Before we begin the discussion allow us to clarify the terminology to prevent "fanboy(s)" from getting too excited. Intel really makes it very confusing requiring this clarification:



1. Centrino is not a Processor. Rather, Centrino is an Intel "Branding" Platform to distinguish a laptop offering a particular combination of CPU, mainboard chipset and wireless network. All the 3-components mentioned must be made by Intel to qualify for the Centrino Branding.
• The fourth-generation Centrino laptop platform codenamed "Santa Rosa" featured the Intel Core2 Duo(Merom) Processor, Intel 965GM/PM Chipset(Crestline) and Intel WiFi 3945ABG or 4965ABG/N Wireless Card.




2. Core2 Duo brand refers to a range of Intel's consumer 64-bit dual-core processor.



3. Penryn refers to processors that benefit from enhancements to the Intel® Core™ microarchitecture and also Intel's industry-leading 45nm Hi-k process technology with its hafnium-based high-K + metal gate transistor design, which results in higher performance and more energy-efficient processors.<click here>



For clarity of discussion Penryn here will refer to a processor. if you do not agree and have a better definition, please send us an email with the official link.

Allow us to quote from Anandtech - "We’ve been through this before. Every year we get an update to Centrino, and every year the outcome is pretty much the same: equal or better performance, coupled with longer battery life. The end result is that each year we have to evaluate whether or not buying a new laptop makes sense." <click here>

The so-called system refresh of a the Centrino Duo "Santa Rosa", involves a new processor into an existing platform. As a simple CPU change, this year’s update is far simpler - it’s all in the processor. The refreshed platform continuous to use the Intel 965GM/PM chipset and the same Intel 3945ABG or 4965 with draft-N wireless card as the Santa Rosa.

At the heart of the new Penryn processors are 45-nanometer transistors whose miniscule size enables Intel to pack more of them into each Core 2 Duo processor for extra processing punch. Plus, they're built of new “Hi-K” materials that significantly reduce electrical leakage. <click here>

• The Penryn offers three major improvements compared to the Merom:
1. Increase in L2 cache.
- 2.1 and 2.3 GHz versions equipped with 3 MB of L2 and 2.5 and 2.6 GHz versions with 6 MB of L2



2. Reduction in power consumption. Mobile Penryn offers two technologies targeted specifically at increasing battery life: (a)deeper sleep state and (b)Dynamic Acceleration Technology



3. Support for SSE4 instructions: Penryn includes Intel® Streaming SIMD Extensions 4 (SSE4) instructions. SSE4 is an instruction set for the Intel Core microarchitecture, initially implemented in the Penryn processor. <click here>

It all sounds groovy on paper, but is it true?

A. Does the new Penryn perform better than its predecessor the Merom (Socket-P)?
Our choice to gauge the performance of the processor is Windows® Experience Index which is a new feature built into Windows Vista™. It is designed to help consumers understand how well Windows Vista and the software running on it will perform on a specific PC. The index achieves this by assessing the capability of the PC and assigning a score to it. Higher scores indicate a better Vista experience on your PC. It is a very simple test the even a newbie can do on his vista equipped laptop. Less complications / Less inconsistency:

Two units were compared: Dell 1420 with Penryn Processor vs. Dell 1720 with Merom Core2 Processor.





If you compare the rating for the two processor, the Penryn T8300 is a clear winner (4.9Pts vs 5.3Pts). This was actually a surprise to us because we expected the T7700(2.4Ghz) to perform better given the higher 4mb-L2 Cache vs the 3mb-L2 cache of the T8300(2.4Ghz).
At this point, the Penryn T8300 processor is impressive!

However, as we have stated in our own Processor guide, the processor alone does not determine the performance of a laptop. Check out the Base Scores of the two systems compared.
• The 1720 has a Final Base Score of 5.3Points
• The 1420 has a Final Base Score of 3.7Points

Evidently, the Dell 1720 (Merom) actually has a better Final Based score versus the Dell 1420(Penryn) even if the later has a faster processor. Why? Because a processor is only one part of the whole system. In the WEI Test the whole system is tested and the bottle neck for the 1420 is the slower Video Card.
• The 1720 features an 8600M(GT)with a Score of 4.6Points
• The 1420 features an 8400M(GS)with a Score of 3.7Points
note: Imagine the score of the 1720 if it had 2Gb of RAM ^.^

Based on this simple test the term "performance" must be qualified.
Yes the 45nm Penryn Processor is indeed a faster processor.
However, as evident in this test a Penryn based system without high end components will only offer the same if not less performance compared to the previous "Merom" system with high end components. To be able to experience the full strength of the 45nm processor, the supporting components like the Video Card, RAM, and Harddrive must also be top notch. Example is in gaming where the graphics card becomes the limiting factor at higher graphic settings, which makes processor performance less relevant.


