Intel Moves Mobile Chips to 0.13-Micron

Smaller, faster, and less power hungry. These are the main reasons chip makers are moving to the 0.13-micron manufacturing process. Whether you're in the Intel camp or not, these characteristics are particularly beneficial in mobile processors, though just how much they help is in the realm of independent testing. Today, Intel is bragging that it now has seven new mobile processors built on the 0.13-micron fabrication process, meaning that its entire mobile processor product line is now produced that way. The three new Low Voltage and Ultra Low Voltage Intel Pentium III processors - M, and an Ultra Low Voltage mobile Intel Celeron processor at speeds up to 866 MHz are now on the streets (remember that the "Low Voltage" and "Ultra Low Voltage" monikers are brand names). Intel also launched three mobile Celeron processors at speeds up to 1.20 GHz. Systems based on the new mobile processors will be available from Compaq, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard, IBM, MEI, NEC, Sharp Electronics, and Toshiba. To give you an idea of the benefits of 0.13-micron fab, Intel claims the chips consume up to 40 percent less power, are 30 percent smaller, and 20 percent faster than processors built on its 0.18-micron process. The mobile Pentium III processor-M family features Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology that switches the processor between Maximum Performance Mode and Battery Optimized Mode. The Deeper Sleep mode is said to provide a power reduction from previous Intel low-power sleep states to reach power levels as low as two tenths of a watt or less, hence conserving the juice in your laptop's battery.