2.0GHZ vs 2.33GHZ

Is there a noticeable difference between an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHZ vs 2.33GHZ processor for doing video editing, 2-d CAD, spreadsheets, word processing using Windows XP? Will I be OK with Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHZ four years down the road not knowing what applications I'll be using then?

 

Video editing will benefit from a faster processors, because it is a processor dependant task. The other tasks you have mentioned, are not processor dependant, and will not differ in their speed. However, the 2 GHz processor may still be the better choice, because of the lower price they are normally sold at. The T7200 has always had the best price to performance ratio, and I would advise you to go with that processor.

 

Is price a factor? The 2.33Ghz will likely be a $400 upgrade. You will see a difference however in video encoding, not sure exactly what your video editing entails. I'm just not sure it will be enough to justify the upgrade expense.

 

2.33...2.0...I'd say 2.0 because there is a huge price premium on that T7600 that you don't need to pay for. Four year down the road, if that program won't run on a 2.0, it certainly wouldn't run much better with a 2.33...it isn't that much more powerful.

 

I think the difference will be about $300. Worth it?

 

If price is an option, go for the 2GHz as they are generally REMARKABLY cheaper. If it's only light video editing your doing then it would be fine but if your doing heavy stuff it's probably better to go 2.33GHz: even though it won't make THAT much difference.

 

I'm making 45-mins documentaries. Would 2GHZ be sufficient?

 

Ask yourself: Is a 16% performance increase worth $300 dollars?

 

Split the difference and go for a 2.16GHz CPU like all the cool people do j/k. 2.0 should work fine for you. Unless the money is burning a hole in your pocket, just max out your RAM instead of upgrading the CPU. RAM is much more important, especially with large video files. If it's available, try getting 3GB of RAM (a 2GB DIMM, and a 1GB one). It won't run in dual-channel, but it'll keep more of your video file in memory, which will really help encoding speed.

 

Is it worth the money? Nah in 4 years they'll both be slooooow. 333mhz isn't worth the $400 premium. You can get 2 2Gig chips.

 

My nc8430 uses a core 2 duo 2.00 ghz processor and it takes me about 15 minutes to encode 30 minutes worth of video.

 

it depends on the price difference. any CPU will be fine doing video editing, its the speed/time it takes to process that is the issue. a 333mhz boost is significant to make some difference but is it worth the price? probably not if its $300-400+

 

get more RAM instead. that will have a greater impact on your overall computing rather than the processor upgrade.

 

I guess it depends. If you are doing some serious video encoding, I would go with the faster C2D. I have 2GB of ram on mine, but my cpu is still the bottleneck insofar as encoding (with or without gobs of ram).

 

Now, what if the difference was between T7200 (2.0GHZ) vs. T7700 (2.4GHZ)? The price difference is $300.

And I don't need a dedicated video card for video editing and 2-d cad, correct? (the Thinkpad T61 has Intel GMA X3100 GM965 w/ WWAN ... what is that?)

 

Well the difference between a T7200 and a T7700 is about $400 and you gotta tack on the cost of a hammer to install it.

The 7700 won't fit in the older notebooks.

 

I would get a new laptop with the T7700 (Thinkpad T61) vs. a refurbished one with the T7200 (Dell M65).

 

If you have the money go for it.

 

As other said, if money is not a problem, why not ?

If money is a problem, it depends on how you would like to spend it to get an overall faster system. 90% of the time, spending on memory(if not yet max out) turns out to be a better option.

Unless of course you know that your task is CPU bound and the rest of the system has already been max out.

If there is any chance that your task needs to hit the swap, more memory almost always win over faster CPU.

 

Money is always a consideration! Thanks all for your suggestions. I'll go with the lower processor and plan to max out the RAM in the future!