Intel on Wednesday released a new top-of-the-range processor for its family of chips for notebook computers.

The Pentium M model 765 runs at 2.10GHz and features a 2MB cache, a 400MHz system bus and improved power consumption, the company said. The new chip is built using the 90-nanometer manufacturing process.

Pentium M processors are key parts of Intel's Centrino wireless bundle, which also includes a Wi-Fi module and a chipset. The mobile technology is designed to enhance video playback and wireless data transmission.

The company said the 765 model underpins the worldwide introduction of Centrino systems Wednesday. The chip is priced at $637 apiece in 1,000-unit quantities.

The Pentium M 765 replaces the Pentium M 755, which runs at 2GHz and contains 2MB of cache, as the top chip in the line. The 755 model was also priced at $637 before Sunday, when Intel slashed prices of older Pentium M processors by up to one-third. Notebook processors remain a strong point in the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company's rivalry with Advanced Micro Devices.

Intel recently has begun a shift in emphasis from processor speeds as the key measure of a chip's desirability. Last week, it said it would discontinue plans to release a Pentium 4 that would run at 4GHz.

From News.com