3970 and Intel XScale revision

[Matty]

Can anybody comment on whether any new 3970 models shipped after the end of March 2003 come with the 400mhz PXA255 XScale microprocessor (the C1 stepping that is replacing the PXA250)? That should be in the same way as it has been seen in the recent Dell Axim's X5. It has been announced that Intel is going to stop producing the PXA250 soon, if it hasn't already and that Handheld makers must switch to the new chips by March 28. Thanks.

[mscdex]

How is one to know definitely if the Axim they have has the PXA255 processor? Just curious.

[Matty]

The cpu specifications are more likely to be something like Intel XScale 400MHz PXA250 (PXA255 for C1 stepping) rather than just Intel XScale 400MHz PXA255. What one should be looking really is the C1 stepping.
Try a Google search with axim pxa255 in the search area and there you are. Unfortunately I don’t have one of the newest Axim’s to confirm that.
Can anyone who has recently bought an iPAQ 3970 check what is stated for the cpu specifications?

[the-mang]

I acutally just bought a new 3955 and it is not C1 but it is B2. I also owned an Axim for a short time and it did have the C1 chip. I was able to compare speed on both and I felt that the Axim was snappier and played video a lot smoother. I returned it though because it was built like garbage compared to the iPaq. So, I hope I made the right decision as I would like to have the quicker machine....

[mscdex]

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear enough, what I meant to say was how would you know if it had the PXA255 just by looking at the device or is it in the settings under device info (under Settings)?

[spursdude]

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear enough, what I meant to say was how would you know if it had the PXA255 just by looking at the device or is it in the settings under device info (under Settings)?
I'm not sure, and I haven't even used this software, but you can check out PHM Device Manager. (http://www.phm.lu/products/PocketPC/devmgmt.asp)

[the-mang]

Actually here are the directions:

iPaq
Settings > System > Asset Viewer > System > Processor Revision

Axim
File Explorer > My Documents > SysInfo.txt > Processor

iPaq should indicate B2 Axim should indicate C1

[Matty]

Well if nobody has seen a recent iPAQ with the C1 stepping, that to me can only indicate that either HP/Compaq has still large amounts of stock from the old chip, or their supply chain isn’t as efficient as Dell’s. Either way, it would have been nice to have upgraded their chips as quickly as Dell did.

[Shadowcat]

I'm guessing that they aren't selling many H3900s anymore because of the price. :evil: What I'm really afraid of is that they will just stop producing the 3900 series all together. I hope not!