Centrino M or Pentium 4 Laptop?
Discussion
Which is quicker/better? I know the centrino is all wireless and stuff but is a pentium 4 a better option? Same money similar spec. Any ideas?
meant to say centrino is a 1.3ghz and the pentium is 2.6 ghz. Both have similar memories.
>>> Edited by ScoobyZoom on Tuesday 18th November 17:41
meant to say centrino is a 1.3ghz and the pentium is 2.6 ghz. Both have similar memories.
>>> Edited by ScoobyZoom on Tuesday 18th November 17:41
Well I've just gone through the same process and bought the Centrino. Thoughts on it were: smaller machine for same processing capability, longer battery life (4.5 hours), smaller battery = lighter machine, plus it already has the wireless connectivity which is already booming. My machine is a 1.4Ghz which equates to a Pentium 4 at about 2.0-2.2 GHz. Really pleased with it - and more likely to carry it about due to the lightness of it, and they are after all supposed to be portable PCs!
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Pentium-M (the processor part of the Centrino platform) is more efficient than the P4, and can get more work done per clock cycle. Imagine a bike engine at 12000rpm vs a car engine at 7500rpm - both produce similar power.
A machine can only carry the "Centrino" tag if it uses the offical combination of Intel's own system chipset, the Pentium-M processor, and Intel's own wireless card. Some manufacturers are fitting alternative cards which support higher standards, and you'll find Pentium 4 laptops with similar integrated wireless to the Centrino ones.
The Pentium-M is definately worth going for though. Uses far less power, so generally longer battery times and far less heat generated. It's main trick is using Speedstep to the full - while previous mobile processors also slow down, it usually wasn't enough to make a big difference. I've seen my 1.5Ghz laptop go as slow as 315Mhz while I've just been typing away. The speed varies according to how hard the laptop is working, so if you're compiling something or editing a video it'll run at a full speed automatically.
My new Dell now stays cool enough to use on my lap, and I haven't been able to do that with laptops for quite a few years. Wouldn't consider anything but Pentium-M for laptops now.
A machine can only carry the "Centrino" tag if it uses the offical combination of Intel's own system chipset, the Pentium-M processor, and Intel's own wireless card. Some manufacturers are fitting alternative cards which support higher standards, and you'll find Pentium 4 laptops with similar integrated wireless to the Centrino ones.
The Pentium-M is definately worth going for though. Uses far less power, so generally longer battery times and far less heat generated. It's main trick is using Speedstep to the full - while previous mobile processors also slow down, it usually wasn't enough to make a big difference. I've seen my 1.5Ghz laptop go as slow as 315Mhz while I've just been typing away. The speed varies according to how hard the laptop is working, so if you're compiling something or editing a video it'll run at a full speed automatically.
My new Dell now stays cool enough to use on my lap, and I haven't been able to do that with laptops for quite a few years. Wouldn't consider anything but Pentium-M for laptops now.
Centrino all the way I am afraid.... for the battery life alone. My wife is getting 5 - 6 hours out of a charge doing light(ish) work on it. You know email, spreadsheets and an accounting package. Fantastic and I wouldnt have believed it if I was told it was that long in the shop.
A good P4 (even though it is much faster) still wont really break the 3 hours mark. Makes a real difference on the availability and usage of the laptop. Open the lid and its there, use it for 10 minutes and close the lid. None of this getting the power cable out lark....
Ok, the Centrino will be lower processing power for the price - but you get wireless and long battery life which makes up for the difference.... oh, and its not some SpeedStep crap.... you get full power right down to the last 10% on the battery. I have a Toshiba laptop from work that uses SpeedStep and it just means that your PC gets slower and slower as the battery runs down - kinda defeats the objective really....
The only thing I would say is that if you can afford it - those new Toshiba Satellite P20's are fantastic. 17" screen, Harman Cardon speakers and a decent video card. Massive spec and massive price (top whack is around £2,000) and they arent really portable.... but they look the doggies dodah's and out look a Mac....Mmmm
A good P4 (even though it is much faster) still wont really break the 3 hours mark. Makes a real difference on the availability and usage of the laptop. Open the lid and its there, use it for 10 minutes and close the lid. None of this getting the power cable out lark....
Ok, the Centrino will be lower processing power for the price - but you get wireless and long battery life which makes up for the difference.... oh, and its not some SpeedStep crap.... you get full power right down to the last 10% on the battery. I have a Toshiba laptop from work that uses SpeedStep and it just means that your PC gets slower and slower as the battery runs down - kinda defeats the objective really....
The only thing I would say is that if you can afford it - those new Toshiba Satellite P20's are fantastic. 17" screen, Harman Cardon speakers and a decent video card. Massive spec and massive price (top whack is around £2,000) and they arent really portable.... but they look the doggies dodah's and out look a Mac....Mmmm
pbrettle said:
Ok, the Centrino will be lower processing power for the price
Don't believe the Ghz. In terms of raw data crunching, my 1.5Ghz Centrino will do the same work in the same time as a 2.4Ghz Pentium 4.
Also, be careful on battery life - generally you'll get longer runtimes, but some manufacturers are using much smaller batteries (thus making them lighter) and ending up with similar runtimes to previous laptops.
I don't think you understand how speedstep works either. As implemented on win2k, it runs slower on battery, faster on mains. In winxp, it varies the speed according to system load, so while it's idling along the CPU will be running quite slowly. Run up something a bit more demanding and it will up the speed as it goes. This is all dynamic, the CPU can change speed in a fraction of a second.
Run any recent laptop (Centrino or not) at full speed for any length of time and you'll have fans on all the time and a very hot lap. The more intelligent power saving on winxp (combined with the wider range of speeds the Pentium-M can do) is what lets it run so much cooler and give the better battery life.
>> Edited by sjg on Wednesday 19th November 11:09
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff