How good is the Core 2 Solo and How bad is the Celeron M

Im still decided which laptop to choose from Sony's lineup...its between the

13.3" C Series and the 11.1" T series

The question i have is first....is the motherboard for a celeron m 443 different from the core solo u1400...and is the celeron m 430 motherboard different from the Core 2 Duo...

before someone comes with their witty comment..im aware that these are processors...im wondering if i can buy a celeron model and upgrade the processor later..

From my experience in the past i hate the celeron processor...you can package it however you want with a nice box and bow, but when you use it its still a punch in the face...now thats the old celeron...how is this celeron m and is it worth the upgrade to use a core solo or core 2 duo...

 

I think they use the same mainboard. But be aware that the CPUs on most ultraportable tend to be soldered to the mainboard so you might not be able to exchange them. Also buying the U1400 or Core 2 Duo ULV will cost you alot since it is a rare CPU.

The performance of the Celeron M443 is the same as a core 2 solo. The celeron only has less cache. The Core 2 Duo ULV is also the same only it got 2 cores. So it can be up to twice as fast. You will notice this mostly in multitasking.

I read somewhere the the celeron M is missing some of the power saving featuers that the other CPUs have but i am not sure about that.

 

The Celeron M lacks SpeedStep, which will reduce the battery run time.

I think the latest Celerons use the same socket as the Core Duos. All the sony C series I can find use dual core CPUs but Sony may well be offering a Celeron version for some price-conscious markets so the BIOS would support all these CPUs. Upgrading the CPU should be possible. I remember that a forum member recently upgraded his notebook (not a Sony) from Celeron to Core Duo. I recall that he found a good CPU at a very reasonable price on ebay.

I am not sure how easy it is to dismantle the Sony C series in order to change the CPU.

John

 

The 11.1" TX series uses ULV processors and LV and ULV processors are soldered onto the motherboard, not socketed, so your unfortunately not able to upgrade them.
Celerons have greatly improved now from several years before however, so don't count them completely out of the picture.

 

Besides what everyone else has said in this thread, would you be willing to wait a few months? Sony's new T series, called the TZ, is being released this summer. It will have a dual core processor.

 

The Core Solo (it's not a Core 2) U1400 has a FCBGA6 socket which I believe means it's soldered on to the motherboard and can't be changed.

The Celeron-M 443 is also FCBGA6 which means it is again soldered on.

The difference between these cpus is firstly that the Core Solo has speedstepping and the Celeron does not and secondly that the Core Solo has double the level 2 cache of the Celeron. Otherwise they are identical, being based on the same architecture. They are both 1200MHz so the difference in performance would not be much, but the Celeron would use battery power faster. Therefore the Core Solo is the better cpu especially for mobile computing.

Neither of these cpus are upgradable. They are low voltage and hence are soldered on to the motherboard. They also have a unique configuration which means they are not interchangeable with mainline cpus and the list of possible upgrades were it possible would be very small indeed. If you wish an upgradeable cpu you need a regular voltage cpu which are often in full sized 12" laptops but rarely in anything smaller.

The most powerful LV cpu intel makes is a 1.83GHz Core Duo L2500. There are also other LV and ULV Core Duos and Core 2 Duos although the Core Duos have a higher frequency cap. If cpu power is important for you in your UP I would look out for those.