NEED INPUT: Interested in an inexpensive Pentium M desktop motherboard?

[Geeky1]

I've been wanting a Pentium M desktop since the Pentium M came out; If all else fails, I'll try to set up a group buy of the RadiSys LS-855 motherboard. But the RadiSys is an industrial board, and it's fairly expensive. So, I'm trying to get a major motherboard manufacturer to produce a reasonably priced (say, $50-$150- the same as what most other consumer boards go for) Pentium M (Banias & Dothan) ATX or mATX board.

According to an older article on AnandTech, the Pentium M is electrically compatible with the P4:

Intel outfitted the Banias with a 64-bit 100MHz quad-pumped FSB, identical in design to the Pentium 4's FSB. The Banias' FSB is even electrically compatible to the Pentium 4's FSB, which is why any Pentium 4 chipset is able to interface with the chip as we saw at IDF with this E7501/Banias setup...

so it should run on say, the i865/875 chipsets as well.

Why would you want a Pentium M (Dothan or Banias) desktop?

Reason 1: The Pentium M is very, very fast. The June 2004 issue of laptop magazine has a few notebook reviews in it. Two of the notebooks they tested were a Dell Inspiron 9100 (3.2GHz Pentium 4, 512MB Dual Channel PC3200, 7200RPM/60GB HDD, Radeon 9700m/128mb) and an Acer Travelmate 8000 (1.8GHz Dothan Pentium M, 512MB PC3200, 7200RPM/60GB HDD, Radeon 9700m/128mb).

The Dell hit 11,951 in 3dmark2001se. The Acer hit 11,572. A 1.8GHz Dothan is effectively as fast as a 3.2GHz Pentium 4. It's not just 3dmark, either; the Pentium M is a folding monster, too. It really is a very fast CPU.

Reason 2: The Pentium M is perfect for Home Theater PCs, SFF boxes, and silent systems; in addition to the fact that it's very, very fast, it also runs extremely cool. The 900MHz ULV Pentium M has a thermal design power of only 7w. Even the 1.7GHz Banias, which puts out more heat than the 2.0GHz Dothan, only puts out 24.5w. Compare that to a Prescott Pentium 4 at over 100w, the Athlon 64/Athlon FX/Opteron at around 75w, and the Barton, also at around 75w.

Reason 3: It uses very little power. This also makes it ideal for silent systems, because less power means that the power supply will run cooler, and therefore can either be passively cooled, or cooled with much less noise.

So, a Pentium M desktop would be capable of keeping up with the fastest P4/Athlon systems around, while at the same time, running cooler, quieter, and using less power.

Basically, the point of this thread is to show these manufacturers that there is enough demand for a Pentium M board to justify building one. So, who wants one?

 

[RalfHutter]

I'm with you homes, and I've already talked to Abit, Asus, Intel, MSI, Foxconn and AOpen about this very subject. The most common response is that the engineers/salesmem look at you with a blank stare and say "why would you want something like that, who would buy it?" Intel will tell you flat out that they don't want the 855 chipset used on desktop boards, but they'll also tell you that if some other mobo manufacturer orders quantities of 855 chips from them, they'll sell them without really caring what their end use is going to be.

On a less pessimistic note, I haven't talked to any of the manufacturers since Intel announced they were cancelling Tejas and will now need to find another platform to puch. The Dothan or it's derivatives does look it will have a possible future on the desktop, if for no other reason than Intel doesn't have much in the pipeline.

There's been several good discussions about Pentium-M over at SilentPCReview. You might want to look around over there for a more receptive crowd.

 

[Peter]

Have you looked at CPU prices? Pentium M starts at about 280 dollars. Still want one? (The low power models are even more.)

You can have low power Athlon-64 (25W) and plant it on a desktop board _now_. Sure, they ain't cheap either, but they're fast, quiet, and available for the desktop - wasn't that what you were asking for?

 

[Odeen]

Originally posted by: Peter
Have you looked at CPU prices? Pentium M starts at about 280 dollars. Still want one? (The low power models are even more.)

You can have low power Athlon-64 (25W) and plant it on a desktop board _now_. Sure, they ain't cheap either, but they're fast, quiet, and available for the desktop - wasn't that what you were asking for?

That's because they're niche product. They don't cost amazing amounts of money to make, it's just that R&D is recouped over a lower quantity sold.

If demand for these as everyday desktop chips comes up, and Newegg and the likes start carrying them, the price should fall in line.

I can play games on my Gateway M505X, with a 1.4ghz Banias, a 7200 RPM 7K60 drive and the mobile Radeon 9600 at 405 core / 630mhz RAM all day and the room I'm in doesn't get much warmer. I leave my desktop on, and it's difficult to stay in the room w/o AC. I want desktop Pent M.

 

[RalfHutter]

Originally posted by: Odeen

Originally posted by: Peter
Have you looked at CPU prices? Pentium M starts at about 280 dollars. Still want one? (The low power models are even more.)

You can have low power Athlon-64 (25W) and plant it on a desktop board _now_. Sure, they ain't cheap either, but they're fast, quiet, and available for the desktop - wasn't that what you were asking for?

If demand for these as everyday desktop chips comes up, and Newegg and the likes start carrying them, the price should fall in line. .

Newegg is carrying two of the Pentium M's. Now all we need is mobos to go with them.

EDIT - So is Mwave.

 

[Zap]

Intel outfitted the Banias with a 64-bit 100MHz quad-pumped FSB, identical in design to the Pentium 4's FSB. The Banias' FSB is even electrically compatible to the Pentium 4's FSB, which is why any Pentium 4 chipset is able to interface with the chip as we saw at IDF with this E7501/Banias setup...

If the motherboard manufacturers aren't receptive to the idea, then it's time to talk to a company who is. Now, if the chip is identical enough to be usable in a P4 board except for not fitting in the socket, why not approach the guys who make the socket/slot adaptors? They are already accustomed to making for a niche market.

 

[Geeky1]

Originally posted by: Zap

Intel outfitted the Banias with a 64-bit 100MHz quad-pumped FSB, identical in design to the Pentium 4's FSB. The Banias' FSB is even electrically compatible to the Pentium 4's FSB, which is why any Pentium 4 chipset is able to interface with the chip as we saw at IDF with this E7501/Banias setup...

If the motherboard manufacturers aren't receptive to the idea, then it's time to talk to a company who is. Now, if the chip is identical enough to be usable in a P4 board except for not fitting in the socket, why not approach the guys who make the socket/slot adaptors? They are already accustomed to making for a niche market.

That's an idea that several other people have proposed as well. It's a good idea- I may e-mail upgradeware and see if they'd be interested in doing something like this.

 

[Peter]

Sorry to disappoint, but the Pentium M does _not_ run on any random Pentium-4 chipset. The front side bus is very similar, but not identical. There are chipsets that run both - 7501, 855, a couple of VIA and SiS notebook chipsets, but that's it. And then there's the issue of BIOS support - in that regard, Pentium-M is all different from P4.

Again, you can have a low power CPU that runs on desktop boards and provides great performance today. From AMD.