Processor speeds

[Scooby_snax]

Bearing in my mind PC World staff usually havent got a clue what they are talking about a salesman said to me yesterday that the Intel Pentium M715 Processor @1.5 GHz is equivalent in speed to a Intel Celeron @ 3.0Ghz.
I was looking at sub 2kilo laptops and a few seem to use this M715 processor
Is he talking bo**ox?

[wizzpig]

Comparing the performance of two core chipsets side by side is like comparing two engines side by on a dyno to see which is fastest. Ultimately it all depends what else they are connected too.

The M715 is a 'Centrino' Processor is designed to run in laptops/notebooks ( the 'm' desingantion meaning - Mobile)and uses a 90 nano meter basic architecture, which is about as far as we can go at the minute without inducing ridiculous amounts of heat. The Celeron comes in two flavours - M & D and both are designed for completely diferent tasks. The Centrino requires far less juice than a Celeron.

The fastest 'clock' speed for an 'm' is currently around 1.5 GHz where as the 'd' runs flat out to a little over 3 GHz. So it depends which variant of the Celeron he was refering. With it being a laptop chances are it will be the 'm' in which case, yes, his basic statement is flawed.

It depends what you hook them up to. You may have a fire breathing 8.0 LTR V12 running nitro/methane but if the running gear and tyres aren't up to it, then it will be returning very slow 1/4 miles.

Then you start to get into Speed stepping and Hyperthreading which can increase a chips 'core' performance but ONLY if the OS is set up to take advantage of the processor. MSWXP H&P can be configured to encorporate both SS and HT. Depends what you want to use your machine for though ultimately.

[pdV6]

'M' processors are usually optimised to run fairly cool, which means you can overclock them pretty well in a desktop, assuming you have a suitable motherboard.

[d-man]

I expect he is talking about the regular Celeron processor (which does have a laptop version) as a 3.0Ghz Celeron M doesn't exist. In which case he is probably more or less right, the Pentium M is certainly much quicker clock for clock than a normal Pentium 4, which in turn is a fair bit quicker than a Celeron. The Celeron M is probably the one to go for though, only marginally slower than a Pentium M at the same speed but a fair bit cheaper.

The M versions also use a lot less power as they were designed to be laptop processors from the start, so the laptops housing them tend to be thinner, lighter and have better battery life.

All this assumes the rest of the system is equal of course, which it probably isn't. Make sure you've got at least 512Mb RAM, preferably 1Gb... Ignore anything with only 256Mb as it'll really crawl running Windows XP. If you want to play games on it the graphics card will be very important.

[Plotloss]

Dont even start playing the processor comparison game, its a next to pointless pursuit as machine speed is more dependant on bus speed and memory size than sheer horsepower.

Comparing chips of different architectures makes the above even more valid.

Choose a machine for your need, not what it says on the tin.

[mcflurry]

IMHO use a Centrino for a laptop that will be used on the move, celeron for a lappy which will stay on a desk.

[Scooby_snax]

Thanks guys....perhaps if I explain my basic requirements then.
1. Must be under 2kg....lots of foreign travel
2. Must be able to run PhotoshopCS reasonably well to manipulate images in the aforementioned foreign parts. Most machines seem to be 512Mb RAM but was going to go for 1024MB
3. Must be able to process 20Mb RAW image files through Nikon Capture 4.3
4 Wireless net link capability
5 Good value for money

I was thinking of going for the Packard Bell M715 1.5Ghz processor 80 Gb Hard drive with DVD Recorder weighs 1.9kg

[wizzpig]

The Packard would work well for your requirements. Or take a look at Sony's A or K series. I have a K and it handles photoshop beautifully. Pretty good value too. I have used it all over the world and it has proved extremely dependable.

>> Edited by wizzpig on Monday 25th July 19:29

[workshy fop]

Don't buy a Packard Bell, iirc only available in PC world, hence the reason the push them.
Look at Dell, Toshiba, Acer, IBM and Apple.
Have a look on www.laptopshop.co.uk , go to the new laptop link and there's a price range filter.
You'd want a Centrino 1.7 or whatever is fastest these days. My 1.6 Centrino Acer is fine for big photoshop jobs.

I bought a 1.5ghz celeron M 512Mb, 40Gb, wifi etc. Toshiba Tecra today from them (for the folks) for £520 delivered.

[agent006]

Just seconding the "Don't buy a packard bell" comment.

[Muncher]

I'd buy Dell at the moment, some silly cheap prices too.