GEEEEEEZZZZ
Compaq concedes misleading product
info on Web site
By Ephraim Schwartz
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 7:18 AM PT, Feb 5, 1999
Compaq this week acknowledged that information on its Web site was misleading by
mistakenly implying that one of its consumer notebook PCs features the more expensive
mobile version of AMD's K6-2 processor, when in actuality it sports the lower-cost desktop
version of the chip.
The Compaq Presario 1255 notebook uses AMD's 333-MHz K6-2 desktop processor, a
spokesperson confirmed. However, the first paragraph of the Compaq Web site detailing the
notebook system extols the virtues of the mobile version.
"The AMD-K6-2 processor is the second generation of AMD's successful Mobile K6
processor product line. Designed with low-power 0.25[-micron] technology, the
AMD-K6-2 brings advanced capabilities to notebook computing," the Web site reads.
Alex Gruzen, director and general manager of the Presario Mobile Division at Compaq in
Houston, agreed that the information was misleading, but said it was due to an oversight and
was actually referring to a legacy product that used the mobile version of the K6.
"It is a legacy. We are correcting it as we speak," said Alex Gruzen, who thanked
InfoWorld for pointing it out.
Gruzen admitted that the desktop version of the chip has a shorter battery life, but Compaq
is at odds with some industry experts who say that performance is also compromised
because the chip speed must be constantly "throttled back" or slowed down below its rated
333 MHz to prevent over-heating the system.
AMD's Mobile K6-2 uses less power and dissipates less heat and is designed specifically
for systems intended to run off batteries.
The desktop K6-2 uses 19 watts of power, rather than 12 watts for the mobile version, and
dissipates 30 percent more heat than the mobile part, according to AMD's Martin Booth,
product marketing manager for Mobile K6, in Sunnyvale, Calif.
"You have to get that heat out of the box. When the part gets close to its rated processor
case temperature you turn the fan on, and when it still exceeds the temperature you have to
throttle it [performance] down. That is common practice on all notebook designs," Booth
said.
Throttling down the processor reduces the actual, average performance of the chip below
333 MHz.
"That [desktop] product used in a notebook is taking a 20 percent performance hit than
what you would expect from a 333-MHz processor in a notebook," said Michael Stinson,
vice president for product marketing, at notebook rival Toshiba, in Irvine, Calif.
According to Stinson, Toshiba tested both versions of the K6-2, 333-MHz chip before
including the mobile version in a notebook it currently markets in Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Stinson also claimed an additional hour of battery life by selecting the mobile chip over the
desktop inside the company's notebook.
According to one independent industry expert, the performance of the notebook with a
desktop chip inside is dependent on a number of issues.
"If the notebook exceeds the ambient heat threshold, the processor would be throttled back.
But it all depends on the temperature it is running at, the temperature in the room where it is
running, the software being run, and the thermal engineering that has been used," said
Michael Slater, principal analyst at MicroDesign Resources, in Sebastopol, Calif.
AMD's Booth said using the desktop version is not ideal, although many companies other
than Compaq -- mainly third-tier vendors -- do it.
"We recommend that people use the mobile part. People can go out and buy any part they
want. We can't prevent them. There is not a lot we can do," Booth said.
"We've seen a lot of [third-tier] OEMs use desktop designs. It saves them a little bit of
money. It is cheaper than the mobile part. The downside is you have to have a better thermal
design to dissipate the heat or it will heat up the overall system, which will trigger the fan, and
then you trigger clock throttling," Booth said.
Compaq's Gruzen says the company has an excellent thermal design and performance will
not suffer.
As for the shorter duration of the system when running on batteries, Gruzen concurred but
said the system was not intended to be bought by a highly mobile business user.
"They are not flying on airplanes looking for long battery life. It offers the best configuration
at key price points," Gruzen said.
In order to keep the $1,500 price with a mobile K6-2, the unit would have to have a smaller
hard drive and less memory, according to Gruzen.
AMD said it is currently testing the Compaq Presario 1255 but "there are no results yet."
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., in Sunnyvale, Calif., can be contacted at www.amd.com.
Compaq Computer Corp., in Houston, Texas, can be contacted at www.compaq.com.
Toshiba America Information Systems, in Irvine, Calif., can be reached at
www.toshiba.com. |
