Intel® Centrino® 2
Processor Technology

For Laptops

Intel’s top performing notebook technologyΔ

Experience a new breakthrough in mobile computing performance with:

• Intel’s NEWEST and BEST performing notebook technology
• Up to 50% faster performance when multitasking‡
• Up to 2X greater range and up to 5X better wireless performanceΔ
• Designed for the longest possible battery life
• Up to 90% faster performance on intensive multimedia applications like HD video encoding‡

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Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology

What’s Inside

Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology is not just a processor, but a revolutionary technology made up of a dual-core processor, chipset, and integrated wireless—designed together for outstanding performance, amazing battery life and faster, broader wirelessΔ. In short, it is the ultimate in mobile computing for today’s nomadic lifestyle.

Key Features

Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology
Unsurpassed mobile computing performance
Get performance that meets the processing needs of the most demanding multitasker, whether you’re editing photos, watching HD video, or gaming. With a minimum of 3MB Smart Cache and 1066MHz Front Side Bus, Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology delivers performance gains of up to 50 percent.‡ No more waiting for your notebook to catch up!
Break free with longer battery life
To keep you unplugged longer, we’ve incorporated Deep Power Down and other energy-efficient capabilities into Intel Centrino 2 processor technology. So you won’t need to search for power outlets at every stop along your travels.
Like you’ve never seen or heard before
With HD video and audio decoding, you can access and enjoy more exciting media content than ever while on-the-go.
The future of wireless – today
Operate wirelessly with up to five times better wireless performance, including faster Web browsing, file transfers and rich media downloads. Go from office to park bench to café and back home again without missing an online minute.
Enhanced digital media experience
With Intel® Graphics Technology, you’re choosing a smarter, integrated solution for your visual needs. You’ll experience the hottest media in razor-sharp 1080p HD with crystal-clear images and brilliant color.λ And you’ll enjoy more than three times better graphics performance for a rich, realistic and immersive experience while you’re gaming or watching video.‡

Compare Processor Numbers

Is faster always better? Yes, but it doesn't mean you should always buy it.

So, as you evaluate the performance of the components below, don’t analyse them in isolation from each other, but see them as interdependent partners that make up your projected system. Bear in mind that your future needs (such as adding software for a growing family or business) may change.

Roll over each word below to find a pop-up box: we have provided definitions you need to know so you can better understand how each will work together in your system.

Processor Family
Processor Family
Processor
Number
Processor Number
What is this?
Cores
Cores
What is this?
Clock Speed
Clock Speed
What is this?
Front Side Bus (MHz)
Front Side Bus
What is this?
L2 Cache
L2 Cache
What is this?
Silicon Technology
Silicon Technology
What is this?
PERFORMANCE
Intel® Core™2 Duo processor
T9600 2 2.80 GHz 1066 MHz 6 MB 45nm
T9400 2 2.53 GHz 1066 MHz 6 MB 45nm
POWER OPTIMIZED PERFORMANCE
Intel® Core™2 Duo processor
T9500 2 2.53 GHz 1066 MHz 6 MB 45nm
T8600 2 2.40 GHz 1066 MHz 3 MB 45nm
T8400 2 2.26 GHz 1066 MHz 3 MB 45nm
STANDARD VOLTAGE PROCESSORS
Intel® Core™2 Duo processor
T9500 2 2.60 GHz 800 MHz 6 MB 45nm
T9300 2 2.50 GHz 800 MHz 6 MB 45nm
T8300 2 2.40 GHz 800 MHz 3 MB 45nm
T8100 2 2.10 GHz 800 MHz 3 MB 45nm
T7800 2 2.60 GHz 800 MHz 4 MB 65nm
T7700 2 2.40 GHz 800 MHz 4 MB 65nm
T7500 2 2.20 GHz 800 MHz 4 MB 65nm
T7300 2 2.00 GHz 800 MHz 4 MB 65nm
T7250 2 2.00 GHz 800 MHz 2 MB 65nm
T7100 2 1.80 GHz 800 MHz 2 MB 65nm
T5500 2 1.83 GHz 667 MHz 2 MB 65nm
T5450 2 1.66 GHz 667 MHz 2 MB 65nm
T5300 2 1.73 GHz 533 MHz 2 MB 65nm
T5250 2 1.50 GHz 667 MHz 2 MB 65nm
T5200 2 1.60 GHz 533 MHz 2 MB 65nm
LOW VOLTAGE PROCESSORS
L7700 2 1.80 GHz 800 MHz 4 MB 65nm
L7500 2 1.60 GHz 800 MHz 4 MB 65nm
L7300 2 1.40 GHz 800 MHz 4 MB 65nm
L7200 2 1.50 GHz 667 MHz 4 MB 65nm
L7200 2 1.33 GHz 677 MHz 4 MB 65nm
ULTRA LOW VOLTAGE PROCESSORS
U7700 2 1.33 GHz 533 MHz 2 MB 65nm
U7600 2 1.20 GHz 533 MHz 2 MB 65nm
U7500 2 1.06 GHz 533 MHz 2 MB 65nm
Intel processor numbers are not a measure of performance. Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor family, not across different processor families. See www.intel.com/products/processor_number for details.
 
 

Processor Number

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Processor models vary according to cache size, clock speed and RAM speed. If you run computer-intensive programs, the more L2 Cache you have the better. If, however, you use your PC for gaming, streaming video or watching movies, the size of your L2 Cache is not as significant as having a speedy Front Side Bus and increased Clock Speed. That said, every year, software developers design programs and applications that demand more and more of all three of these elements. So, our advice is to think about tomorrow’s needs as well as today's. Still don’t know how much to err on the side of caution? Choose the best processor you can afford. No matter what, you’re bound to be impressed.

