The P7010 - too old and slow?

Hi guys. Let me first thank you for an excellent forum. I’ve been researching my upcoming laptop purchase for a couple of weeks now, and your reviews and comments have been great!

I’m thinking about getting a P7010 (1.10ULV, 1x512MB, 60GB), but I’m nervous that it will prove to be too slow. Compared to the recent (and cheaper) models from Acer (TravelMate 3002WTMi) it has slower front side bus, slower memory, slower processor, less video memory etc. I’ve looked around and I believe I saw that the Acer scores 224 in performance (MobileMark2002) compared to 171 for the P70101. But if the P7010 is fast enough I’d really prefer it because of the battery module, the small size, the good screen and the beautiful design.

So… I’d like to be able to run (simultaneously) Outlook 2003, Firefox (with 10 or so web pages opened), a couple of large documents in Word 2003, a normal Excel 2003 spreadsheet and Winamp, and still be able to switch rapidly between applications and generally work unhindered. I’d really appreciate it if some of you P7010 fans would give me some of your experiences, performance wise. Thanks! (For reference: I regard my current Sony VAIO V505DX 1,4GHz to be fast enough, but not with a large margin.)

I’m leaning towards the Acer at the moment... With the P7010 it feels a bit like paying for old technology... No offence Am I wrong?



Anders
Lund, Sweden
[email protected]

 

It's not old technology! The most recent P7010 was released no more than 3 months ago. The fastest ULV (ultra low voltage) CPU is a 1.2GHz. And that is more than enough for machines that wont be doing more than internet and some office applications.

If you think you might require more processing power the IBM X series are a good option too (uses low voltage CPUs), but nothing beats a P7 when it comes to weight/size/battery life combo.

Not sure about the acer model you're looking at!

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N6010: P4M 3.2G, 1GB Dual 400MHz, 60GB 7200RPM, ATI 9700M, 17" WXGA+
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Thanks for your response. The only P7010 I'm considering is the one with a Pentium M 713 ULV 1.10 GHz with 1 MB cache and 130 nm technology (400 Mhz bus). The newer ones are too expensive for me. It would be great to get some sence of the performance power of the older P-M 713.

I'll take a look at the x series, but I think it's pretty pricy.


Anders
Lund, Sweden
[email protected]

 

the Dell Latitude D410 will give you insane performance for an ultraportable, it beat the pants off a bunch of desktop replacement style notebooks with its processor performance (i'm using the D410 right now). It's not all that light for an ultraportable though. Overall I like it a lot though, it's worth a look at least:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2405

DigitalCameraReview.com | BargainPDA.com | TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

The newer M 1.1 Dothan version can't be much more than the version you are looking at. If anything try to get the M with 2mb cache.

I know the newer Centrino's are coming out (Sonoma) and the Acer travelmate 3000 has it already but from what I've heard the Sonomas aren't as battery life friendly as the Dothans due to the faster chip and bus speeds. Remember the Acer also doesn't have a built in optical drive so that kinda defeats the purpose of having an ultraportable.

I was recently in HK and looked at the Acer 3000, Samsung Q30, and the Fujitsu. I really liked the Samsung and has a bigger widescreen and was just a little bit bigger than the Fujitsu but the fact it didn't have the optical drive made me not to go for it so I got my P7010 in HK instead. Mine is the 1.1 Dothan Centrino.

Tony



T. Chan

Self built PC, P4 3.2Ghz HT

Acer 1681WLMi

Fujitsu P7010

 

Hi, well if I was using it to run the applications you are thinking of running it should be able to. I may get more ram though as having only 256 or 512 might be an issue.

I don't know how web pages would affect performance AFA having 10 or more of them open, someone else could probably answer that one. Remember I've only had my P for about 3 weeks now and the most pages I would have open might be 4 or 5.

Tony

 

Thanks Tony, and the rest of you. So, Tony, would you say that you can use your 1,1 P7010 for the things I mentioned in my first entry?

By the way, I found some benchmark results (MobileMark2002 application performance scores). The numbers are from CNet and CNet Asia. See their pages for exact specifications.

Sony V505D: 124
Panasonic ToughBook CF-Y2: 146
Fujitsu LifeBook P7010D: 158
Dell Latitude X1: 167
Acer 3002: 224



Anders
Lund, Sweden
[email protected]

 

The ULV 1.1 will be fine for the apps you mentioned. I couch that in saying you should strongly consider 1GB RAM though. I had the Banias 1.1 in my old P7 and it did well. As everyone else noted the Dothan 1.1 is not old technology at all. The ULV PM chip is the best one around for small machines like this.

Brian

www.BargainPDA.com | www.DigitalCameraReview.com | www.NotebookReview.com | www.SpotStop.com | www.TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

I just made the payment on the p7010, and I'm very happy with my decision. Thanks for all the help.

 

Did you get the Dothan version? What's the specs of your P?

Tony

 

Sorry Cman for not answering until now. Here are my specs:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor ULV 753 (1.20 GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 400 MHz FSB)
256 MB micro-DIMM memory module
40 GB hard drive
Modular DVD/CD-RW combo drive

And I'm still waiting on the extra 512 memory pack to arrive.

I'm especially happy about the screen (way better than my old VAIO V505) and the incredible battery life (i bought the secondary modular battery). But it sure is loud! :noisyfan: And that is a big drawback for me

I've tried SpeedswitchXP which I read about here, but I can detect no apparent difference from the different power schedules. If anyone was any other ideas about how to lower the fan noice I would be eternally greatful (as I have no mean of returning the computer). But apart from the noice, I really do recommend it. :fujitsu:

 

I do notice my fans on a lot, but it doesn't seem to bother me. I've contemplated trying artic silver but haven't bit that bullet yet. You might think about it if it really bothers you.

 

The fans aren't too bad, you'll get used to it after a while. I noticed it too when I first bought my P but now I've pretty well tuned it out.

I can't say that for the optical drive though, that thing does make a major racket, wish I could tune that out.

BTW I also have a 512 stick coming for my P also, once it arrives and installed I'll ebay one of the 256 sticks.

Tony

Have fun using your P!!!!! :fujitsu:

 

Cman, I think you already noted that, but just double checking.

You know that you need to get MICRO-DIMM memory for the P series, not regular SO-DIMMs that go into most laptops?

Hope you didn't miss that!

 

Yes I know the P takes microdimm and that's what I ordered, it should be in early next week sometime from my supplier. I'm getting Kingston brand 512mb.

Tony

 

I just installed my ram chip, upgrading from 256 to 768, and it's a big difference. Running really smouth now.

I took a look at the Artic Silver, Brian. Thanks for the tip. You mean I can put the thermal compound between my processor and the fan? I'm not sure I have the guts to do that myself. I didn't even know you could reach the processor. I've done it on desktops several times, but it doesn't seem the same thing to me... And I guess it voids the guarantee, right? Do you know anyone who have tried it? Was it effective agains the noice? Thanks.

 

You might notice now that maybe the fan might not come on as much since you've installed the extra memory.

256mb running XP isn't that great to begin with so the CPU was probably working a bit to load in programs you're using and that might account for the extra fan activity.

I'll find out later today, my 512 has arrive and I will be picking it up after I finish work. :centrino:

Tony

 

I have 1GB and it has made little to no impact on the fans from my experience.

As for the arctic silver, yes, it's a bit scary and yes, it will void your warranty, but it's really not that hard, just intimidating. I've thought about it, but it doesn't bother me enough to take action, I'm curious to see the effect more than anything.