Question about the difference between Centrino and P4 laptops...

Type-R

Senior member
Oct 18, 1999
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I'm being offered a p4 1.4ghz laptop and the guy selling it says that the only difference between a centrino and a p4 mobile is that to get the "centrino" sticker it has to have the p4m + internal wireless.

since he installed the wireless he says they're the same? i've never heard of manufacturers doing that but i guess marketing is advancing as these things get newer. any info would be appreciated
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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A Centrino is not a P4-M it's a pentium-M "bananas" chip, read the AT or Tomshardware centrino article for details. If the 1.4 is a P-M not a P4-M then he is correct that the only real difference is the wifi si not intel's
 

Wingznut

Elite Member
Dec 28, 1999
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Originally posted by: Type-R
I'm being offered a p4 1.4ghz laptop and the guy selling it says that the only difference between a centrino and a p4 mobile is that to get the "centrino" sticker it has to have the p4m + internal wireless.

since he installed the wireless he says they're the same? i've never heard of manufacturers doing that but i guess marketing is advancing as these things get newer. any info would be appreciated
The guy is very wrong.

Centrino technology is based around the Pentium-M (Banias) cpu, not the Pentium 4-m. Banias is a completely different cpu that offers more performance than a similarly clocked P4m, but with a significantly less power.

A 1.4ghz Pentium-M is very different than a 1.4ghz P4-m... A lot faster, a lot cooler, and a lot less power.
 

starwarsdad

Golden Member
May 19, 2001
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There is more to it than that.

To carry the Centrino brand, the laptop must have the new Pentium M and Intel wireless chips.

There is a difference between the Pentium M and the Pentium IV M. I am not up on the differences enough to give a thorough explanation, but some of the basics are:

Power consumption - the Pentium M uses less power and has better battery life than the P4M
Clock speed - the Pentium M does more work per clock cycle and is not offered in the speeds of the P4M

Hopefully, someone will come along and do a better job explaining it. - I see several people did :p

The person you are dealing with either does not know there is a difference :confused: or is trying to screw you :disgust:. Be wary!