Intel Core Duo T5500 vs. T7200

oookay so im getting a new alienware laptop.

2 GB RAM
256 MB ATI X1800

Should i go with...
T5500 (1.66 ghz, 2 mb)
or
T7200 (2.0, 4 mb)

I'm a pretty heavy gamer and will be doing some graphic design also. I don't want the processor to bottleneck but I am strapped for cash being a poor college student. Thanks!

 

The extra cache on the T7200 is most advantageous when doing multimedia type things like coding video. When gaming the card does most of the heavy lifting. Perhaps you should consider the FAQ and post there. The Sager NP5760 with the 7950GTX is $300 off right now and might be worth a look.

Link

 

In absolute CPU performance terms, the T7200 is probably about 30% faster than the T5600 (20% due to raw clock speed and 10% due to the bigger cache). The T5600 (if available) would close this gap to about 20%.

If you have tasks which take many seconds or minutes of CPU time to accomplish, then the time saving due to the faster CPU will be noticeable, but in day-to-day usage the speed difference may not be obvious.

More RAM and a faster HDD are future upgrade options which will help performance while your choice of GPU will be key to 3D graphics performance.

John

 

The major drawback on the T5500 is the lack of virtualization support. If you are not goint to be using that, then the next thing to consider is the smaller cache. The clockspeed is not that big a deal- most of the time it's going to run much slower anyway. And since your major needs are gaming, the graphics card is the limitation, not the processor.

 

If I were you, I'd save the cash and get a smaller or slower hard drive, and get the T7200 or T5600 (I think that's the 1.83GHz part?). With graphic design and newer games, you will need the CPU power.

But I would also echo ZaZ's post, and tell you to consider looking at other suppliers of "whitebox" laptops, like www.powernotebooks.com and www.xoticpc.com, both of whom use the same base as Alienware does in some of their models, but sell it at a much more reasonable price, which means you can get a lot more computer for the same amount of money. The laptop in my sig came in under $2000, which is about base price for any of the Alienware gaming models.

 

Try to buy a system with an x1900 or 7950gtx the x1800 is outdated in terms of current gen GPU powerhouses.

 

If u have to choose between those two, then go for the T7200. i dont think either CPU will be a bottleneck but obviously one will be slower than the other.

 

So I've decided that alienware really is too expensive (230$ shipping and taxes!?). I've decided to go with the Gateway NX860XL which comes stock with 2 GB RAM, the T7200 and a nVidia 7900 GS. I need a pretty big hardrive and the only good option is the 200 GB 4,200 rpm. How will the 4,200 compare to the 100 GB 7,200 in loading times and booting up? Thanks again

 

It's been said the 4200rpms is veryyyy slow and i kinda agree there especially when you start filling it up. Basically you are buying a fast setup and the slow drive will create a significant bottleneck

 

4200 RPM HDDs should be generally avoided. See if you can get a 5400 RPM HDD if the 7200RPM is over the line for you. As for the CPU, future proof with the T7200...you'll never know what kind of raw power will be needed to run the future softwares