[2] The Pentium M processors had a maximum thermal design power (TDP) of 5–27 W depending on the model, and were intended for use in laptops (thus the "M" suffix standing for mobile).

Other power saving methods include dynamically variable clock frequency and core voltage, allowing the Pentium M to throttle clock speed when the system is idle in order to conserve energy, using the SpeedStep 3 technology (which has more sleep stages than previous versions of SpeedStep).

Shuttle Inc. offered packaged Pentium M desktops, marketed for low energy consumption and minimal cooling system noise.

[6] As the M line was originally designed in Israel,[7] the first Pentium M was identified by the codename Banias, named after an ancient site in the Golan Heights.

It was manufactured on a 130 nm process, was released at frequencies from 900 MHz to 1.7 GHz using a 400 MT/s FSB, and had 1 megabyte (MB) of Level 2 cache.

Windows 8 and later also refuses to boot on these processors for the same reason, as they specifically require PAE support to run properly.

Die size, at 87 mm2, remains in the same neighborhood as the original Pentium M, even though the 1000 series contains approximately 140 million transistors, most of which make up the 2 MB cache.

However, tests conducted by third party hardware review sites show that Banias and Dothan equipped notebooks have roughly equivalent battery life.

[citation needed] Additionally third party hardware review sites have benchmarked the Dothan at approx 10-20% better performance than the Banias in most situations.