Hyper-Threading for Heavyweights

Some of the big-screened, multiple-drive-equipped notebooks dubbed “desktop replacements” use desktop processors, but Intel Corp. encourages vendors to choose the cooler operation and better battery life of its Mobile Pentium 4 — and has sweetened the deal by introducing a new Mobile Pentium 4 548 chip with 3.33GHz clock speed and Hyper-Threading Technology.

The 90-nanometer-process CPU boasts 1MB of Level 2 cache, a 533MHz front-side bus, support for Enhanced SpeedStep power-saving, and compatibility with Intel’s 852GME and 852PM chipsets; it’s priced at $262 in 1,000-unit OEM quantities. Toshiba jumped the gun on the processor’s official introduction, announcing Tuesday it had put the Mobile Pentium 4 548 into its 10-pound Satellite P35-S629, which offers a 17.0-inch WXGA TruBrite display, 100GB hard disk, DVD burner, and ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics for $2,099.

Categories: Technology