[Sandhya_MS]

Hi,

I am planning to buy a new laptop and had a couple of questions about the different kind of processors available. I will be using my laptop only for browsing the net, checking my email or listening to music. I believe Core 2 due is the latest (and probably the best?) processor out there (I’m not sure though)


(1) I was looking at the prices for laptops with the two processors and those with the Core Duo seem to be much cheaper than the ones with Core 2 Duo. However, when I look at the processor speed and the “bus speed” (whatever that is?) they happen to be the exact same for both! I.e. Processor speed=1.6GHz and Bus Speed=533MHz. If the speed for the processors is exactly the same then in what way is Core 2 Duo a better ( and hence more expensive) processor than just Core Duo?


(2) Secondly, what other technical specs should I look for which will be important in making sure that the computer will not perpetually run slow, freeze or crash every 30 minutes (used to happen with my ex-laptop Inspiron 5160 :-( )


Eg: Ram 1GB Vs 2GB
Processor Speed 1.8 GHz Vs 1.6GHz
Bus Speed 667Mhz Vs 533 Mhz….
Hard Drive Speed 4200rpm Vs 5400rpm


Are the above listed differences in specs significant enough to make a huge noticeable difference in my web surfing experience, considering that all I will do is check my mail or listen to music?


Thanks in advance,
Sandhya
PS: Please try to answer in layman’s terms so that I don’t get confused by the technical jargon


Some laptops with Core Duo that I was considering (All Under $850)
Toshiba Satellite 14.1" Widescreen Notebook PC (M115-S3094) ($600)

Gateway Notebook PC (MX6920) ($750)

Toshiba Satellite® 15.4” Widescreen Notebook PC (A105-S4254) ($ 800)

Sony VAIO® 15.4” Widescreen Notebook PC (VGN-N130G/W) ($850)


Some laptops with Core Duo that I was considering (All Over $1000)
HP Pavilion 15.4” Widescreen Notebook PC (DV6130US) ($900)

Toshiba Satellite® 14.1” Widescreen Notebook PC (M115-S3144) ($1000)


Toshiba Satellite® 15.4” Widescreen Notebook PC (A105-S4334) ($1050)


Sony VAIO® Notebook PC (VGN-FE770G) ($1100)

 

[TheMatt]

Hi,

A few questions: Will you be doing any sort of gaming? What about multitasking? Will you be watching movies (do you want a widescreen)? And what is your budget?

From what you have posted so far, I would look at these laptops:

Lower budget:
HP Pavilion dv6140us(RG274UA) NoteBook AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56(1.80GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 2GB 120GB 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834147293

Higher budget:
Acer Aspire AS5630-6040 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5500(1.66GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 2GB DDR2 533 160GB 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115291

 

[viola_girl]

DON'T BUY DELL BECAUSE YOU WILL LIVE IN THE NIGHTMARE FOREVER:4-thatsba

 

[dai]

http://www.techsupportforum.com/

 

[PanamaGal]

You haven't mentioned Acer in any of your picks. I would take a look at their lineup before deciding. Sounds like for what you'll be doing, you don't need to spend big bucks.

 

[TheMatt]

(1) I was looking at the prices for laptops with the two processors and those with the Core Duo seem to be much cheaper than the ones with Core 2 Duo. However, when I look at the processor speed and the “bus speed” (whatever that is?) they happen to be the exact same for both! I.e. Processor speed=1.6GHz and Bus Speed=533MHz. If the speed for the processors is exactly the same then in what way is Core 2 Duo a better ( and hence more expensive) processor than just Core Duo?
PS: Please try to answer in layman’s terms so that I don’t get confused by the technical jargon

To answer your question here, the bus speed or FSB (front side bus) is basically how fast the CPU can communicate with the rest of the parts in the computer like the RAM. A faster FSB is better, but there won't be too much of a noticeable difference from 533 MHz to 667 MHz.

The Core Duo and the Core 2 Duo both have the same FSB, but the Core Duo is better because it uses a better processing core. The Core Duo is the Yonah, and the Core 2 Duo is the Merom. The Merom can move more data and process more instructions with each clock cycle to be simple, so it is not litterally faster, but more efficient. It is also worth mentioning that the higher end Core 2 Duos (the T7xxx CPUs) have a 4 MB cache instead of a 2 MB cache. The Turion X2 CPUs were good competition for the Core Duos, but they lost it when the Core 2 Duo came out for notebooks.