ASUS S1 Mobile Pentium III-M 1.2GHz
by Matthew Witheiler on May 21, 2002 11:43 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Construction - Under the Hood
It is surprising how much power ASUS was able to pack in such a small space in the S1. The S1 that we received for testing was outfitted with a 1.2GHz Mobile Pentium III-M processor, 384MB of PC133 memory, a 30GB hard drive, and external DVD/CD-RW and floppy disk drives.
Our unit made use of the second fastest available Mobile Pentium III-M processor available. The chip runs at 1.2GHz when in full performance but has the ability to scale down to 800MHz when on battery power. As the -M in the processor's name suggests, the Mobile Pentium III-M is a newer version of the Mobile Pentium III processor. The Mobile Pentium III-M chip is produced on a 0.13 micron process and contains 512KB of L2 cache. The older Mobile Pentium III processors, as you may recall, are produced on a 0.18 micron process (meaning they require more power and produce more heat) and have only 256KB of L2 cache.
The -M Mobile Pentium III also gains the enhanced SpeedStep technology offered in part by the Mobile Pentium III-M processor and in part by the 830M chipset that the S1 uses. The new SpeedStep technology allows the processor to dynamically clock itself between the full 1.2GHz and the 800MHz clock speed depending on demand. This means that the S1 will clock itself down while idle or performing simple tasks but instantly clocks itself up when needed. As we have said before, this is a big improvement over previous generation SpeedStep incarnations which always ran at one speed while plugged in and another, lower speed, while on battery power.
The CPU in the S1 is far from user accessible as the unit requires quite a bit of disassembly to get to. The unit is cooled with the help of a large bonded fin copper heatsink. The CPU is bonded with a small copper plate that connects to the heatsink surface with two heat pipes. Air flow occurs across the heatsink from front to back using a fan.
Once the heatsink is removed, one finds the Mobile Pentium III-M mounted in a Molex style socket that allows for simple removal of the processor with the turn of a screw. As the pictures below show, the core of the 0.13 micron Mobile Pentium III-M is smaller than the core of the 0.18 micron Mobile Pentium III. Note that the outline of the Mobile Pentium III-M's core can be seen under the attached thermal pad. Both cores have been outlined in red to aid in visibility.
For a chipset solution, ASUS didn't have much choice as only one mobile chipset currently supports the Mobile Pentium III-M: the 830M. The 830M is the mobile version of the popular Intel i815 desktop chipset. Besides Mobile Pentium III-M compatibility and enhanced SpeedStep capabilities, the main advantage that the 830M offers over its older 815EM brother is a 133MHz front side bus and memory bus speed. There is little question that the Mobile Pentium III-M would have been held back on a 100MHz front side bus and therefore the 830M is a welcome addition to Intel's mobile line. Like the 815EM, the 830M also makes use of an integrated version of Intel's 815 AGP 4X graphic part. Unfortunately, also like the 815EM, the 830M relies on a shared memory system that uses system RAM for video memory. This means that the 830M chipset is consistently sending video information over the system bus, a property which results in a crowding of the already crowded bus. Hopefully the extra 33MHz that the 830M offers over the 815EM will alleviate this bottleneck somewhat.
In the case of the S1, the Intel 815 graphics chip drives a 13.3" active matrix TFT XGA display that can display 1024x768x32 max. When on an external monitor, the 815 graphics part is able to output at up to 1600x1200 but is able to do so only in 8 bit color. The best resolution to use on an external monitor proved to be 1280x1024, where the 815 graphics chip is able to output 24 bit color.
Also mounted on the top of the motherboard is a Sigmatel STAC9700T AC'97 audio codec that powers the S1's single speaker.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
5 Comments
View All Comments
sun2san - Friday, August 14, 2020 - link
Asus mobile has launch with maximum amount of hard disc space as well as there are high amount of internal and external memory. <a href="https://www.uaetechnician.com/mobile-repair-servic... repair dubai </a>has the visibility through which they can repair with thermal power. mobile external monitor can be changed if it got damaged .
Chloe Lamington - Sunday, March 28, 2021 - link
After a long time, I have found a blog that is about building a game PC in a less costly manner. I appreciate the fact that the makers of this https://www.essayservicesreviewsclub.com/best-rese... have kept the price affordable for the people without making compromises on its features.philipsj - Sunday, April 4, 2021 - link
Thanks for sharing, Asus ROG Phone has a non-removable Li-Ion 4000 mAh battery that lasts for a long time.<a href="https://breezendtech.com/" rel="nofollow">Security Solutions, Security Solutions, Threat Management, Incident Response, cybersecurity solutions, cyber security company, Cyber Security Services</a>
Kareno - Monday, April 12, 2021 - link
For a lot of women, their perfume is a part of their identity. Each perfume brand mean something to each woman. Whether it’s https://aromaconcepts.co.uk/products/nights-of-ara... fruity or sexy each perfume tells us something. Here is the list of some amazing perfumes for different occasions .Kareno - Monday, April 12, 2021 - link
You are supposed to be a good driver or rider if you are ever going on these types https://kiltsale.com/product-category/kilts-for-wo... roads. For once in my life I have had the experience to move on these roads to travel to another region.