my very first laptop.........questions.

[Semidevil]

So I did a quick of the moment buy at Best Buy last night and got myself a laptop. It is some kind of HP, ze1520 or whatever.

So this was my very first laptop ever, and my first winXP experience.

So I haev a couple of questions here. the machine that I have is a AMD athlon XP 1800+. does that mean that it is 1.8ghz?? I went to the control panel, and it says "AMD athlon XP 1800+ 495MHz." I don't see anywhere where it mentions that it is 1.x ghz. Maybe I"m not used to the winxp interface, so I am not finding it.

but yea, man, how do I find out my speed of my pc??

second question: Is it ok to treat a laptop like a desktop? I know that a laptop is more fragile and stuff. W/ my desktop, I leave my computer on everyday for 8+ hours and it is still going strong after 3 years. What about a laptop? can I do the same thing? Can i treat it as a second desktop? I"m afraid someting like the monitor will blow out or something................I"m so scared. A laptop is pretty sensitive.

yup ypu. taht's it.

 

[minendo]

XP1800+ = 1533mhz

 

[RossMAN]

I would return it and buy a Compaq Presario 1500 laptop instead.

 

[Semidevil]

so where did that 495 mhz come from?? I dont' see anywhere where it says 1533mhz..........

 

[SWirth86]

Sometimes laptops will adjust the processor speed to a lower Mhz (if you aren't doing anything CPU Intensive) to save battery life.

 

[psteng19]

Wow, sounds like your first PC experience ever.

XP 1800 is a PR rating, so it's not 1.8 Ghz.
The 495 Mhz might be AMD's PowerNow (?) power saving implementation that clocks itself down when on battery power.
You can check and change the speed settings in the BIOS.

You can leave laptops on 24/7 just like a desktop. They'll go on standby just like a desktop.
The only difference is adverse affects on the battery life when leaving it plugged in at all times.

I suggest going here to learn more about computers in general

 

[wviperw]

but yea, man, how do I find out my speed of my pc??

Uhhh... benchmark it? Don't rely on petty Mhz comparisons, as that will not get you very far.

 

[Semidevil]

Originally posted by: psteng19
Wow, sounds like your first PC experience ever.

XP 1800 is a PR rating, so it's not 1.8 Ghz.
The 495 Mhz might be AMD's PowerNow (?) power saving implementation that clocks itself down when on battery power.
You can check and change the speed settings in the BIOS.

You can leave laptops on 24/7 just like a desktop. They'll go on standby just like a desktop.
The only difference is adverse affects on the battery life when leaving it plugged in at all times.

I suggest going here to learn more about computers in general

haha, dang, so right now, my pc is 495 mhz?? that is pitiful.