Centrino or P4??? Confused

Hi all as a new member I wondered if I could ask the question... Centrino or P4?
I am about to buy an Acer laptop but I am unsure of what model to get... I want it for general use but I do like my Flight Sim FS2004 which can be demanding on CPU and Graphics card. Thats why I will choose an Acer as they seem to combine a good card Radion 9700 with high Ghz numbers CPU's.
I was keen on the 1804 or even the 1672 both with 3Ghz plus CPU's but then I noticed the Centrino in the 2026 a 2Ghz CPU but I know they last longer on the battery etc and I read somewhere they are as quick as a 3Ghz P4??
Can anyone offer me some guidance on what to go for please?
Many thanks again Tony

 

Lots of magazines and websites have reviewed that centrino processors have almost the same performance as p4 due to the larger cache, if u use the laptop only for games, then get a p4, but if ur working or use it for school/uni, go for a centrino laptop, as they all have wireless, p4 have wireless too, just not all of them.

 

Thanks Airborne, I will be using it for all sorts but I guess it will get a fair share of gaming[ ] Interesting choice I have...just not sure which way to go. Anyone got a Centrino 2Ghz CPU can help on this?

 

Tony,

Don't get confused here with the "Centrino" name. All it is a marketing gimmick that Intel uses. For a laptop to have the "centrino badge", it has to have an Intel Pentium M processor, Intel chipset, and a Intel wireless pci card. So if a laptop has a the P-M,intel chipset and a IBM wireless card, then no centrino badge.

There is NO such thing as a centrino processor.

There are plenty of pentium M laptops out there that can game. You main concern would be adequate memory(512mb and up) and a dedicated video card(64mb and up).

 

I am confused now[ ] I thought the Pentium M was a Centrino but anyway what I would like to know will a 2gHz (Centrino) Pentium M give the same performance as the 3Ghz P4 models although the M model has 2mb of Cache??

 

Pentium M or Celeron M (Both are almost the same processor the only differences is the reduced cache and speed step technology disabled in celeron M) performs more instruction per clock than normal pentium 4

i.e Compare b/w Pentium M ot Pentium 4 just mutiply the clock in 1.6

so 2 ghz pentium m ( 2x1.6)= 3.2ghz pentium 4

 

thanks for that, so the 2026 would perform as well as the 1804, but have better battery life down side is smaller screen.. but bigger ram, thanks for this info, I guess it will play games well as well then.

 

If you are into gaming..try to get ATI or nvidia gpu with Dedicated memory

 

This link has more info on what a "Centrino" actually is, hope it sorts out the confusion:

http://www.powernotebooks.com/centrino.php

Tony

T. Chan

Self built PC, P4 3.2Ghz HT

Acer 1681WLMi

 

Many thanks for the information on this, I guess that it will outperform the 3.4Ghz P4's then when needed and when not run without killing the battery. Seems ideal for Flightsim games as well as word docs [ ] Now do I plump for this or just to be awkward an Athlon 64bit 3700 CPU[?] As I have seen a nice Fujitsu Amilo A1630 Enhanced with the above CPU 128mb Radeon 9700 and 1gb Ram!! Oh too many choices[ ]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by volrider

 

it must be;

1-dedicated gpu (64mb or more,the more important thing s gpu architecture base,64 or 128 or 256 mb is not so much important,it means 9600 128 mb hasnt got power as same as 9700 64 mb,or do not wait more power from 9700 64 and 9700 128,9700 256mb.I have a chance to compare lots of notebooks,there is no important difference,this s such a trap for customers.)
2-RAM s so important,u can find direct affect when u put an other ram
3-HDD rpm speed is same with ram
4-CPU (1.6 dathon equals=2.6 P4 , 1.7 dathon=2.7-2.8 P4, 1.8 dathon=2.8-3.0 p4, 2.0 dathon=3.0-3.2 p4 (do not consider hyper trading,just P4)

but of course 1.8 dathon,512ram,9700 64mb,60gb 5400 rpm is more powerful than 1.6 dathon,512ram,9700 64mb,60 gb 5400 rpm due to cpu power.(but dont wait huge differences...)I advise u "centrino" tech for overall needs...battery,game,internet,applications...it s a balance among them.

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