what is difference between the Pentium M AND Pentium 4 processors for a laptop?
which is the best? and what is the deal with this AMD 64? What about the
Centrino mobile technology?
Let me see if I can answer some of these questions. 1) Centrino mobile is
wirless hardware built into the laptop. If you have Centrino,then you will not
need to buy a wireless card for type A, B and G wireless networks. 2) AMD is the
rival company of Intel. AFAIK, the AMD 64 is similar to the Pentium 4. The
Pentium M, where M stands for mobile, was made to produce less heat, making it
better for laptop use. I do not believe that it is as fast as a Pentium 4, but I
may be incorrect.
Like what codewulf said, Pentium M is the processor built especially for
notebooks that
saves energy when not in use by demanding applications and has a longer battery
life.
The P4 used for desktop, and they are also used in notebooks but they hog
battery life
AMD64 is a processor designed by Advanced Micro Devices.
The mobile version are called
Mobile AMD Sempron
Mobile AMD Athlon64
The Intel Pentium M is actually better than the Intel Pentium 4.
If you are going to get a notebook now, then get a notebook with a Intel Core
Duo
But if you are going with AMD and want dual core, then you will have to wait
for it since it's not out yet.
If can wait, then wait until the Intel Core 2 and AMD's next line of mobile
processors to become available for the consumer.
Note: Intel Centrino Mobile Technology and Intel Centrino Duo Mobile
Technology are not processors.
AMD Turion64 Mobile Technology has a AMD Turion64 processor but
also needs a required set of components to earn that "AMD Turion64
Mobile
Technology" name.
I actually go for Intel in both modes (laptop and desktop) since it has a more
solid silicon architechture. AMD procssors are optimized for performance. but
even in desktop, they still being a little more unreliable. This since the
Pentium got in average, more achivements than AMD processors.
The Centrino technology is precisely what makes the Pentium M a valuable
wireless processor because of making notebooks more reliable with it's LAN+
technology.
Always check for the intel logo on your PC (don't listen to George Lucas and use
AMD, why do you think he wasn't a VFX nominee on the academy awards? hehehe).
Prior to my current job, I did spend a year and a half as a tech for a small
computer shop so here we go.
Pentium 4 - Intel gained speed with this processor by ramping up the clock and
front side bus speeds. They tend to use a bit of power and generate a ton of
heat. They're also usually more expensive than a comparable AMD processor not
only the CPU itself but in the motherboard and possibly ram as well.
Pentium M - Built on a different architecture than the P4, these do use quite a
bit less power and make less heat. I've tried notebooks with both the Centrino
and Turion 64 and would actually prefer the Centrino.
Athlon 64 - 64 bit just gives you more maximum address space in memory to use.
You need to run a 64 bit OS along with programs compiled/optimized for the 64
bit architecture in order to take full advantage of it. Otherwise the chip runs
in 32 bit mode and there's really not much benefit. The biggest problem right
now seems to be drivers for peripherals like printers and scanners.
AMD chips gained a reputation for being unreliable in the early days, I think,
mostly because of their lower price. System builders would use the lower priced
AMD chip and then continue using cheap and crappy parts in the rest of the
system. Since most users didn't know that a bad motherboard, ram, power supply,
overheating due to dirty fans, etc. can cause crashes, they blamed the chip.
Another reason is that some program compilers are written to favor Intel chips
even if an AMD chip supports the same features.
The store I worked for built their own line of systems from AMD CPU's on ASUS
boards (video & mother), Kingston, Samsung, Crucial, or OCZ ram, and Antec
power supplies. The end systems did cost more but very very few ever came back
due to hardware failure.
thanks guys for all your info, it's very helpful. I was unaware of all of this
but I can now make an informed decision, although I still have a few other
questions but that will be for another day. Just one quick one, what would be
the optimal memory "size" to have? 512mb? higher?
512mb for users that visites the net, listen and/or watches movies/music, and do
some
word processing and spread sheets. Play games, but not too intense, like
Solitare or Pinball.
1GB for users that do the same thing as a 512mb user, but with also works on
digital images, but not
large ones. And plays a few 3D games.
2GB+ for users that works on intense memory hungry applications such as digital
imaging, scientific research applications, CAD, 3D applications (e.g. Maya),
video editing, "folding" (use your PC to cure diseases) and play
intense memory demanding 3D games.
merged: 06-02-2006 ~ 09:39am
another question: what is the optimal speed for a processor in GHz? and the RPM
in hard drives, do they matter?
What are other options of connecting to the internet from a laptop without using
Wi-Fi, or a modem? can I go wireless and connect to a sattelite or something?
and what would be the best way to do it?
