B1 v. A1

When comparing the new M50s the price on Gentech comes out to be difference of about $125. Is the B1's processor worth it? If not, what makes it worth it to get the B1 rather than the A1?

 

There are other differences between the models that account for the price difference - you should review the full specs carefully, and then make a decision which is best for you.

Edit: My mistake, folks. Asus generally puts together different combinations of HDD, cpu, & screen res into different sub-models. In this case, they didn't. I regret the error.

 

The issue is my limited knowledge of computer jargon. I understand processors, ram, to an extent graphics cards, and other run of the mill stuff, but beyond that I'm a bit of a noob.

 

Currently looking at the specs on gentech side by side and these are where the differences are:
Processor~ (A1) P8400 2.26ghz 3mb cache 1066 front side
(B1) T9400 2.53ghz 6mb cache 1066 front side
That's actually it. The reviews by Ken on this site are a bit over my head overall, and I don't know how to turn the quantified numbers into the difference in quality.

 

if you are asking this question then my short answer would be no, you don't need faster processor.

 

Well it really depends on what you are going to be doing with this laptop. But I would say the average user would not need the B1, the A1 would work just fine.

 

will there be any added longevity to a slightly faster processor?

 

You mean whether the notebook will last longer physically, or will handle new applications better?

For the first one, it doesn't really matter between the two CPUs. They may have different TDPs (thermal outputs) and the one which outputs less heat will theoretically last longer. In practice though the CPU almost never ever breaks down, it's something else (screen, motherboard, gpu, power supply...) So truly it does not matter.

If it's the ability to run applications... it depends on the applications. For general purpose computing (such as office work) again it won't matter. There may be an advantage in high-definition video, but my feeling is there is a long time until even that will top today's CPUs.

If you do hardcore CPU tasks such as a lot of video encoding, 3D work, etc. then it may well matter which of the two CPUs you choose.

Hope this helps.

 

Do you mind telling us what those differences are?

 

Thanks for the information guys.! And yeah, i'm still interested in what the other differences are.

 

as far as i'm aware (after reading all 40some pages of the gentechpc review thread), it looks like the only difference is the faster processor on the b-1. aside from that the two notebooks should be identical.

i just purchased the b1 myself because i only do light gaming if any at all. my use of the laptop is split between work/home and the work that i do tends to be very computationally intensive, so i think the extra hz and cache could benefit me in the long run. will it make *that* much of a difference? probably not even for me but it seemed like it at the time

my only regret is not waiting for the -b2... i *really* wanted the higher res screen. oh well.

edit: oh yeah, as other people have mentioned if you're just playing games and doing daily ms office type things and surfing the interwebs, there's probably zero noticable difference. with games the bottleneck is the gpu anyway, and with the others, the slower proc is plenty fast.

 

Thanks for the information, i'm trying to waste as little money as possible as i'm two years into college so far and I support myself, so expenditures are a big deal! Are there any Asus models that come close to the A1/B1 that maybe don't have as good of a graphics card? I usually play games on low settings and if I could shave $100-200 off my sticker price at the expense of a lesser video card I would probably do it.

 

Well, you can look at the F5 or F7, but those have quite poor gpus.

What about the M51Sn-C1? You drop to SantaRosa, to WXGA res, to 3GB ram, to T5xxx cpu and to 250GB HDD but the gpu is the 9500M GS - all of which should meet your limited gaming needs as stated quite well and $250 cheaper than the M50Vm-A1.

 

Oddly enough I was just looking at that model on Gentech. How big of a drop in CPU quality is it from P8400 to T5750 though??

 

CPU quality, none. Capabilities, well, a few (Penryn vs Merom). System battery life, minimal (probably 10 minutes or so). However, for the vast majority of daily usage, excluding high-cpu intensive tasks like encoding etc, you're unlikely to notice much difference or delay in system response at all. The effect on gaming with be negligible as the bottleneck is the graphics card, not CPU.

For what you're planning on using it for, and given your budget constraints, it is a good and capable system that you will find meets your needs well.

 

Alright, I appreciate the help. Part of the issue is I will be running 64 bit Vista Ultimate along with having a couple different emails in the background at all times and i'm just concerned that over the next few years the speed of my laptop would suffer with the M51. It's probably me being compulsive as usual though. Thankfully I have another 10 days to decide!