Micron Millennia Transport P133 review (fwd)

[Maury Keith Donen <umdonen@cc.UManitoba.CA>]

Further to my post in regard to ThinkPad's Vs. Competition. I cam across 
the latest review (with specs) of the new Micron product. I would love to 
hear how you would compare or contrast the quality/performance of these 
models in relation to the review contained below. I would again liek to 
thank you in advance for all your help.

Maury

P.S. you will notice at the bottomw of the article about how the Micron 
does not hot-swap. I am not sure i understand what this is, and is this a 
major cause for concern.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 23:01:27 -0600
From: Maury Keith Donen <umdonen@CC.UManitoba.CA>
To: umdonen@CC.UManitoba.CA
Subject: Micron Millennia Transport P133 review


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>From: "John G. Felker" <felker@mirlink.wustl.edu>
>Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops
>Subject: Latest Micron Transport Review
>Date: Sun, 24 Mar 1996 23:04:23 -0600
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Reference:

http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/issues/1507/pcmg0023.htm

Mobile Triton and Pentium/133 Elevate
Notebook Computing

Brian Nadel and John Morris 


Notebook computers have inched one step closer to the Holy Grail of 
being true desktop
replacements with the introduction of systems based on Intel's mobile 
Triton chip set and its133-MHz Pentium processor. When combined with 
generously sized screens, large hard disks,
and multimedia features, Pentium/133 notebooks approach the 
functionality and performance of
desktop PCs.

For this miniroundup, we tested the first Pentium/133 notebooks on the 
market: AST Research's Ascentia P50 and Micron's Millennia TransPort 
P133. Both sell for about $5,000 fully loaded, weigh about 7 pounds 
each, and are top-flight performers. They are likely to appeal both to 
those looking for a portable computer with staying power as applications 
demand ever more processing power and to traveling executives who want 
the muscle and multimedia capabilities of a high-end desktop PC.

The Need for Speed

In addition to pushing the clock speed of the CPU to new heights, the 
Pentium/133 also boosts performance by using the broader bandwidth of a 
66-MHz motherboard. The result is about a 30 percent improvement in 
all-around performance that goes beyond the 11 percent speed difference 
between Pentium/120 and Pentium/133 processors.

The notebook version of the Pentium/133 delivers these performance gains 
while providing at
least 2 hours of battery life, thanks to the chip's energy-efficient 
architecture. The processor is manufactured with Intel's 0.35-micron 
process and wrapped in film-thin Tape Carrier Packaging, which is then 
attached directly to the motherboard. This mobile Pentium/133 uses 
dual-voltage technology: The computational core operates at a miserly 
2.9 volts (2.9V) while running externally at the standard 3.3V. All 
told, the processor draws just 3.3 watts of power at peak usage.

The final piece of the portable puzzle is Intel's mobile Triton chip 
set, also known as 430MX. This PCI-based core-logic chip set streamlines 
operations and supports sophisticated
power-conservation measures.

Pentium/133 Redux?

Our last major roundup of notebooks ("On the Road with the Pentium," 
January 23, 1996)
contained a trio of Pentium/133 notebooks. Each, however, used a 
traditional 3.3V desktop
processor. As a result, battery life and performance of the ACW SoundPad 
IIIB and the
FutureMate 5413T and FutureMate 5513D twins were disappointing; we 
report the benchmark
test results of the FutureMate 5413T alongside those of the Ascentia P50 
and TransPort P133 for
comparison.

With all these units have going for them and with other manufacturers 
expected to follow with
equally exciting notebooks in the near future, the hardest part may be 
deciding which notebook is
right for you.

AST Ascentia P50

AST Research has built a dual personality into its $5,098 Ascentia P50. 
As a result, it is just as
comfortable being a powerful notebook for traveling executives as it is 
being a desktop
replacement system.

AST started with all the necessary ingredients: a Pentium/133 processor, 
256K of external cache,
an 11.3-inch active-matrix screen, a 4X CD-ROM drive, an 800MB hard 
disk, and lithium ion
batteries. To that, it added multimedia features, a touch pad, and even 
a joystick/MIDI port. The
case includes an RJ-11 telephone connector for an optional 28.8-Kbps 
internal data/fax modem
that AST says will be available soon; for now, a PC Card modem will 
suffice.

The Ascentia P50 measures 2.3 by 11.3 by 8.9 inches and weighs 7 pounds 
2 ounces. It has a
travel weight of 7 pounds 14 ounces with the AC adapter, which measures 
just 1.3 by 2.3 by 4.5
inches.

We tested an Ascentia P50 that was based on Intel's mobile Triton chip 
set and had 16MB of EDO
memory. For audio, the Ascentia P50 uses the 16-bit Sound Blaster Vibra 
circuitry; there is a pair
of stereo speakers and a microphone in the palm rest. One of the strong 
points of the Ascentia P50
is its bright, 11.3-inch Super VGA screen, which is capable of 
displaying 64,000 colors at 800-
by 600-pixel resolution.

The rear panel of the Ascentia P50 has the standard complement of 
connectors: serial and parallel
ports, an external mouse/keyboard port, a VGA connector, and a slot for 
connecting a port
replicator. There's also a microphone audio jack, as well as an IrDA 
port for wireless
communications. The Ascentia P50 can accommodate two Type II PC Cards or 
one Type II and
one Type III card.

