[drewd]

You know, I'm a pretty computer literate guy - I design memory modules for a big electronics company, so you'd think that I'd know something about this, but I'll admit it - I'm clueless.

I'm going to buy a notebook computer. Now in the good old days (like a couple of years ago), the choice of CPU was pretty small. Now I'm looking at Pentium 4, Pentium 4M, Centrino, Celeron, Mobile Athlon, Mobile Athlon 64...ack!

Now, I get the deal with the Athlons and I know what a Celeron and a Pentium 4 are. But where does a Centrino fit in? And how do I compare a Centrino to a Pentium 4 or a Mobile Athlon?

I'm going to spend between $1000 and $1400, so I've been looking at the HP notebooks with the 15.4" wide screens. But what CPU? I'm so confused...

-Drew

 

[Wodgy]

"Centrino" is not the name of a processor; it's the marketing name of a bundle of technologies from Intel, including the main processor, the Intel support chipset, and an Intel wireless module. Despite being a marketing concept, the actual Centrino chipset is pretty good. That said, it shouldn't be pivotal to your choice of computers. All wireless modules and support chipsets from any manufacturer are equivalent (to within an order of magnitude), which is why Intel is trying to "brand" the Centrino chipset in order to distinguish themselves from any number of effectively identical competitors.

Centrino has recently been supplanted by Intel Sonoma, which may not yet currently be shipping in any actual products.

 

[bLue_oNioN]

A few Sonoma-based laptops were launched just last week, so they should be widely available shortly.

Given your price range, however, they may not be the best option.

What sort of tasks and features are you looking for? Lightweight with high battery life? Performance workstation with weight as one of the last considerations?

 

[drewd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bLue_oNioN What sort of tasks and features are you looking for? Lightweight with high battery life? Performance workstation with weight as one of the last considerations?

Lightweight and battery life - I'd like to be able to pack it around and not get a hernia. I don't do any heavy-duty work on it, so it doesn't have to be a screaming machine...no programming or graphical rendering or any of that stuff. I'm thinking more like email and web stuff. Maybe watching a DVD now and then, connecting to my iPod and downloading pictures from my camera.

-Drew

 

[chillysalsa]

Yes, the Centrino is a wonderful processor... it's basically a Pentium4 optimized to have on-the-fly clockspeed throttling, and about 1/4 the power consumption of the standard P4:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherb...boards-01.html

I really like my Dell 600m, with the 1400x1050 display. Solid machine, good price, light, and fairly quick. The video card is ancient, but it will do everything great except for games.

 

[lini]

drewd: As Wodgy already pointed out, "Centrino" is more a platform name - the processor is just called "Pentium M". Nice architecture, very efficient processor... Oh, and what about an IBM ThinkPad X40, btw?

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[ADS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chillysalsa Yes, the Centrino is a wonderful processor... it's basically a Pentium4 optimized to have on-the-fly clockspeed throttling, and about 1/4 the power consumption of the standard P4: http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherb...boards-01.html I really like my Dell 600m, with the 1400x1050 display. Solid machine, good price, light, and fairly quick. The video card is ancient, but it will do everything great except for games.

Centrino isn't a processor. It's the platform. The Pentium M included in the Centrino platform is based off the Pentium III architecture, not the Pentium 4 (which is a very good thing, considering the rather poor choices made in the design of the P4).

 

[Fastjack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chillysalsa Yes, the Centrino is a wonderful processor... it's basically a Pentium4 optimized to have on-the-fly clockspeed throttling, and about 1/4 the power consumption of the standard P4:

Sorry but you got something wrong there. As already stated above Centrino means a whole package of chipset, processor an whatnot. The included processor is a Pentium M and is NOT based on the Pentium 4 at all (unlike the Pentium 4 M). AFAIK the Pentium M is loosely based on the Pentium 3 but greatly improved. Despite it's relatively low clock rate the Pentium M is seriously fast and can keep up with most if not all desktop CPUs.

I don't know much about the Athlons but if I were to buy a notebook I would definitely get one with a Pentium M. Don't think they can be beat right now by any other mobile CPU. Which Pentium M exactly depends on your requirements regarding speed and energy consumption.

 

[bLue_oNioN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drewd Lightweight and battery life - I'd like to be able to pack it around and not get a hernia. I don't do any heavy-duty work on it, so it doesn't have to be a screaming machine...no programming or graphical rendering or any of that stuff. I'm thinking more like email and web stuff. Maybe watching a DVD now and then, connecting to my iPod and downloading pictures from my camera. -Drew

In this case, I recommend you look for a laptop (most likely Centrino-based) matched with a Pentium M Banias-core. It doesn't sound like you need to spend the extra money for a Dothan and am in a great position to take advantage of the price drops occuring due to the introduction of both a newer processor and platform. Weigh-wise, I'd try to keep it under 6 pounds.