Notebookjournal.de has published a first test of a "Montevina" Centrino 2 platform. You may recall that it introduces a new generation of chipsets; the GM45, GS45, and GL40 combined with an ICH9M, which amongst other things, enables moving up to an FSB 1066 and DDR3.
While in terms of CPU performances we shouldn’t expect significant gains, because the Penryn has already been added to the "Santa Rosa Refresh" platform, there are some changes in terms of the integrated graphic circuit, the GMA X4500.
With very similar processors (2.5 GHz and FSB 800 vs 2.53 GHz and FSB 1066), Intel’s new DirectX 10 IGP does noticeably better than a
GeForce 8400M G which was launched a year ago. This may not be an accomplishment in itself and the framerate should make some smile given the resolution and level of detail; however, it’s undeniable that the Californian company has made some progress.
Moreover, the X4500’s frequency is only 475 MHz and it functions with DDR2. The GM47 whose graphic circuit can be set up to 640 MHz, with mature drivers and combined with DDR3 could overshadow Nvidia even more on the entry level.
