Pentium M 1.73 or 1.86?

I am building a notebook... I will be using it for games like CS Source and WoW, and I am planning on upgrading it later.

Should I buy a Pentium M 1.73 GHz for $212, or a Pentium M 1.86 GHz for $244?

I'm planning on upgrading it to a 2.13 or 2.26 in a year or whenever the prices go down...

The real question is, coming from a 400 mhz FSB 1.8 ghz dothan processor, would the switch to a 1.73 ghz sonoma with 533mhz FSB be a step up in performance, or a step down?

 

I don't think that you would notice an significant performance switch either way, especially if you are a normal user, and not a gamer, or do a lot of photo and video editing and rendering. The slower clock on the processor coupled with the faster bus speed should pretty much negate the faster processor with the lower bus speed. Basically you shouldn't notice any measurable difference, especially if you will be upgrading later on, go with the 1.73.

Matt

 

Since you're building your own system, if you feel up to it, you might want to try saving some money and buying a 1.6GHz 400FSB Pentium M 725 and pinmodding it to 2.13GHz.

 

Unless you're on a really tight budget, I say go for the 1.86GHz CPU - it's only $32 more.

 

YES! Or get the 735 and OC to 2.26GHz not only will you not have to upgrade in a few years but you'll save money now or be able to spend it on other aspects of your system. Very smart.

 

Wait a tick...if you have a 1.8GHz 400FSB and pinmod overclock it you'll have a 2.4GHz 533fsb processor. Why would you want to downgrade the processor to one that's not as valuable? You'll still have Enhanced Speedstep and all the other benifits of a 533 processor; I'd say buying ANY 533FSB processor would be a step down.

 

Considering the price difference between the 1.73 and the 1.86 I'd say go with the 1.86 or last time I checked the 2.0 wasn't too far off either. The big price jump last time I checked was with the jump from 2.0 to 2.13, so go with the 2.0 if you can, but the 1.86 should be fine.

Or go with a 1.6 and just overclock it with the wire trick that one of the members on here did. Seems really easy, but I'm not willing to try it yet until my warranty is over. He got his to 2.26ghz. WOW

Cheers,
Mike

 

Well, the laptop I'm on NOW has a 1.8 dothan, I'm making a NEW system with a sonoma platform... I'm not confident in my abilities to pinmod it at all, the article even says it's not a sure thing!

 

As long as the chipset supports the 533FSb as does the 915 family I see no reason why the pinmod won't work. In fact the chipset in my lappy specifically DOES NOT support a 533 FSB (910express) and I was still able to overclock it.

Still if you're sold on buying a Dothan-Sonoma the 1.73GHz will be roughly equvilant to what you have now due to the increased bus.

 

Plus, if you read the article, generally the 400fsb dothans above 1.7GHz don't work well when pinmodded; they end up requiring too much voltage.

 

If you're already running one at 1.8 GHz, I wouldn't play with it until you plan on the larger upgrade.

 

And I quote from the article you linked to:
"since only the low-end 100 MHz FSB Pentium M CPUs are most useful for performing the modification."

"The safest bet would be to modify the 715 (1.5GHz) or the 725 (1.6 GHz). Modifying the 735 (1.7 GHz) or 745 (1.8 GHz) is also possible, but increased voltage will most likely be necessary. A modified 755 or 765 will most likely be unstable, even with increased voltage." (emphasis added)

You will note that I linked to that same article in my first post. My contention is based on what was stated in the article. A 1.8 GHz might work, but it will require increased voltage, and the system may not be able to sustain it stably. Please read carefully next time.

 

I must have misread what you typed.

I'm sorry, I retract my previous statement.

 

Apology accepted.