Intel Core 2 Duo processor

Hi Guys,
I am looking around to purchase a laptop on which I can run Windows Vista and I want to use this laptop for 5-10 years from the time of purchase. I have found that laptops are incorporating Intel's Core 2 Duo , which as I understand is a 64-bit processor. My question is can I install 32-bit operating systems and run on the 64-bit machine? The reason I want to use 32-bit OS on it is because it would take another 2 years or so for the 64-bit buzz(applications,etc) to catch up on mainstream.

Thanks,
Vipin

 

5-10 years?! At most laptops only last 5... because by then the technology will be outdated and "slow"...

Yes you can run a 32 bit os on 64 processor

Please fill out the faq for us so we can get an idea of what you want.

 

Yes, the Core 2 Duo is 32 as well as 64bit capable. So, you can use a 32bit OS/applications without any issues.

 

laptop on an average will really only last 2-3 years, as they just wear out in use.

in 3 years your notebook will be regarded as garbage(slow); in 10 years! we will have 16 or more cores in your laptops and running at 10ghz with caches in the hundreds of mb's multi-terabyte hdd's....

even if lasted 10 years you would not want it much more the 3-4 years at it will be slow.

look at mine i bought it a year ago and it was behind then now look how far back it is.

 

Unless you have money to burn, I'd avoid Core 2 Duo because it's new and way overpriced. You get much better value in a Core Duo. The higher end Core Duo's have dropped by half in price since spring. Expect the Core 2 Duo to drop in half by winter, so why buy that now unless you really need it (doubtful).

There is a rule that says you should buy 2 generations behind (eg., a top end 1-yr old Pentium M) and replace your tech every 1-2 years. If you buy leading edge, you cannot easily afford to replace it every 1-2 years.

Even if you buy core 2 duo, it will be obsolete in about a year. Unuseable after 3-4 years. Never mind 5 or 10 years.

 

Core 2 Duo is not overpriced at all. If I were you, I'd check out the Dell outlet. Just picked up a nicely configured E1405 for $719 with a C2D...

 

The reason I was looking at "Core 2 Duo" instead of "Core Duo" is because the former is 64-bit and I could transition to 64-bit operating system from a 32-bit operating system after an year. Is my thinking right regarding it? Also in "core 2 Duo", Is there any advantage of getting a T5600 over T5500?

 

64 bit means can run a 32 bit os and 64 bit os, but you will see an improvement in the 64 bit os when running 64 bit applications... which won't be for a while...

 

I've managed to get almost five years out of my current laptop (a 1.0G Pentium M), but I've been postponing a new computer for a long time. I think three years is more realistic - after this, the hassles of having an old computer with insufficient power and which is out of date with respect to interfaces and perhiperals just gets to be too much.

Within this time horizon, I'd go for a Core 2 Duo with a fairly high speed, but not that highest - T7200 sounds about right. It wouldn't worry abut 64-bits for awhile.

- Mark

 

think about it this way its not so much the computer slows down... cuz things just don't change speeds, the speed something runs at now, is what it will run at usually... unless something breaks... or YOU TELL IT TO DO SOMETHING FASTER which its not made to do... as time goes on, complexity increases, so our perception of speed changes, things become slower to us, but in actuality we are wanting to run faster things with the same speed hardware, which sometimes can't keep up. with that said, if you buy a computer now, and never install anything too demanding or that new... if you keep it the way it is now, i don't see why it should ever "go bad" the parts may need to be replaced but thats about it... if in the future you want to run a more powerful application you must either upgrade components or run your speeds with what you have...

 

The Core 2 Duo is meant to be priced the same as its Core Duo counterparts. That doesn't mean that all laptop sellers are charging the same for both--some are definitely charging a premium for the Core 2 Duos right now.

The T5500 and T5600 are going to be very close in performance, so I don't think you'd notice the difference.

I'm going to move this discussion over to the Hardware Components forum.

 

Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree. First of all, some resellers may be charging more for the Core 2's, but Intel is selling these chips at the SAME price as the Core Duo's. Yes, this may seem to buck the trend a bit, but it is true. I have yet to see significant price drops on the Core Duo's. Intel is simply phasing out the Core Duo's by introducing increasingly more Core 2's at identical prices. Shop around and you will find *identical* Core 2 and Core Duo systems for the same price on different resellers. If you want to buy a generation behind and save $10 or what have you, be my guest.

