Centrino (also called Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology) is a platform marketing initiative from Intel for a particular combination of CPU, mainboard chipset and wireless network interface in the design of a laptop personal computer.
Sonoma Platform
Sonoma is Intel's second generation Centrino platform. Launched in January 2005, it consists of a faster Pentium M processor boasting a 133 MHz (quad-pumped, 533 MHz effective) front side bus, the Intel Mobile 915 Express chipset family, and an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (IEEE 802.11bg) or PRO/Wireless 2915 (IEEE 802.11abg) WiFi adapter. The Mobile 915, like its desktop version, supports many new features such as DDR2, PCI Express, Intel High Definition Audio, and SATA.
Unfortunately, the introduction of PCI Express and faster Pentium M processors causes notebooks built around the Sonoma platform to have less battery life than their Montara counterparts. Sonoma notebooks typically achieve between 3.5-4.5 hours of battery life on a 53 Wh battery.
Dothan
Intel launched its improved Pentium M, formerly known as Dothan, on May 10, 2004. Dothan Pentium M processors are among the first Intel processors to be identified using a "processor number" rather than a clockspeed rating, and the mainstream versions are known as Pentium M 715 (1.5 GHz), 725 (1.6 GHz), 735 (1.7 GHz), 745 (1.8 GHz), 755 (2.0 GHz), and 765 (2.1 GHz).
These 700 series Pentium M processors retain the same basic design as the original Pentium M, but are manufactured on a 90 nm process, with twice the secondary cache. Die size, at 84 mm², remains in the same neighborhood as the original Pentium M, even though the 700 series contains ~140 million transistors, most of which make up the massive 2 MiB cache. TDP is also down to 21 watts (from 24.5 watts in Banias), though power use at lower clockspeeds has increased slightly. However, tests conducted by third party hardware review sites show that Banias and Dothan equipped notebooks have roughly equivalent battery life.
The processor line has models running at clock speeds from 1.0 GHz to 2.26 GHz as of July 2005. The models with lower frequencies were either low voltage or ultra-low voltage CPUs designed for even better battery life and reduced heat output. The 718 (1.3 GHz), 738 (1.4 GHz), and 758 (1.5 GHz) models are low-voltage (1.116 V) with a TDP of 10 W, while the 723 (1.0 GHz), 733 (1.1 GHz), and 753 (1.2 GHz) models are ultra-low voltage (0.940 V) with a TDP of 5 W.
Revisions of the Dothan core were released in the first quarter of 2005 with the Sonoma chipsets and supported a 533 MHz FSB (133 MHz quad-pumped) and XD (Intel's name for the NX bit). These processors include the 730 (1.6 GHz), 740 (1.73 GHz), 750 (1.86 GHz), 760 (2.0 GHz), and 770 (2.13 GHz). These models all have a TDP of 27 W and a 2 MiB L2 cache.
In July 2005, Intel released the 780 (2.26 GHz) and the low-voltage 778 (1.60 GHz).