Most hard drives available that are stable and of reasonable capacity will be
7200rpm. This will affect seek times and also data transfer rates. Unless you're
doing work that requires high speed data access such as high end gaming it will
be unnessecary to go any higher than 7200rpm. Also, be aware that a processors
speed in GHz is not a very good measure of its overall performance. In fact, the
machine I'm using now is clocked higher than my games machine (Athlon 64 2.2GHz
vs Pentium 4 2.6GHz in this machine), however the Athlon easily out-performs
this machine. You really need to just go out and look at performance tests and
benchmarks for various processors to get a feel for how they line up
performance-wise. The keys to making a machine you'll be happy with for time to
come is to:
1) Research research research: Google everything you can about every component
you're considering using to make sure that not only will everything work
together at all, but the performance will be up for whatever you want the
machine to do.
2) Plan ahead. While you may have no SATA drives now, what if later on down the
track your drive dies and by that time PATA drives are more expensive than the
faster and more efficient SATA equivalent? Make sure that you'll be able to
expand the machine to keep up with your needs later on down the track. It'll
save you a lot of money. I started using this approach a few years ago, and not
only do I still use my almost 10 year old Dual-processor machine, it was one of
my main machines until just recently (now running as a simple IRC fserve).
Quote: another question: what is
the optimal speed for a processor in GHz? and the RPM in hard drives, do they
matter?
What are other options of connecting to the internet from a laptop without using
Wi-Fi, or a modem? can I go wireless and connect to a sattelite or something?
and what would be the best way to do it?
I don't think there's really an optimum speed for a CPU but I really REALLY like
the Cool & Quiet feature of AMD 64's. What it does is underclock your CPU to
about 1 GHz when idling or doing non-intensive tasks and then cranks it back up
when you need extra power to open a program or run something heavy. Also
consider a CPU with more L2 cache. I have two Athlon 64 systems, both are 2.2
GHz, except one has 512k L2 and the other has 1 MB. I can say that the 1 MB
system does feel a bit snappier at times.
A note on hard drives. Make sure to check the amount of cache the drive has.
Most drives nowadays have at least 8 - 16 MB of cache but there are still some
older ones floating around with 2 MB. I haven't tried a 16 MB drive yet but I
can say there's a noticible difference between 2 and 8 MB.
As for your notebook question, I would say to talk to your local cell phone
providers. Some offer a PCMCIA card (Air Card) and service plan which works off
the cellular network. May not be as fast as cable or DSL and may be more
expensive too. Something to look into.
what is difference between the Pentium M AND Pentium 4 processors for a laptop? which is the best? and what is the deal with this AMD 64? What about the Centrino mobile technology?
Let me see if I can answer some of these questions. 1) Centrino mobile is wirless hardware built into the laptop. If you have Centrino,then you will not need to buy a wireless card for type A, B and G wireless networks. 2) AMD is the rival company of Intel. AFAIK, the AMD 64 is similar to the Pentium 4. The Pentium M, where M stands for mobile, was made to produce less heat, making it better for laptop use. I do not believe that it is as fast as a Pentium 4, but I may be incorrect.
Like what codewulf said, Pentium M is the processor built especially for notebooks that
saves energy when not in use by demanding applications and has a longer battery life.
The P4 used for desktop, and they are also used in notebooks but they hog battery life
AMD64 is a processor designed by Advanced Micro Devices.
The mobile version are called
Mobile AMD Sempron
Mobile AMD Athlon64
The Intel Pentium M is actually better than the Intel Pentium 4.
If you are going to get a notebook now, then get a notebook with a Intel Core Duo
But if you are going with AMD and want dual core, then you will have to wait
for it since it's not out yet.
If can wait, then wait until the Intel Core 2 and AMD's next line of mobile processors to become available for the consumer.
Note: Intel Centrino Mobile Technology and Intel Centrino Duo Mobile
Technology are not processors.
AMD Turion64 Mobile Technology has a AMD Turion64 processor but
also needs a required set of components to earn that "AMD Turion64 Mobile
Technology" name.
The AMD mobile dual core is
AMD Turion64 X2
if you want to buy a laptop and plan to use wireless, go for Centrino. if you want use desktop, then AMD 64 is choice for now.
I actually go for Intel in both modes (laptop and desktop) since it has a more solid silicon architechture. AMD procssors are optimized for performance. but even in desktop, they still being a little more unreliable. This since the Pentium got in average, more achivements than AMD processors.
The Centrino technology is precisely what makes the Pentium M a valuable wireless processor because of making notebooks more reliable with it's LAN+ technology.
Always check for the intel logo on your PC (don't listen to George Lucas and use AMD, why do you think he wasn't a VFX nominee on the academy awards? hehehe).
