T5500 vs. T7200

How does the Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T5500 Processor (1.66GHz) compare to the Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB)?

I found a Dell 6400 laptop that has the 2Ghz CPU and same specs as a Toshiba laptop with the 1.66Ghz. Only thing is, the Dell is $200 more.

 

The t7200 is faster and has a larger l2 cache, but they both will be more processing power than you probably need.

If you are looking for other options, consider filling out the FAQ.

There are other options to consider besides specs- build quality & support can also be important.

 

I hear ya. I hear Toshiba is better quality, however, I have never heard how their support is.

 

1.66 v. 2.0 is a fairly substantial leap.

If it's only money, then yes, get the cheaper one, as any Core 2 Duo is adequate for most users.

If you can spare the $200, you'll get a faster CPU and it will have a little more curb appeal should you go to sell it used at some later time.

Honestly though, these CPUs are so great now, that, the rest of laptop kinda makes performance more even. The time you spend waiting for a CD to spin up, for a HD to spin up, etc, is the same.

To a human, faster CPUs don't really click around faster, or download faster or render pages faster, but they rip and compress faster and give you a little more headroom going forward.

A 60watt amp will rock the house and a 100watt amp will rock the house, but for those times when the buzz is kickin' and party is jumpin' the 100watt amp might give you just a little more.

 

That is a good point. It's a tough call especially when the deals end day after tomorrow haha

 

Will there be a big difference in performance in games between these two cpus?

 

Unless you're into heavy processor-intense applications you probably wouldn't notice the difference between these two processors. Like vespoli said, either is more processor than you really need.

Very few users actually maximize the potential of their CPU.

Gaming on either processor will be similar, as the CPU is not going to be bottleneck in games in the vast majority of situations.

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