Question about processors

[thirtythree]

My sister is getting a laptop for college, and I'm curious if you think she'd notice a significant difference between these two processors:

-Intel(R) Pentium(R) Processor P6000 (1.86 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
-Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-350M Dual Core processor (2.26GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)

Specifically in this laptop. I wasn't able to find any comparisons with the P6000. She'll mainly be using it for the internet (maybe some streaming), Microsoft Office, and iTunes. Does the machine look good otherwise for her purposes? If you have any other recommendations in this approximate price range, let me know. Something light and with decent battery life would be ideal.

 

[Brainonska511]

Probably not.

It looks like the P6000 is Arrandale based (and has the same TDP), so it should probably be fine for basic computing needs.

Just get at least 2GB of RAM (if you get more than 3.5GB, make sure it has 64-bit Windows) and it'll be fine.

 

[thirtythree]

Thanks. Does that mean it's a dual core processor? I've found it strange looking at processors that some dual-core processors aren't specifically labeled as such. Is that just because it's the norm now?

The laptop comes with 3GB of RAM.

EDIT: I see that it does have two cores: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=49058&code=p6000

 

[thirtythree]

One more question: Would there be a difference between the two processors in terms of battery life and heat? I would assume if they're fairly similar processors, the slower one would be cooler, but I don't know if that's how it actually works.

EDIT: And while I'm asking random questions, is it true that larger hard drives have longer seek times? e.g., this laptop has a free upgrade from 250gb, which would be plenty, to 320gb.

 

[Brainonska511]

First question: probably not a big difference, if any. They both have the same TDP and same power-saving features, so the difference will not be noticeable.

Second question: technically, larger hard drives are faster because of the greater platter density. I used to see stuff like a 250GB 5400RPM drive will beat out a 100GB 7200RPM laptop drive because of the platter density in the 250GB drive. And if there is a difference between the 250GB vs the 320GB (both at 5400RPM), I highly doubt you'd see any real-world difference in speed.

 

[thescreensavers]

Eww Pentium, I thought they retired that name lol

 

[thirtythree]

Second question: technically, larger hard drives are faster because of the greater platter density. I used to see stuff like a 250GB 5400RPM drive will beat out a 100GB 7200RPM laptop drive because of the platter density in the 250GB drive. And if there is a difference between the 250GB vs the 320GB (both at 5400RPM), I highly doubt you'd see any real-world difference in speed.

Thanks again. Both the 250 and 320 are actually 7200 RPM (not that it affects what you said).