The Ascentia P50 is one of the first notebooks to incorporate the 
Windows 95-specific keys. In
addition, the convenient touch pad allows you to drag the pointer or 
cursor to the desired location
and then tap the surface to activate the location, although it took a 
while for us to get used to this
feature.

Although it posted stellar scores across the board, the Ascentia P50's 
score of 54 on our
Winstone 96 tests was tied by the TransPort P133. On our CPUmark 
processor tests, the Ascentia
P50 barely beat the TransPort P133, with scores of 257 and 259 on 16- 
and 32-bit tasks,
respectively.

On our WinDrain battery test, which measures battery life with power 
conservation disabled, the
Ascentia P50's lithium ion battery lasted 2 hours 34 minutes, half an 
hour longer than that of the
TransPort P133. If you're willing to sacrifice the CD-ROM and floppy 
disk drive, you can install
a second, smaller lithium ion battery pack that contains 8 cells, rather 
than the 12 that are in the
primary battery.

With its excellent performance and well-rounded personality, the 
Ascentia P50 is an attractive
alternative to a desktop PC in the office, on the road, and even at 
home.

--JM

AST Ascentia P50. List price: With Pentium/133 CPU, 16MB RAM, 256K 
external cache,
800MB hard disk, 11.3-inch active-matrix display, $5,098. AST Research 
Inc., Irvine, CA;
800-876-4278, 714-727-4141; http://www.ast .com.

Micron Millennia Transport P133

Micron, a company that has garnered several Editors' Choice awards for 
desktop PCs, has
branched out into notebooks. By all accounts, the $5,498 TransPort P133 
is nearly a dead ringer
for IBM's ThinkPad 760CD (First Looks, November 21, 1995) but performs 
better and saves you
about $2,500.

The TransPort P133, which is manufactured by Sanyo, includes all you're 
likely to need on the
road: Pentium/133 performance, a 1.3GB hard disk, lithium ion batteries, 
a 4X CD-ROM,
infrared communications, Sound Blaster audio, and an 11.3-inch 
active-matrix display capable of
800- by 600-pixel resolution and 64,000 colors. With a travel weight of 
7 pounds 2 ounces and
dimensions of 11.0 by 8.5 by 2.3 inches, the TransPort P133 is roughly 
the same size as and a
little lighter than the ThinkPad 760CD, which has a 12.1-inch screen.

On the left side of the TransPort P133, you'll find space for a pair of 
Type II PC Cards or a single
Type III card. The right side contains a modular bay for either the 
system's floppy disk drive or a
battery. In the front, the CD-ROM module can be swapped for a battery, 
the floppy disk drive, or a
second hard disk, raising internal data storage to more than 2.5GB.

Depending on what's installed, this modularity results in seven distinct 
computing personalities,
ranging from two hard disks for information-safe mirrored data to a 
setup with CD-ROM and
battery installed for multimedia programming on the road or a 
double-battery notebook for the
long haul.

There are two penalties, though, because the floppy disk drive is not 
hot-swappable, and you can't
have both the CD-ROM and the floppy disk drive installed and run the 
system on battery power.
To have it all, you'll need to have access to an electrical outlet.

While the Ascentia P50 provides a touch pad, the TransPort P133 offers 
the flexibility of either a
similar touch pad or a keyboard-mounted pointing stick. Unfortunately, 
you can't have both
activated at once. On the other hand, the Ascentia P50's keyboard 
includes the three Windows
95-specific keys, whereas the TransPort P133's doesn't.

Three unexpected extras stand out. First, the TransPort P133 has a pair 
of IrDA infrared
transmission ports, one in the back and one in the front. Also, at 0.9 
by 4.4 by 2.2 inches and 8
ounces, the TransPort P133's power adapter is among the smallest and 
lightest around. Finally,
there are ports for both an external keyboard and a mouse.

Top-flight Performance

Based on Intel's mobile Triton chip set, the TransPort P133 comes with 
256K of external cache
and 16MB of EDO memory. Its performance set a new standard for notebook 
computing with top
scores on our Winstone 96 (54), Graphics WinMark 96 (12.3 million pixels 
per second), and
Disk WinMark 96 (781) tests. The system's 16-bit and 32-bit CPUmark 
processor test results
were slightly behind those of the Ascentia P50.

With power conservation disabled, the TransPort P133 lasted 2 hours 4 
minutes on our WinDrain
battery test. But with the TransPort P133's flexible power management in 
place, the system lasted
quite a bit longer. If you put the system into suspend mode, it'll take 
a little experience to
remember that the tiny resume button, which has a coffee-cup logo, is 
above the right-side drive
bay.

The TransPort P133 has an optional multimedia Port Replicator that 
includes a pair of speakers
and an Ethernet adapter as well as a power adapter for changing the 
unit's batteries and a variety of
audio and video connectors. At $299, it's a bargain for those who split 
their time between the
office and the road.

If you are turned off by the price of full-featured notebooks, the 
Micron Millennia TransPort
P133 will seem like a breath of fresh air, as long as you don't venture 
far from an electrical
outlet.--BN

Micron Millennia TransPort P133. List price: With Pentium/133 CPU, 256K 
external cache,
16MB RAM, 11.3-inch active-matrix screen, 4X CD-ROM, extra battery, 
extra hard disk, $5,498.
Micron Electronics Inc., Nampa, ID; 800-388-6334; http:// 
www.mei.micron.com.