PXA255 Appearing in iPAQ 1915?

[Jason Dunn]

I received a note today from Maximilian Wimmer who says that his iPAQ 1915 (the European version of the 1910) has the new PXA255 processor, so it seems that Dell isn't the only OEM who's subtly slipping the new chip into the channel. This sure makes it hard for those of us who try to support end users - the same model numbers will now have different CPUs and performance characteristics... :|

[ombu]

Product specs at HP website (spanish) show PXA250.

http://www.compaq.es/productos/Handhelds/producto.asp?pn=FA101A%23ABE

Several forums where some users say they own a 1910 (not 1915) with PXA255 show pictures, but no performance benchmark yet, it gets so confusing ... there's a lack of official info, why HP? I agree Jason, end users now will raise a lot of questions and I won't be surprised if some of them ask for an upgrade and things like that ... where's HP press dpt?

Regards.

[Fishie]

This is Intel who just stopped producing the pxa250 and replaced all new orders with the 255.
There is little that Dell, HP etcetera can do abouth it.

[Dermot81]

I agree with Fishie

Intel has switched over to pxa255 production, if Dell/HP makes it known that some of their units being sold have a newer/faster processor, and are being sold for the same price....then who in their right mind will buy a unit with the older pxa250?

So, not only will they be left with thousands of unsold outdated pxa250 units they need to dispose of, but people who recently purchased an ipaq 1910, after hearing about this, will want to exchange their unit for the new one.

[Cypher]

I'm not so sure. Are there 1910s that actually have the 255 or is it just the 1915s. That would explain the new model number.

If I were HP I would bring out the 1915 and 555x to replace the 1910 and 545x with the model number indicating the different processor. Then no one could complain.

[edwin74]

bought mine (aka. hp 1910) in Malaysia.

it came with the 255 chip.

I guess the new batch ships with the new chip...

whats the difference?

[Janak Parekh]

The problem here is that the PXA255 is really a new "stepping", or revision, of the PXA250. Intel gave it a new name because it was a significant stepping.

On the desktop, machines are shipped with revisions all the time -- on Windows 2000, right click My Computer, and do Properties; on XP, do Start, Run, WINMSD and you'll see something like:

"x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~1993 Mhz"

That's my P4 2GHz. If you look at newer P4 chips, they'll have a higher stepping -- because Intel has stopped manufacturing the older ones. Especially the new Canterwood chips, which have the 800MHz FSB -- now, distinguishing between 3GHz chips takes work, too, so this situation isn't really different from what's been going on all along on the desktop.

--janak

[zipmail]

Funny thing was there were a few people here and in Brighthand that thought we were lying through our noses when we said the h1910 we got had PXA255 in them! :mrgreen:

[jimski]

I agree with Fishie

Intel has switched over to pxa255 production, if Dell/HP makes it known that some of their units being sold have a newer/faster processor, and are being sold for the same price....then who in their right mind will buy a unit with the older pxa250?

So, not only will they be left with thousands of unsold outdated pxa250 units they need to dispose of, but people who recently purchased an ipaq 1910, after hearing about this, will want to exchange their unit for the new one.

No, they will just ship all of the units with older processors to Best Buy and Home Depot (whoops, guess they don't sell PPC's, but bet they would like to), knock of $30 wholesale and everybody will think they are getting a great deal when these retail giants sell your new PPC for $20 off list price.

[Jonathan1]

Any way to import this model and would it be compatible with a 1910 cradle/power adapter?

[edwin74]

Any way to import this model and would it be compatible with a 1910 cradle/power adapter?

donno about importing... but the unit is exactly the same! only different chip. so no problems in cradle/power adapter.

[Abba Zabba]

This is Intel who just stopped producing the pxa250 and replaced all new orders with the 255.
There is little that Dell, HP etcetera can do abouth it.

Then why has Dell, AND Toshiba begun to ship their handhelds with the new processor?

[Fishie]

This is Intel who just stopped producing the pxa250 and replaced all new orders with the 255.
There is little that Dell, HP etcetera can do abouth it.

Then why has Dell, AND Toshiba begun to ship their handhelds with the new processor?

Because they can :mrgreen:

[WirelessJunkie]

I bought my 1915 yesterday in Belgium with a UK Rom, Confirmation of the processor : Intel PXA255. All the manual and the dates on the box are April 2003. I guess they started shipping the new processor since that date. And eeeeeh, btw, what a pure jewel this tiny ppc :D

[thomas1973]

I agree with many of the other posters here, that both 1910 and 1915 was originally spec'ed with the PXA250 processor. The reason it changed, was Intel cancelling the PXA250, and having to 'upgrade' the following orders to PXA255.

