Fourth-generation Centrino
Intel released Santa Rosa on Wednesday, May 9. The technology is appearing in laptops weighing less than three pounds and up. You will also see the technology in desktops.
Intel introduced Centrino four years ago. This is fourth-generation Centrino. Of all the different types of computers, notebooks are now “the most popular and fastest growing”.
Though not a Penryn processor, the Core 2 Duo housed inside Santa Rosa systems is nevertheless different and “the next-generation”.
The chipset supports high definition video.
802.11n is not just about throughput. It’s also about range. Wireless 802.11n networking offers up to five times the speed and “twice the wireless access range”.
Turbo Memory is optional. These NAND flash memory modules are “unique to Intel”.
Nevertheless Turbo Memory technology is similar to that of hybrid hard drives. The idea is in principle the same, but the implementations are different. Turbo Memory puts NAND on the motherboard, whereas hybrid hard drives put flash in the hard drives themselves.
With Santa Rosa, Intel is bringing Centrino technology to “consumer desktop PC designs”.
802.11n wireless is an option with desktop Santa Rosa. With the Centrino notebooks, wireless is mandatory. Turbo Memory, on the other hand, is optional across all platforms.
Intel is also bringing Centrino technology to Viiv and mixing the two technologies. Desktop PCs based on fourth-generation Centrino technology may be “equipped with Intel Viiv”.