Prior to my current job, I did spend a year and a half as a tech for a small computer shop so here we go.
Pentium 4 - Intel gained speed with this processor by ramping up the clock and front side bus speeds. They tend to use a bit of power and generate a ton of heat. They're also usually more expensive than a comparable AMD processor not only the CPU itself but in the motherboard and possibly ram as well.
Pentium M - Built on a different architecture than the P4, these do use quite a bit less power and make less heat. I've tried notebooks with both the Centrino and Turion 64 and would actually prefer the Centrino.
Athlon 64 - 64 bit just gives you more maximum address space in memory to use. You need to run a 64 bit OS along with programs compiled/optimized for the 64 bit architecture in order to take full advantage of it. Otherwise the chip runs in 32 bit mode and there's really not much benefit. The biggest problem right now seems to be drivers for peripherals like printers and scanners.
AMD chips gained a reputation for being unreliable in the early days, I think, mostly because of their lower price. System builders would use the lower priced AMD chip and then continue using cheap and crappy parts in the rest of the system. Since most users didn't know that a bad motherboard, ram, power supply, overheating due to dirty fans, etc. can cause crashes, they blamed the chip. Another reason is that some program compilers are written to favor Intel chips even if an AMD chip supports the same features.
The store I worked for built their own line of systems from AMD CPU's on ASUS boards (video & mother), Kingston, Samsung, Crucial, or OCZ ram, and Antec power supplies. The end systems did cost more but very very few ever came back due to hardware failure.
thanks guys for all your info, it's very helpful. I was unaware of all of this but I can now make an informed decision, although I still have a few other questions but that will be for another day. Just one quick one, what would be the optimal memory "size" to have? 512mb? higher?
512mb for users that visites the net, listen and/or watches movies/music, and do some
word processing and spread sheets. Play games, but not too intense, like Solitare or Pinball.
1GB for users that do the same thing as a 512mb user, but with also works on digital images, but not
large ones. And plays a few 3D games.
2GB+ for users that works on intense memory hungry applications such as digital imaging, scientific research applications, CAD, 3D applications (e.g. Maya), video editing, "folding" (use your PC to cure diseases) and play intense memory demanding 3D games.
thanks, I guess 1GB ought to do it
merged: 06-02-2006 ~ 09:39am
another question: what is the optimal speed for a processor in GHz? and the RPM in hard drives, do they matter?
What are other options of connecting to the internet from a laptop without using Wi-Fi, or a modem? can I go wireless and connect to a sattelite or something? and what would be the best way to do it?
thanks in advance
Most hard drives available that are stable and of reasonable capacity will be 7200rpm. This will affect seek times and also data transfer rates. Unless you're doing work that requires high speed data access such as high end gaming it will be unnessecary to go any higher than 7200rpm. Also, be aware that a processors speed in GHz is not a very good measure of its overall performance. In fact, the machine I'm using now is clocked higher than my games machine (Athlon 64 2.2GHz vs Pentium 4 2.6GHz in this machine), however the Athlon easily out-performs this machine. You really need to just go out and look at performance tests and benchmarks for various processors to get a feel for how they line up performance-wise. The keys to making a machine you'll be happy with for time to come is to:
1) Research research research: Google everything you can about every component you're considering using to make sure that not only will everything work together at all, but the performance will be up for whatever you want the machine to do.
2) Plan ahead. While you may have no SATA drives now, what if later on down the track your drive dies and by that time PATA drives are more expensive than the faster and more efficient SATA equivalent? Make sure that you'll be able to expand the machine to keep up with your needs later on down the track. It'll save you a lot of money. I started using this approach a few years ago, and not only do I still use my almost 10 year old Dual-processor machine, it was one of my main machines until just recently (now running as a simple IRC fserve).
thanks dude
I don't think there's really an optimum speed for a CPU but I really REALLY like the Cool & Quiet feature of AMD 64's. What it does is underclock your CPU to about 1 GHz when idling or doing non-intensive tasks and then cranks it back up when you need extra power to open a program or run something heavy. Also consider a CPU with more L2 cache. I have two Athlon 64 systems, both are 2.2 GHz, except one has 512k L2 and the other has 1 MB. I can say that the 1 MB system does feel a bit snappier at times.
A note on hard drives. Make sure to check the amount of cache the drive has. Most drives nowadays have at least 8 - 16 MB of cache but there are still some older ones floating around with 2 MB. I haven't tried a 16 MB drive yet but I can say there's a noticible difference between 2 and 8 MB.
As for your notebook question, I would say to talk to your local cell phone providers. Some offer a PCMCIA card (Air Card) and service plan which works off the cellular network. May not be as fast as cable or DSL and may be more expensive too. Something to look into.