Centrino Notebooks

You've seen the ads and commercials, Centrino sounds like a great "thing" for notebook computers but what is it exactly?

It is actually just a brand name by Intel, the full name being "Intel Centrino Mobile Technology". There is no specific part or notebook called Centrino but rather a group of parts, all made by Intel, that define a Centrino enabled notebook. Notebook manufacturers need to use these specific parts to be able to use the Centrino brand name, and therefore benefit from Intel's marketing efforts(the ads on TV, etc) by saying their notebook is Centrino enabled.

The requirements for a Centrino Notebook:

Intel Pentium M Processor

Designed from the ground up to be a mobile processor, the Pentium M provides great performance while being very energy efficient to extend battery life.

Intel 855 Chipset

This is the chipset on the motherboard that was made to take advantage of the Pentium M power saving features. It is available in three versions:

855PM - provides 4x AGP interface for 3rd party graphics solutions such as the Radeon Mobility series.

855GM - includes an Intel integrated graphics solution for more compact designs.

855GME - basically the same as the 855GM but has support for DDR333 memory to help improve integrated graphics performance.

Intel Pro / Wireless 2100 and 2200 Network Connection

Intel Pro / Wireless networking cards are used for the Centrino brand and offer power saving features such as five user selectable power states and intelligent scanning technology to control how often it searches for access points. Available in three versions to support various Wi-Fi standards:

2100 - 802.11b

2100A - 802.11a, 802.11b

2200BG - 802.11b, 802.11g