Intel T3200 vs. T5800 vs. P7350, worth the $$$?

I'm trying to choose a notebook to give my 9-year old nephew as a Christmas gift. One model that I'm considering is the HP dv4t.

There are three 2.0GHz processors available- the T3200, T5800 and P7350. I understand the basic differences (FSB speed, L2 cache, TDP, etc.) between each of them, but I'm curious whether the performance gain is worth the additional cost? The T3200 Pentium Dual Core (667MHz FSB, 1mb L2) is standard, the T5800 Core 2 Duo (800MHz FSB, 2mb L2) costs $50 and the P7350 (1066MHz FSB, 3mb L2) costs $125.

The T3200 and T5800 seem very similar- both 35W TDP and manufactured via 65nm process. The T5800 has a 133MHz faster FSB rating and 1mb more L2 cache memory- will that translate into a tangible performance boost and is it worth $50?

The P7350 (25W TDP, 45nm process) has a 400MHz faster FSB rating and 2mb more L2 cache than the T3200. In addition to better performance (speed), it should also run cooler and use less energy than the T3200, correct? The $125 additional looks like a good idea, in this instance.

If I buy my nephew a dv4t, I'm fairly certain that I'll order the P7350, at least. I'll also wait for another coupon to pop up, then I might even go with a P8400!

Side note- I also checked out the HP dv4z (AMD-based twin to the dv4t). In the past, HP offered AMD versions of some systems as a lower-priced (budget) alternative to the Intel versions. But now the dv4z and dv4t are almost identically priced....the same is true for the dv5z and dv5t. I wonder how many weaker-performing 'z' models they expect to sell for the same price as the faster 't' systems?

 

The T3200 is a PDC, a cut-down version of the T5750. You can go for it, if not running any CPU-intensive tasks very often. (i.e. Photoshop, Video-encoding, CAD, etc etc)

T5800 is like a re-badged version of the T5870 (T7250 has different VID ratings), for the Montevina Platform, and probably supports Intel VT as well. Its a good CPU if on a budget, and runs most intensive tasks fine.

P7350 is a good CPU and the base Penryn. It'll run intensive tasks no different than the T5800 in terms of perfromance, but will offer you more battery life when running intensive tasks " on battery"....When plugged in, battery life doesn't matter, and the max temp difference betwen the two is not huge. Both are rated for 90/100*C.

P8400/P8600 are also a good choice, only if you'll be running intensive tasks when "on battery". T9400 is a beast when running intensive tasks, if you can afford it.

(CPUs can also be Undervolted to improve battery life)

If you just want good performance when running day-to-day tasks, get a fast HDD (or SSD), and 2GB+ RAM.

Don't go for AMD....

 

I think T3200 is more than enough for all tasks of your nephew.

 

I agree . . . unless as noted you are doing CPU-specific tasks like Photoshop, it's not worth it. Spend the $50 you would have spent on the processor upgrade on a copy of NOD32 Smart Security antivirus/antispyware that will save you a lot of headaches down the line.

The CPU is one of the fastest components in a computer and isn't going to be a bottleneck most of the time.

 

OK allfiredup, if my nephew he would be lucky to get a PIII! But clearly you and your nephew have a different relationship.

I think Andy did a good job detailing the differences.

I do have to agree with Valk and Chaz. That lower end CPU would be fine for most people.

Unless your nephew is a demanding techno geek like us, you should be fine.

 

It's not so much that he deserves more than a P3...but I don't have any kids and not sure if I ever will, so I buy him nice stuff in case he's the only family I have left when I'm old....a nice laptop could be the difference between, "Can I fluff your pillow" or "Can I smother you with this pillow?"

 

From a CPU standpoint, there's no difference in processing power between a dual core and a core 2 duo at the same clock speed. Only difference is dual core has less L2 cache. Here's sandra copy/paste from my two laptops, one w/ a c2d and another w/ a dual core.

From a CPU standpoint, there's no difference in processing power between a dual core and a core 2 duo at the same clock speed. Only difference is dual core has less L2 cache. Here's sandra copy/paste from my two laptops, one w/ a c2d and another w/ a dual core.

Dell 1525 w/ core 2 duo and 2 gb ram:

Benchmark Results
Dhrystone ALU : 15.50GIPS
Whetstone iSSE3 : 12.32GFLOPS
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Windows Experience Index
Current Processor(s) : 4.9
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Performance vs. Speed
Dhrystone ALU : 7.77MIPS/MHz
Whetstone iSSE3 : 6.18MFLOPS/MHz
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Performance vs. Power
Processor(s) Power : 26.90W
Dhrystone ALU : 576.06MIPS/W
Whetstone iSSE3 : 458.10MFLOPS/W
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Performance Test Status
Run ID : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5750 @ 2.00GHz (2C, 2.00GHz,
2MB L2, 664MHz FSB)
Platform Compliance : x86
NUMA Support : No
SMP (Multi-Processor) Benchmark : Yes
Total Test Threads : 2
Multi-Core Test : Yes
Cores per Processor : 2
SMT (Multi-Threaded) Benchmark : No
Processor Affinity : P0C0T0 P0C1T0
System Timer : 14.32MHz
Number of Runs : 64000 / 640

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5750 @ 2.00GHz
Speed : 2.00GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line
size, 2 threads sharing


Dell 1525 w/ dual core and 3 gb RAM

Benchmark Results
Dhrystone ALU : 15.49GIPS
Whetstone iSSE3 : 12.77GFLOPS
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Windows Experience Index
Current Processor(s) : 4.9
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Performance vs. Speed
Dhrystone ALU : 7.77MIPS/MHz
Whetstone iSSE3 : 6.40MFLOPS/MHz
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Performance vs. Power
Processor(s) Power : 26.90W
Dhrystone ALU : 575.95MIPS/W
Whetstone iSSE3 : 474.80MFLOPS/W
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Performance Test Status
Run ID : Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T3200 @ 2.00GHz (2C, 2.00GHz,
1MB L2, 664MHz FSB)
Platform Compliance : x86
NUMA Support : No
SMP (Multi-Processor) Benchmark : Yes
Total Test Threads : 2
Multi-Core Test : Yes
Cores per Processor : 2
SMT (Multi-Threaded) Benchmark : No
Processor Affinity : P0C0T0 P0C1T0
System Timer : 14.32MHz
Number of Runs : 64000 / 640

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T3200 @ 2.00GHz
Speed : 2.00GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 1MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 4-way, 64 byte line
size, 2 threads sharing

 

I would go with the t3200. If you were to upgrade anything id get the 9200m gs.