Here is some guidance to consider when looking at our laptop processors:

Intel® Core™2 Extreme mobile processor:
X9000 series: For ultimate mobile gaming and/or media performance

Intel® Centrino® processor technology:
T9000/T8000 series: Great for visually intense gaming and/or high definition media
T7000/ T5000 series: Create and store your photos, videos and music

Intel® Pentium® dual-core processor:
T2000 series: Aptly handles a variety of simple computing tasks simultaneously

Intel® Celeron® dual-core processor:
T1000 series: For when you want to run a few basic tasks simultaneously

Intel® Celeron® processor:
500 series: For when you just need the basics

Extend your hand and place four marbles in the palm. That's the gist of quad-core. It’s that simple.

Quad-core technology is a single processor chip (your hand), including four processor cores (the four marbles) or rather four simultaneously hard working brains. And just like those marbles, each core can work either separately, or together on one large task.

Software developers chop up their code (known as threading) and run each piece concurrently through whatever processor core happens to be most available. Increasingly, software developers rely on Intel® quad-core and dual-core technology so their multithreaded program can do more things simultaneously producing faster, more efficient results for you.

Tip: for exceptional multitasking, look for Intel® dual-core processors. If you’re a mega-multitasker, gaming elitist, or multimedia maven, look for Intel quad-core processors.

The simplest way to understand clock speed is to imagine a stopwatch measuring laps. Question is, where is the stopwatch? At an Olympic pool, a racetrack or your child's sports day?

Just like a stopwatch, a clock speed measures how fast a processor performs an activity. But which activity?

That’s up to you. How do you plan to use your computer? Will you video your child with your new HD camera? Then find a benchmark test that tells the clock speed of the processor running a media-intensive program. Do you love re-touching photos? Then look up how a processor was benchmarked running the photo software you like to use.

Tip: yes, you will find numbers. You will see rates in gigahertz (GHz), which means a billion cycles per second.

But numbers don’t tell the story. How you use your processor is what you want to find out. After all, you wouldn’t compare a lap time from your local swimming pool with a grand prix race, would you?

Imagine the RAM of your computer as one city, and the CPU as another. Between them is a wide road (the Front Side Bus). When you’re making calculations, developing graphics - anything you and your software demands - the Front Side Bus transfers data quickly to meet that demand.

Tip: whatever system you choose, make sure the components work together. For example, if you’re building a media computer, having a 1333 MHz front side bus that can handle HD video is wonderful - but make sure the CPU is adequate for the challenge.

Imagine arriving at your local shop and having all your favourite food fly off the shelves and fill the shopping trolley in minutes.

That’s L2 cache. It remembers the information you access most frequently in your computer so you can easily get to it without those annoying lags. (Just don’t expect it to remember documents you didn’t save.)

Tip: more L2 cache reduces bottlenecks and helps speed memory performance.

45nm – A nanometre is one-billionth of a metre. The processors we have on the market are just 45-billionths of a metre wide. To get an idea of the size of the technology: you could lay over 2000 of our transistor gates side-by-side and almost equal the diameter of a strand of human hair. The new Hafnium-infused Intel 45nm process allows transistors to be packed more densely than the 65nm process. With the use of hafnium oxide replacing silicon dioxide (in use since the 1960s) the new transistors leak less energy, produce less heat and switch faster.

Nearly doubling the density of our processors means extra performance, an up-to-50-percent larger L2 cache, and new levels of breakthrough energy-efficiency. Cool – in many ways.

Application performance for the Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9500 compared to the Intel® Pentium® M Processor 780

 



Create first-rate high definition home video productions for family and friends

Video: This test measures the # of 5 minute high definition videos created in 90 minutes.

Results are based on the time required to compress an HD file to HDV format. Click here for detailed laptop configuration.

Convert music files to iPod* playable format

Audio: This test measures the # of 4 minute songs converted in 2 minutes.

Create slideshows of all your family events

Imaging: This test measures the # of 4 minute slideshows created in 30 minutes.

Stay unplugged longer

MobileMark* 2007 is a benchmark used to evaluate laptop PC user experience by measuring both performance and battery life at the same time on the same workload.

Click here for laptop configuration.

The results shown represent processor performance of the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9500 compared with the original Intel Pentium M processor 780.‡


Reviews

Cnet

CNET.com | February 4, 2008

"The configuration we tested included a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 CPU (built on the company's Merom architecture), 1GB of 667MHz RAM, and a 5,400rpm hard drive. On CNET Labs' benchmarks, the TravelMate 6292 finished mostly at the head of a pack of similarly configured systems."
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Cnet

CNET.com | November 14, 2007

"The 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 CPU is close to the top of the line, and it was nearly as fast as laptops with T7700 (HP Voodoo Envy) and X7900 (Dell XPS M1730) Intel CPUs, although the slower 5,400 rpm hard drive held back the G2S in our Photoshop CS3 test."
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Cnet

CNET.com | June 29, 2007

"It's a point we harp on, but any current Centrino Duo laptop will be able to easily handle the multiple simultaneous tasks (Web surfing, media playback, document editing, and so forth) that average users engage in on a regular basis, and the Dell Inspiron 1420 was no exception"
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Cnet

CNET.com | June 26, 2007

"Compared with other recent 13-inch laptops, the Dell XPS M1330 performed as expected, closely matching the performance of the similarly configured Apple MacBook, and easily beating the Fujitsu's 13-inch AMD-based LifeBook S2210, thanks to the strength of Intel's Core 2 Duo processors and Centrino Duo platform."
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