Second of all, Core 2's will not be "obsolete" a year from now. Will it be the newest tech available by then? No. But I still see Pentium 4's being sold everywhere, and that platform is old but certainly not *obsolete*. In terms of raw performance, I know quite a few "beefy" gamer systems still being built around the P4. You may have the new Santa Rosa chipsets with 800 Mhz FSB four to six months from now, but the perfomance increase won't be drastic enough to obsolete the Core 2's.

Finally, it is simply not logical or economical to buy yesterday's hardware to run today's software, and replace every 1-2 years. There's numerous obstacles to upgrading CPU's in notebooks---the most significant of which is the motherboard, and if you can't upgrade your old laptop you will need to buy a completely new one. If you do this every 1-2 years, I guarentee you won't come out ahead in terms of money spent or satisfaction with your purchases. Again, maybe you've had luck with this method of purchasing notebook computers, but overall I'd say buy new and reinvest every 3-4 years.

I wish you good luck here. As I've stated above, you should expect to replace your notebook every 4 years. Imagine what it would be like to still be using a Pentium 100 MHZ computer today. Ten (10) years from now, anything you purchased today will be even slower than that scenario. I recommend buying the best technology that is available and within your budget, and especially not cheaping out to save a few bucks on essentials such as CPU/RAM/HDD.

 

You will not notice a difference between the two, so no it was not worth it to go to the T5600. I agree with Chris.

 

quad core is coming out, this November, for desktop PCs. Makes you wonder when quad core Merom (Extreme Edition?) will arrive for notebooks and why they even bother with Santa Rosa.

 

The heat dissipation for Kentsfield (quad core) is double that of Conroe's which in turn is about double that of Merom so I doubt we'll see quad core for notebooks until Intel or AMD does another die shrink.

 

Will XP Professional(32 bit) run faster on "core 2 duo" than "core duo"?

 

You won't see much difference between the two in most situations. The Core 2 Duo is marginally faster, but not noticably so.

It's main advantage in 32-bit applications is in number-crunching programs until 64-bit applications replace them.

Considering the Merom is available already and should be the same price as Yonah, you might as well get the Core 2 Duo.

 

So for someone with a tight budget, and who it would cost about $160 to upgrade from core duo to core 2, do you think its worth it or not?

 

Depends on what that person would use his computer for. But I'd say no.

You won't notice a huge speed boost (definitely not one worth $160).
For some, 64-bit support and such might be worth the upgrade, but most likely, you won't need that.

 

i plan on using it for conventional student use...music, papers, notes. I also play alot of games, plan to watch movies on it, and hope it will do me good for 2-4 years.

 

I bought my s96j with Core 2 Duo from GenTech. Right now, the difference between a T7200 and T2500 is $20. I realize it is on preorder right now, so other dealers may be trying to cash in on the scarcity of the Meroms. Obviously, use your smarts when shopping for CPU's just as you would shopping for anything else. So no, it would not be worth it to pay 50% more to get a Merom a few weeks earlier.

 

Then I wouldn't bother. Not if the price difference is $160. As said by others, the price *may* almost the same, depending on where you look. But at $160 difference, don't bother.

 

through Dell, for the E1705 im looking at,
Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2250 (1.73GHz/533MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
is the base standard, and the next cheapest upgrade is this:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5600 (2MB Cache/1.83GHz/667MHz FSB) [add $135 or $4/month1]

Through HP, the other brand im considering, here are my options:

Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2250 (1.73 GHz) (standard)

Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T5500 (1.66 GHz) (+ $75)

Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T5600 (1.83 GHz) (+125).

I havent decided for sure yet HP or dell, so if you could give seperate opinions on each scenario i would appreciate it. Also keep in mind my budget is a huge factor. (1300 MAX out the door)

 

Bleh...what a rip off. Aside from the temporary shortage of these Core 2 Duo chips, there's no reason for those price differences. Other than pure profit of course.

 

The Go7900GS in the Dell has a huge advantage in 3D performance over the HP's Go7600. The Go7600 is not a bad card but just does not stand up to the Go7900GS. I would vote for the Dell.

The T2250 should be fine for what you want to do.

 

I'll ask here since I don't want to start a new topic about this. -- Can you upgrade the Yonah to a merom ... ?

 

Yes, any Core Duo laptop can provided-
1. The CPU is not soldered.
2. The manufacturer releases a BIOS update or has a BIOS which supports Merom.

 

That is the funniest thing I have read here! If only it could really happen...computers move too quickly from one thing to the next.