Intel Core Duo vs Core Duo 2

How much different are there three cards?

Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2300E (1.66GHz/667MHz/1 X 2MB L2 Cache)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5600 (2MB Cache/1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB)

I was wondering if one if the T7200, which is $175 more than the T2300E, is really worth the money, or if the one in the middle might be a better decision. Thanks!

 

T2300E is one of those CPU u wont get any recommendation from other ppl. It lacks a few feature(which i dunno wat it does) than the Core2Duo counterparts. Get the middle one if u dun need raw math chewing power. But if u r really low on budget then just get the T2300E. (Mind that IF the laptop or desktop isnt broken for 6 years, the Core2Duo would be more efficient at dealing with apps)

 

Besides the larger cache on some of the Core 2 Duo models, the main difference that I have heard about is 64-bit support. I wondered the same thing before I bought my notebook, and this is by far the most comprehensive comparison between the two, looking at multiple aspects of performance and things like battery life.

Link: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2808&p=1

Cliff Notes: If the two processors are offered to you at the same price (which is NOT the case any place i have found) with the same clock speed, go with the Core 2 Duo. Otherwise, the Core Duo is an excellent processor and more than competitive with its new sibling.

 

The Core 2 Duo processors are 64 bit, and can run the 64-bit versions of Vista. So it really is up to you. If you are sure you will upgrade to the 64-bit version of Vista, get the Core 2 Duo.

 

I would say that 6 years down the road they would be just a comparable then as they are now. I would think that they would both be classified as equally prehistoric compared to mobile quad core or god knows what CPUs notebooks will be running off of at that point.

 

What will you be doing with this notebook? It is hard to say what is best without knowing that.

 

Well, schoolwork, gaming, and internet. Does the CPU really make a difference in gaming?

 

Yes it does. But for browsing the internet and work, more RAM and a faster hard drive would be more crucial. I would personally not go with the T2300E, the T5600 would probably be fine. If you want to spend the extra money, go for the T7200.

 

i'm sure you want the t7200 if its possible; since nowdays; with the virus scan; background services, etc. etc. etc. the processing power needed is higher than what would seems necessary. the t7200's 4mb cache is enough reason for me to go up from T5600.

the t2300e if i remember correctly; the "E" stands for the lack of virtualisation technology, and a few other feature strips; (i think it was the lower FSB of 553mhz instead of 667).

 

I doubt you would be able to tell a difference between the T2300E and the T7200 for those tasks. The only real place that you are going to see the difference between different dual-core CPUs is in CPU-limited tasks such as rendering, encoding, mathematical calculations, and so on. Also, the 2MB vs. 4MB cache does not make a significant difference - certainly not a noticeable one.

The T2300E should be plenty powerful enough for those tasks. I would still suggest going with the T5500 or T5600 because they are 64-bit and that could be useful if you plan on upgrading to Windows Vista, which will have a 64-bit variant.
To answer your question, the processor does matter in gaming, but not nearly as much as the GPU and RAM. If a laptop has a low-end GPU, no amount of CPU processing power is going to make up for that gap. An ample amount of RAM is equally important; the minimum these days is 1GB. Any modern dual-core processor should be able to handle your needs without any difficulty.

 

http://www.intel.com/performance/mobile/performance/per_benchmarks_tbl.htm?iid=mtply_mobilityCheck out this link for comparibility - go for the 7200 if you can, it is well worth the extra cash. I like to think will I not regret the decision to go 7200 6 months down the track or 1 year, you see what i mean. It is far superior. This intel link is using a 7600, but you get the idea anyway.