So both 1910 and 1915 will be PXA255 equipped in the future. I also think we'll be getting sell out prices of the old models, and they will sell, as most consumers are not aware of the difference. I don't feel they are being tricked in any way, as they are buying the original product. The 'upgraded' 19xx will be a bonus to those who are aware, and careful to check the Asset Viewer, which should not look like this:

http://www.pdamed.dk/forum/files/screen002.jpg

Happy Ipaq 19xx PXA255 hunting :D !


Thomas.

PS. WirelessJunkie, could you post your 1915's 'Processor Type' and 'Processor Revision' from the Asset Viewer? Thanks. DS.

[Andy Whiteford]

Just for the record, The h1915 is sold in mainland Europe, the h1910 is still the same model sold in Uk so the h1915 does not supersede te h1910.
The h1910 will be shipping wth the PXA255 as and when stock levels dictate and the early h1915s have the PXA250, so effectively the the h1910 and h1915 are identical. The one official(ish) change between the h1910 and h1915 that I am aware of is that the h1915 is manufactured with a screen from a different supplier that is supposed to be slightly better than the h1910. I can't confirm this as I never had the chance to compare a h1910 and h1915 side by side. I went for the h1910 because the h1915's that were being imported at the time only had the PXA250 cpu and I didn't want to import a unit on the stength of a different screen when the h1910's is already great.

[rmasinag]

IF this one realy can hav SDIO, I'll grab one even if I havr to order from Europe eheh :D

[GregWard]

Just for the record, The h1915 is sold in mainland Europe, the h1910 is still the same model sold in Uk

I understand that Intel upgrade the chips and device Manufacturers have to change. That makes sense.

But what IS the rationale in having a different model number for Europe? UK having the same model as the US, and then a different model for Europe, might make sense if there was an impact caused by language.

Is this the case?

[huangzhinong]

H1915 has SDIO enabled, which is the only published difference.

[xoiph]

I thought the 1915 didn't have SDIO capabilities, which is why I bought a 1910. Can anyone confirm the 1915 is SDIO enabled?

[huangzhinong]

Yes, it is SDIO, which is comfirmed in www.hp.com Germany website.

[Jonathon Watkins]

So how much difference does having the 255 over the 250 make? Any benchmarks out yet?

[Andrew]

Im in Prague, Czech Republic, I bought 3 1910s for work (it says 1910 on the box and manuals, not 1915). All of them came with the new chip, but are not yet SDIO capable, but SDIO ready. This was confirmed by a call we made to a HP rep here locally. He wouldnt say if there is a patch etc coming out or not, just that the current models wont do SDIO, but HP is 'aware' of users demands and working on something?!?!
Very cryptic answer.

Andrew

[Andy Whiteford]

From what I have been told but again, I can't say this is 100% accurate, the 1915 is not SDIO compliant. Whether it can be activated via a patch remains to be seen.
I'm not sure if the h1915 is actually manufactured in a different plant from the h1910, i.e. somewhere better served for mainland Europe for logistical reasons which may explain why they could have different suppliers and hence a slightly different screen?

[roberto_torres]

Is the 1910 with the 255 processor having better battery life?

I read once that the Pax 255 chip is 60% more battery efficient than the 250.

[Andy Whiteford]

Is the 1910 with the 255 processor having better battery life?

I read once that the Pax 255 chip is 60% more battery efficient than the 250.


Yes. Simply put, the 255 uses less power so will offer better battery time regardless of which handheld it is in. I'm not sure about how efficient it is over the 250, 60% may be correct but bear in mind you would never see anything like a 60% battery life increase. That's just one component that is more efficient but all components on the device use power with the screen (light) being the biggest power hog of them all. I've heard varying reports of between 15-30% better battery performance with the new processor when the screen is off.

[thomas1973]

Just posting back with a screenshot from my new Ipaq 1915 :mrgreen:

This is how your Asset Viewer should look under System, and 'Processor Type' and 'Processor Update', if you want the PXA255 - and you do, don't you!?! :wink:

http://www.pdamed.dk/forum/files/ipaq1915pxa255.jpg

Thomas.

[makedat]

I bought my PXA255 H1910 in London about two weeks ago. I can't say for sure that it's faster than the PXA250 1910 (as this is my first PPC) but I am able to overclock it using Turbo Tray to a stable 400Mz. Are PXA250 1910 users able to do this? And before you all go ahead and try this out be warned - I tried to go above 400mz but ended up hard resetting, had to reinstall all my programs - so be aware of the consequences !