No Security, 64-bit Capabilities for m-Pentium

Intel Corp. released a white-paper that indicates the company's plans to transit its Mobile Pentium 4 processors to a new core stepping. The new chips will emerge this Fall, but unlike the desktop brethren will not contain any enhancements in terms of functionality, primarily the so-called XD technology.

n early June 2004 Intel disclosed plans to transit its 90nm desktop Pentium 4 processors to a new stepping that will deliver a number of new techniques discussed by Intel earlier this year. The new capabilities Intel plans to include into its desktop products are the so-called AAC technology that adjusts performance depending on load in order to maintain low heat dissipation and quiet operation of personal computers as well as XD technology - aka Execute Disable Bit (NX bit) - a certain flag that determines whether instructions can be executed from the page. The new processors were not expected to dissipate less power than current chips.

Mobile processors typically do not require technologies like AAC or Cool'n'Quiet since they feature more advanced methods to shrink power consumption, such as SpeedStep.

Adding the XD technology might provide the Mobile Pentium 4-based notebooks an additional security feature, something that competing Mobile Athlon 64 have had for quite some time now. One of the reasons why Intel does not enable the XD is that Mobile Pentium 4 processors feature mPGA479 packaging, but Intel states that only LGA775 chips will activate the Execute Disable Bit.

Intel also did not indicate availability of its 64-bit EM64T capability in the forthcoming Mobile Pentium 4 processors.

News source: Xbit labs