Santa Rosa is Intels latest mobile platform, which includes the launch of the GM965 chipset and also the T7700 2.40GHz processor. I was going to write an article about this, but since I currently lack a Santa Rosa notebook, I decided to post a few cool things about the platform here.
First thing of interest I find, is that the T7700 processor will retail for $530. It has a 800FSB (which should mean we will see DDR2-800 mobile ram), and also a 2.40GHz clock speed. The reason I find this interesting, is that the previous high-end chip (T7600) comes in at 2.33GHz speeds with similar specs, except 667FSB... but still costs $637. Both are based on 65nm, but Santa Rosa is already looking like the better value.
Also new is the draft N wireless cards, which are supposedly 5x faster and offer 2x the range. This is something I will test out once I get a laptop in.
Arguably one of the coolest new features that will actually be noticeable is Clear Video technology, which aides in removing artifacts from any video to make it more clean looking. I am unsure if this just helps video files or websites like YouTube or not, but that's something else I'll look into. The examples they gave showed very noticeable differences.
Gaming is also supposed to be improved thanks to the added multi-threaded efficiency. Essentially, it should allow better gaming without slowdown thanks to textures and portions of the game that are slow to load.
On the business side of things, there are a few interesting security measures implemented here, but are mostly useful in larger companies that have their own IT department.
Scenario 1: Employee boots up their laptop to find Windows is bricked, and whining about a missing file. An IT guy will have the ability to connect to your laptop wirelessly through a backend, take over the PC, and run a simple command in order to replace the file with a good copy.
Scenario 2: Employee accidentally downloads a virus that disables a virus scanner and other security tools. In this case, the computer will automatically disconnect itself from the network in order to halt spreading. Once the laptop is taken care of, it can be added back into the network by an IT guy.
I just touched on the basics of Santa Rosa here, and basically spit thoughts out as they came to me. As it stands, it sounds like technology worthy of getting excited about. It makes me glad that I didn't recently buy a new laptop, because these ones seem far more efficient, with better features and better battery life.
First thing of interest I find, is that the T7700 processor will retail for $530. It has a 800FSB (which should mean we will see DDR2-800 mobile ram), and also a 2.40GHz clock speed. The reason I find this interesting, is that the previous high-end chip (T7600) comes in at 2.33GHz speeds with similar specs, except 667FSB... but still costs $637. Both are based on 65nm, but Santa Rosa is already looking like the better value.
Also new is the draft N wireless cards, which are supposedly 5x faster and offer 2x the range. This is something I will test out once I get a laptop in.
Arguably one of the coolest new features that will actually be noticeable is Clear Video technology, which aides in removing artifacts from any video to make it more clean looking. I am unsure if this just helps video files or websites like YouTube or not, but that's something else I'll look into. The examples they gave showed very noticeable differences.
Gaming is also supposed to be improved thanks to the added multi-threaded efficiency. Essentially, it should allow better gaming without slowdown thanks to textures and portions of the game that are slow to load.
On the business side of things, there are a few interesting security measures implemented here, but are mostly useful in larger companies that have their own IT department.
Scenario 1: Employee boots up their laptop to find Windows is bricked, and whining about a missing file. An IT guy will have the ability to connect to your laptop wirelessly through a backend, take over the PC, and run a simple command in order to replace the file with a good copy.
Scenario 2: Employee accidentally downloads a virus that disables a virus scanner and other security tools. In this case, the computer will automatically disconnect itself from the network in order to halt spreading. Once the laptop is taken care of, it can be added back into the network by an IT guy.
I just touched on the basics of Santa Rosa here, and basically spit thoughts out as they came to me. As it stands, it sounds like technology worthy of getting excited about. It makes me glad that I didn't recently buy a new laptop, because these ones seem far more efficient, with better features and better battery life.
