Are laptops slower?

[downhiller80]

Compare a laptop and a desktop with equivalent processors, memory and graphics capabilities.

Will the laptop be significantly slower? What is it that holds them back?

This comes from my experience that every laptop I've ever used is SO sluggish considering their high and mighty specs.

- seb

 

[killmeplease]

The HD speeds are usually slower than a desktop equivelent.

 

[gsaldivar]

Yes, on the average, laptops are slower than a similarly configured desktop computer.

 

[sharkeeper]

Absolutely! I have a 1GHz lappie with 384MB of RAM and it's a slug compared to my desktop. I'd say the 4200RPM hard disk is 90% of the culprit. :|

Cheers!

 

[downhiller80]

But if you have loads of RAM then the HD doesn't affect performance that much. Sure if you're loading a big app or something, but the one's I've used struggle just to use IE?

I'm thinking laptop motherboards must be very weak. Or are SO-DIMMS loads slower than DIMMs? I doubt it.

Anyone tried running Sandra or something on a laptop to see what the memory performance is like?

- seb

 

[sharkeeper]

<< But if you have loads of RAM then the HD doesn't affect performance that much >>



Problem is most laptops will only accept 512MB max...

Cheers!

 

[ElFenix]

lappy processors have had lower FSBs for a while. plus the graphics are usually really slow, though quick enough for 2D work. and lots of RAM won't keep windows from hitting the swap file often. oh, and when it does, as mentioned, the hard drive is really slow. 3000 rpm slower than a lot of standard desktop drives.

 

[Slugbait]

Don't forget that most laptops have ATI Rage chips...and they aren't as fast as the desktop Rage, which isn't as fast as...well, everything else.

Personally, I've decided to wait on a laptop until the mobile GeForce or mobile Radeons start getting more units...

 

[downhiller80]

So who makes the faster lappies then? And who makes athlon laptops?

- seb

 

[downhiller80]

IBM has 5400rpm ATA-100 drives in their top end thinkpad notebooks... not TOO shabby. And up to 48GB as well. And the laptops'll take a gig of memory. Now if only the graphics subsystem was upgradable (16mb s3)

- seb

 

[Gunbuster]

Crucial lists PC133 SODIMM's what laptops use 133?

 

[sharkeeper]

I believe Dell's use PC 133 SODIMM modules. Gateway lappies are the only ones I know that will take (officially) 1024MB of SDRAM.

Cheers!

 

[Conroy9]

the chipset that laptop motherboards use are usually slower, and the hard drives are usually slower
i don't think the memory speed should make that much difference?

dell's inspiron 8000 used an intel 815 chipset, and you can get it with 5400rpm hd and geforce2go, so it should be pretty close..
i assume 8100 also uses 815

 

[erub]

the inspiron 8100 uses the P3 tulatin (sp?) chip, and is the first Dell lappy with 133 MHz FSB, the 100 MHz FSB ones slow it down a good deal. Also most ppl building/buying a desktop get a 7200 rpm HDD, and with the Inspiron lappys, only the 48 gb comes with a 5400 rpm hdd, all the others are 4200 rpm. Most ppl can easily tell the difference between a 5400 and 7200 rpm HDD, so a 4200 rpm drive is going to be slower. That all being said, I think my sister's 1.13 ghz lappy with a 4200 rpm hdd and 256 megs of ram is faster than my p3 at 930 mhz with 320 megs of ram and a 7200 rpm hdd. But that may be because she hasn't loaded all the bloatware that I have on my machine onto hers It definitely doesn't sturggle to load IE 3

Also don't forget, the newer P3 laptops (and I think the mobile Athlons too, although they use some differnt technology) will run slower unplugged from the wall to save battery. Although this is kinda worthless to me as the 15" UXGA screen on the Inspiron 8100 is what is sapping the battery juice