B. Does the Penryn system offer Longer battery Life?
According to Intel the Penryn offers two new energy saving features:
(1) Deeper Sleep State
(2) Dynamic Acceleration Technology <click here>

For more information on the two power saving features click on the terminology above in red.
As users we really do not care what it is called or what it does as long as the expected result is achieved, in this case longer battery life.

We tested the actual battery life on a Dell 1420 with a 45nm T8300 Processor and 9-Cell Battery. The Battery lasted 157Minutes on DvD Playback with WiFi On and Screen at Max Brightness. Unfortunately, we currently do not have a Core2 Duo Merom T7700 laptop with the similar 2.4Ghz Processor (they have been sold long ago) to be able to do actual comparison. For the actual battery test we will rely on reviews by Anandtech and LaptopMag. Both review sites were issued by Dell a D630 Penryn for evaluation.

(a) Anadtech:
The DVD playback benchmark measures battery life while, you guessed it, playing back a DVD. The move to 45nm gave us an extra 18 minutes of battery life when playing back a DVD, an increase of 7%.

While the Productivity results may be a bit extreme, we believe it would be safe to say that the mobile version of Penryn can easily improve battery life on the order of 5 - 10% over an identically configured Merom/Santa Rosa system.

(b) Laptop Magazine:
"When we ran MobileMark 2007, the Penryn-powered Dell Latitude D630 lasted 5 hours and 32 minutes with its Wi-Fi signal on, which increased by over half an hour to 6 hours and 03 minutes with the wireless connection deactivated. The Santa Rosa system saw a 5 hour and 19 minute runtime with the Wi-Fi on (13 minutes shorter than its Penryn counterpart) and 5 hours and 49 minutes with it off (14 minutes shorter).

Although the difference in endurance isn't staggering, road warriors will appreciate every extra amount of juice they can get out of their systems."

No question here -> Clearly Battery Life has improved with the 45nm Penryn Processor made specially significant when you take into account that the only change here is the processor.


C. Do we benefit from the Intel® Streaming SIMD Extensions 4 (SSE4)?

Again, Anandtech provides the easiest explanation for a layman like us to understand: "The mobile Penryn based system, because of its SSE4 support, can complete the encoding test in 31% less time than the Merom system. The impact of SSE4 is even more pronounced on the mobile side because of the fact that the mobile chips are already so starved for bandwidth.

The performance gap widened when running a SSE4 optimized VirtualDub 1.7.2 DivX encode, here Penryn would offer a greater than 40% increase in performance.

These SSE4-optimized situations are far more rare than the 1 - 8% increases we saw elsewhere, the point being that should application support develop, Penryn could do much better. Honestly though, we don’t expect a critical mass of SSE4 applications anytime soon, these sorts of things take a long time to materialize."<click here>

Our opinion:
Intel's Mobile Penryn as a processor is excellent. There is nothing to complaint about it.
But we are not selling a processor, we are selling a complete laptop, and a processor is only one component of any laptop.

Controlling how the processor communicates with the other components of the laptop is the Chipset. Because the Core2 Duo Merom and the Penryn 45nm use the same chipset, the faster 45nm processor simple meets a bottleneck in the Front Side Bus of 800Mhz. It is like trying to pour a lot of coke but having a small bottle opening (Ok Pepsi from Brian’s sake…) As of this writing the chipset used is the the Intel 956GM/PM.



If you are buying the Penryn because of the speed, maybe NOT.
Do not get us wrong. At the least the performance of the Penryn processor will be equivalent to the Merom Processor.
However, if your primary objective is increase in speed alone you may be disappointed because the speed improvement for the whole system versus the Merom is negligible.
It is like having a BMW M5 running in Binondo. What good is all that speed and power when the streets are too narrow and crowded by pedestrians?
Also, the advantages of the Penryn CPU are rather limited for current games which profit far more from a more powerful graphics card.
It seems that Penryn's is beneficial mostly for those that do heavy video work.

If you are buying the Penryn because of the longer battery life. YES.
The Penryn offers superior battery life even if it is only 7% as tested by Anandtech.
Extended Battery life never hurts specially because no additional weight is involved.
The average consumer may not immediately see the benefit of Penryn, but the increased battery life that it provides should appeal to all users.