Intel's execution has been impeccable of late, and the timing of the introduction of its Pentium M-powered Centrino brand couldn't have been more perfect. As consumers turned to portability and Wi-Fi connectivity as the next killer app, Intel was waiting with just what they needed: a complete package that bundled low power consumption with high performance and wireless networking.

The real gem of Intel's Centrino brand is the new Pentium M processor, which integrates all sorts of neat power saving features to preserve notebook battery life. The Pentium M is loaded with cache and other goodies that let it execute a much higher number of instructions per clock (IPC) than mobile versions of Intel's Pentium 4, too. What's the Pentium M all about? Can it perform enough work per clock cycle to make up for a 400MHz clock speed disadvantage? Read on to see.