Intel Centrino question

[HondaF1]

Hi. I have a question regarding the INtel Centrino processors. My knowledge of them is so little. So far, I understand that they are very power efficient chips and generate less heat and that they have integrated wifi.

Is the wifi feature, taht is the wifi hardware actually built into the chip itself, or is it just an external part of the chip, or is it situated on the motherboard?



Is the wifi feature of the Centrino chip only compatible with certain operating systems or is it compatible with Win 98 SE and onwards?

 

[DaveSimmons]

search "centrino" on the main AnandTech website. Friendly Article Reading of The may ensue.

 

[John]

Centrino is not a processor, it is Intel's mobile technology. Basically the Pentium M cpu, 855 chipset, and the pro wireless solution make up the Centrino name.

Intel® Centrino? mobile technology

The Pentium M cpu's real boost comes from its ability to predict what the next task will be and start on it or shut itself down between clock cycles to save power. As a result, it not only handles tasks more efficiently, it also uses less power.

As far as Pro 2100/2200 driver support, some support Windows 98.

 

[anthrax]

Centrino is basically a bundle consisting of the following 3 intel components..

Intel Pentium M CPU
Intel 855 Mobile chipset
Intel 2100 wireless PRO 802.11b wireless LAN card

Centrino Mobile technology is basically those three things put to gether in a notebook.....
Only notebooks consisiting of those components can be branded with "Centrino mobile technology" thus can benifit from the marketing intel spent millions on worldwide........ In short, its a whole load of marketing....

It encourages notebook vendors to use Intel components buy giving them free marketing..

 

[n0cmonkey]

miniPCI. Intel 2100b or whatever is supported on (besides Windows ): Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and probably NetBSD.

No point in using something pre-Win2k with it, so why worry about DOS or early versions of NT?