Notebook Processor Help

[dscott421]

I'm looking into buying a notebook for college. I'm not into gaming at all but more into photo and video editing in my spare time. I'm just looking for something that will let me run multiple high-intensive programs at one time and still run smoothly and not be outdated within a year or two. I've decided between either Intel® Core? Duo processor T2400 (2MB Cache/1.83GHz/667MHz FSB), Intel® Core? Duo processor T2500 (2MB Cache/2GHz/667MHz FSB), or Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB). Any help on this? The two laptops I'm looking into are the Dell XPS M140 and the Dell Inspiron E1505.

 

[Brainonska511]

Go with the 1.83 Core Duo (Don't get the 2GHz Core Duo, spend the extra money on RAM since it is not economical to spend another $100-200 on .17GHz). The dual-core design will make lighter work of the photo/video programs and it will also be more powerful than a comparable speed Pentium M.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
Go with the 1.83 Core Duo (Don't get the 2GHz Core Duo, spend the extra money on RAM since it is not economical to spend another $100-200 on .17MHz). The dual-core design will make lighter work of the photo/video programs and it will also be more powerful than a comparable speed Pentium M.

.17GHz actually, or 170MHz.

Anyway, get the 1.83, 2GB RAM, and a 5400RPM or 7200RPM hard drive (whatever fits in your budget). Don't get the XPS M140 as I believe it only has GMA900 integrated graphics, which will prevent you from running Vista with the eye candy on.

Of your options, get the E1505 with a lower end discrete graphics card (assuming you don't game). Probly cheaper to buy your own HDD and RAM.

 

[GnomeCop]

since core duo is becoming the norm now, you should go for it. Just get enough ram and hard drive space for your notebook and you will be multitasking smoothly in no time. However 64 bit seems more important, I wish intel implemented that 1st rather than dual core, but oh well.

 

[halfadder]

CoreDuo 1.83 and get a model with a real GPU, not integrated intel crap graphics.

Or you might want to wait for the 2.2 GHz model that's due soon.

 

[dscott421]

So with you saying the new model coming out soon, should I wait a few months before purchasing it or would it be that much of a difference in my purchase?

 

[Ika]

Core Duo. It is 10-20% better in everything over pentium M - this includes power usage, performance, battery life, etc.

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: dscott421
So with you saying the new model coming out soon, should I wait a few months before purchasing it or would it be that much of a difference in my purchase?

By college I'm guessing you mean fall semester and not summer. In that case, definitely wait around. The offerings of dual core notebooks is still slim. That will change over the summer.

 

[deathwalker]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
Go with the 1.83 Core Duo (Don't get the 2GHz Core Duo, spend the extra money on RAM since it is not economical to spend another $100-200 on .17MHz). The dual-core design will make lighter work of the photo/video programs and it will also be more powerful than a comparable speed Pentium M.

.17GHz actually, or 170MHz.

Anyway, get the 1.83, 2GB RAM, and a 5400RPM or 7200RPM hard drive (whatever fits in your budget). Don't get the XPS M140 as I believe it only has GMA900 integrated graphics, which will prevent you from running Vista with the eye candy on.

Of your options, get the E1505 with a lower end discrete graphics card (assuming you don't game). Probly cheaper to buy your own HDD and RAM.

I agree with this solution...the Dell e1505 with the 1.83 duo core and the x1400 graphics vs. the intel integrated solution. More memory is you can afford it.

 

[freethrowtommy]

Actually... the XPS 140's Intel GMA 900 will run Vista with eye candy on. It support Pixel Shader 2.0 and has a high enough fill rate.

 

[AmigaMan]

Has anyone run any benchmarks with the Core Duo and a regular Pentium desktop CPU? I seem to recall a 1.8Ghz Pentium M equaling around a 2.6Ghz Pentium Desktop CPU, just wondering how much better the Core Duo is...