levels (known as a thermal ceiling), the number is an important one to watch. A higher thermal ceiling, in some cases, can mean shorter battery life, greater heat dissipation or a heavier notebook. A higher power consumption number could also erode some of the lead in power consumption that Intel has enjoyed over rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices.

The "T" class of Yonah chips, which are expected to be fitted in most business notebooks, will come with a maximum power consumption of between 25 and 49 watts. Right now, single-core Pentium Ms top out at 27 watts.

"Forty-nine watts is definitely on the high side. Twenty-five watts is acceptable for a thin and light (notebook)," Kevin Krewell, editor in chief of the Microprocessor Report, said Tuesday.

Intel plans for the "L" class of low-voltage Yonahs to have a maximum power consumption range of 15 to 24 watts--higher than the 17-watt ceiling found today. The "U," or ultralow-voltage, models will reach 14 watts at most. Current ultralow-voltage Pentium Ms consume 5.5 watts or less.

An "E" class of Yonah chips, for gamer systems, will sport a thermal ceiling of 50 watts or greater.

Intel declined to comment.

Power play
The ratings technically do not contradict Intel's somewhat vague statements on Yonah's power consumption to date. The company has said it will maintain "average power consumption" with Yonah, while boosting performance with dual-core and other features.

Average power consumption is typically far lower than maximum power consumption; thus, depending on the notebook and the user, there may not be much variation between real-world power consumption in Yonah and that in current chips. The second core in Yonah often won't be running, keeping average power similar to the single-core only models now available. Intel also plans to release single-core versions of Yonah.

A higher maximum power rating, however, can lead to greater energy consumption by laptops. In other words, Intel's "average" power

[raitchison]

Not good for Intel, good for AMD

OK I'm pretty much an Intel zealot, I've been "burned" (pun intended) by AMD processors in the past to the point where I'm not likely to even consider an AMD based system for my own use.

But this seems like a serious problem, the excellent power consumption and heat generation characteristics of the Pentium M is pretty much the only area where Intel has a clear technological advantage over AMD anymore. At the same time AMD is starting to cath up Intel is taking a step backwards.

.. but it's still less power than for Pentium 4

I wanted to mention that although there may be higher power versions of Yonah, it's still better than the 70+W Pentium 4 processors used in full-size/desktop replacement notebooks. With a higher wattage Pentium M processor, Intel can ship faster versions fo Yonah. This is a good thing for those who want the maximum performance in a notebook (think gamers notebooks from Voodoo PC and others).

Kevin