Intel to debut Dothan on Monday

The 90nm Pentium M ready for launch at last

Intel will launch its 90nm Pentium M processor, codenamed 'Dothan' next Monday, 10 May, sources close to the company have confirmed.

As yet there's no confirmation of the launch's details. However, Intel is still expected to unveil three 90nm Pentium Ms, clocked at 1.7GHz, 1.8GHz and 2GHz. The chips will carry the model numbers 735, 745 and 755, and be priced at $294, $423 and $637, previous reports have suggested.

The launch will necessitate a price cut for the older, 130nm PMs, with the 1.5GHz, 1.6GHz and 1.7GHz parts falling to $209, $241 and $294 from today's $241, $294 and $423, respectively. Those reductions amount to cuts of 13.3 per cent, 18 per cent and 30.5 per cent, respectively.

At this stage, it's not clear whether Intel will offer 533MHz frontside bus support or stick with the 400MHz FSB used by today's PMs. Circumstantial evidence from third-parties suggests it might, but the quoted clock speeds point to a 400MHz FSB for now.

In June, Intel is expected to release the Pentium M 715 and 725, presumably at 1.5GHz and 1.6GHz, matching 90nm parts to their 130nm predecessors, paving the way for the elimination of the 130nm chips altogether.

However, a full-scale revampt of the Centrino platform is not expected until the autumn, when Intel will release 'Sonoma', which comprises Dothan, the 'Calexico 2' tri-mode WLAN card and 'Alviso', the successor to the i855 chipset at the heart of Centrino. Alviso will introduce the 533MHz FSB to Dothan.

Dothan will double the current Pentium M cache size to 2MB and feature a number of architectural tweaks. ®

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