Intel Centrino 2 platform

The GMA X4500 also supports DirectX 10 and up to 384MB of graphics RAM, though we doubt it'll satisfy gamers. With ten stream processors, it's unlikely to trouble discrete chips such as the ATI Mobility Radeon range, which offers a minimum of 40 shaders. Still, as soon as one of these GPUs reaches us, we'll bring you full benchmarks.

Centrino 2 vPro

Intel has also updated its Centrino vPro corporate management system. Its 'Active Management Technology' already enabled IT managers to configure wireless clients remotely, even changing BIOS settings from a central console. A new update adds new features including the ability to manage Centrino 2 devices in sleep states and cross-firewall communications.

Real-world performance

Intel has plenty of manufacturers on board, including Asus, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba. We've received an early sample of Asus' first Centrino 2 laptop - the gargantuan M70V (pictured), sporting a 17in screen, an integral Blu-ray drive and 4GB of RAM. It uses the full-fat 5300 wireless chipset, and eschews Intel's onboard graphics in favour of a more meaty Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS.

But of most interest is the processor - one of the new Core 2 Duo T9400 parts, running at 2.53GHz. In our benchmarks, this enabled the M70V to attain an impressive score of 1.29. That's excellent performance from a laptop, outclassing even many desktop systems.

AMD has nothing to compete at this level: its new Turion Ultra processors struggle to achieve 1.00 in our benchmarks.

Leading from the front

Centrino 2 is less of a revolutionary upgrade than the name change suggests. The new processors improve on their predecessors in several ways, but there's nothing here that actually changes the game.

The networking upgrade too is hardly earth-shattering. The move from draft-n to certified WiFi will have little practical effect for most users, while WiMAX is very much a niche technology.

Yet Centrino 2 undeniably represents progress on all fronts - and that's progress from an already dominant position. While AMD is still struggling to get Puma notebooks out the door, Intel continues to press ahead, driving performance ever higher while lowering power consumption. And with bulk processor prices starting at a little over $200 for the P8400, Centrino 2 can afford to be a mainstream brand.

Make no mistake, we'll be hearing a lot more of Centrino 2. Look out for benchmarks and reviews of notebooks based on the new parts as they become available.

Author: Darien Graham-Smith