The Pentium-M is not bad at all considering the slow motherboard/memory speed. I'm very impressed with my new 1.8 GHz Dothan notebook. If Intel releases an improved Pentium M chipset supporting a more modern bus speed and dual channel memory, I'll be all but sold on the idea that it should run in my home computer. I figure I'd be able to build a truly quiet high-performance home system and lower my electricity bill at the same time.
I enjoy the all-around performance and playing the occasional new game with my nice P4 home system, and I don't want to go back to what I had before: a Celeron 566@850. Unfortunately, I've grown rather tired of trying to keep my 90 watt 3.0 GHz P4 cool without undue noise by buying so-called quiet HSF and power supply units, and rather tired of seeing the extra $4-6/mo on my electricity bill; my CPU alone draws electricity like an unnecessary 100 watt light bulb left on continuously in an empty room. Growing up, I was taught to turn off lights when I left a room; likewise, I was taught to turn off the monitor when I took a break from the home computer--but the computer itself could stay running "because it doesn't use a lot of electricity." Old habits die hard and I still turn off lights when I leave a room, and I still turn off that monitor (or let it go to "power-save"); I still like to leave the computer running.
For the moment, I've settled for merely "not loud" from my expensive HSF, GPU cooler, and PSU, and it's not too bad--the traffic outside is usually worse; however the electricity bill still bugs me. I see the Pentium-M at 21 watts not as a step backwards, but as a step in the right direction as the energy usage of modern high-performance systems has been getting out of hand lately.
I take this view as an individual not because I'm too poor or too cheap. There's a huge number of high-performance computer systems out there today. Think about all the energy they use--and the opportunity for improvement if when it's time to upgrade them, their replacements consume half the energy. I think about energy efficiency because it's the right thing to do. Globally speaking, energy costs more than just money.
I enjoy the all-around performance and playing the occasional new game with my nice P4 home system, and I don't want to go back to what I had before: a Celeron 566@850. Unfortunately, I've grown rather tired of trying to keep my 90 watt 3.0 GHz P4 cool without undue noise by buying so-called quiet HSF and power supply units, and rather tired of seeing the extra $4-6/mo on my electricity bill; my CPU alone draws electricity like an unnecessary 100 watt light bulb left on continuously in an empty room. Growing up, I was taught to turn off lights when I left a room; likewise, I was taught to turn off the monitor when I took a break from the home computer--but the computer itself could stay running "because it doesn't use a lot of electricity." Old habits die hard and I still turn off lights when I leave a room, and I still turn off that monitor (or let it go to "power-save"); I still like to leave the computer running.
For the moment, I've settled for merely "not loud" from my expensive HSF, GPU cooler, and PSU, and it's not too bad--the traffic outside is usually worse; however the electricity bill still bugs me. I see the Pentium-M at 21 watts not as a step backwards, but as a step in the right direction as the energy usage of modern high-performance systems has been getting out of hand lately.
I take this view as an individual not because I'm too poor or too cheap. There's a huge number of high-performance computer systems out there today. Think about all the energy they use--and the opportunity for improvement if when it's time to upgrade them, their replacements consume half the energy. I think about energy efficiency because it's the right thing to do. Globally speaking, energy costs more than just money.
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