New C2D Laptop doesn't feel that fast?

[PowerRanger]

My old laptop broke so I bought another one - Asus F8SV. Its specs are: C2D T7500 2.2Ghz / 4MB Cache, 2Gig RAM, 160GB HDD, Geforce 8600mGT.

My old laptop had a Pentium M 1.6Ghz, 1 gig RAM, 60GB HDD, Geforce 6800.

I've installed a fresh copy of Windows XP on the new laptop, and havn't gotten to installing any intensive programs. However, just surfing the web, amongst other tasks, the system doesn't feel all that fast. I thought I would be "wowed" even doing simple tasks, but no. I've also tweaked my system to get the best performance possible (ie. turning off unecessary tasks, etc.). Am I doing something wrong? I've applied that Dual Core Hotfix as well...any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[bryanW1995]

laptops, esp modern ones, crank the core speed down to minimal levels when doing simple tasks to extend battery life. install cpu-z and see what speed you're running at...you might be surprised.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

You should've thrown in Vista x64. This machine was made for that.

 

[TheStu]

plus there is the fact that for day to day stuff, modern systems really aren't significantly faster than 20 year old systems, and in some cases, the 20 year old system is faster.

 

[PowerRanger]

OK so I finally got to install some of my regular apps, and I'm noticing some difference now. But still not really "wowed"...maybe my expectations are unrealistic?

 

[Tempered81]

i would have thrown on a sp3 integrated winxp pro installation. If you opted for vista, then a hp sp1 install.

I would take xp over vista for that laptop.

 

[angry hampster]

Play games or open a ton of heavy programs at once.

If you've got photoshop, apply filters to or resize 30-40 photos at once.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: PowerRanger... But still not really "wowed"... maybe my expectations are unrealistic?

That would be my conclusion. I have two lappies - one a HP P4 mobile running XP Pro, and the other a C2D Lenovo running Vista Ultimate. I see no great difference in app speeds except for things like defragging.

 

[mshan]

CCleaner has sped up Windows for me (instantaneous snappiness), especially with Microsoft programs.

 

[Adn4n]

NVIDIA was right, the Intel chip is dead. They're "going to open up a can of whoop-ass on Intel."

 

[DaveSimmons]

Most of your applications are not using the second core, and many of them are disk I/O or network limited not CPU-bound.

Despite the old Intel ads, doubling the CPU speed has no effect on your network speed, let alone the speed of some remote server that you're connecting to.

3D games are among the few applications where your increase will make a real difference.