Dual Core v Core 2 Duo

sooty&sweep

Hi

Thankyou all. I'm going to have to read through this a few times to fully understand but I'm looking for a laptop for home use. It'll be browsing the internet, microsoft office and my husband uses our PC for manipulating pictures from his digital camera.
No heavy gaming etc. Hoping to not spend much more than £400ish and something that has the capacity to upgrade although I realise that none of this will last forever.

Thanks

£$&*"($£&(

Well I'm confused by the the answers. At present you can get laptops with Intel Pentium Dual Core processors, an older line but with decent performance especially the T3400 and T4200 model numbers, Intel Celeron Dual Core which are cheaper and for entry level laptops but fine for basic use, Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Intels more recent dual core line and various AMD dual core processors some of which (stating the obvious) are better than others. The above mentioned Centrino Duo is not a processor but a combination of certain Core 2 Duo processors and other technology.

For your use any Core 2 Duo, most AMD Dual Core and the Pentium Dual Core models mentioned above would be fine.

Mobeer

sooty&sweep wrote: »

Hi

Thankyou all. I'm going to have to read through this a few times to fully understand but I'm looking for a laptop for home use. It'll be browsing the internet, microsoft office and my husband uses our PC for manipulating pictures from his digital camera.
No heavy gaming etc. Hoping to not spend much more than £400ish and something that has the capacity to upgrade although I realise that none of this will last forever.

Thanks

With a laptop you generally have very little ability for upgrading, so you probably want an adequate system for your expected needs when you buy it.

Web site DMXDimension have a link to the sort of system you might consider:
http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/inspiron-15-deals-codes-coupons/

See the 5th item down (£379):

Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4200 2.0GHz
> fairly quick without being too expensive

Vista Home Premium (with Windows 7 ugrade offer)
> operating system as required

15.6" Widescreen WXGA CCFL (1366 x 768) TFT
> a smaller screen would be more portable, a bigger screen nicer to work with at a desk

3072MB RAM
> aka 3 GB RAM, you probably need at least 2 GB RAM

320GB Hard Disk
> bigger is always better but prices start going up quickly

Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD
> good for office applications, weak for gaming even with this screen size

DVD Writer
> for disks, a writer is essential for backups if this is your only pc

No carrying case is included

There are of course other suppliers and by shopping around you might find a better deal.

Also consider the size and weight of your laptop - a laptop with a 17" screen is nice to use on a desk, but heavy, whereas a netbook with a 13" screen is portable but not so nice to use.

AHAR

Generally speaking, the processor cores in the current range of Intel processors used in laptops are the same- Celeron Dual Core, Pentium Dual Core & Core 2 Duo. Apart from speed, they differ in the amount of cache memory they have and how quickly they can communicate with the RAM - known as FSB speed. There are single-core Celerons still out there which I'd avoid.
More cache memory allows the processor to hold more data and program instructions 'close-at-hand' which can save it from having to fetch them from the main memory which is relatively much slower. When the processor does need to read and write to the RAM a higher FSB (Front Side Bus) allows it to achieve this more quickly. More cache and a higher FSB improves performance by a varying amount depending on the software you're using, but won't be able to compensate for a large difference in clock speed.

Towards the top end of the range, processor prices increase more steeply than their performance.

jweb2k

prowla wrote: »

Eh?

(It's like saying AWD is better than 4-wheel drive; one is just a brand name for the generic term.)

You were missing the point. Many stores seem to advertise a "Dual core processor", when they actually mean first generation dual core, rather than the Core 2 Duo. So as others have mentioned, you'll be getting a processor Intel no longer makes.

While the "Core 2 Duo" sign isn't a sure measure of up-to-date-ness, you're on a better starting point than "a dual core processor"!!

almillar

No JWeb, you simply don't buy the computer without digging deeper than 'dual core processor'. In your example, yes, it could be an old Intel, which would likely be worse than a Core 2 Duo. At the same time, it could be a far faster AMD.
Dual core laptop isn't really a spec. Just like 4 wheeled car doesn't tell you much.

DCodd

almillar wrote: »

No JWeb, you simply don't buy the computer without digging deeper than 'dual core processor'. In your example, yes, it could be an old Intel, which would likely be worse than a Core 2 Duo. At the same time, it could be a far faster AMD.
Dual core laptop isn't really a spec. Just like 4 wheeled car doesn't tell you much.

To be fair to JWeb, I think they were just refering to Intel processors and the fact that Core 2 is the newer dual core technology in the Intel range.

familyfitz

Jumpin onto this thread - I think I'm understanding but how do I know if this machine
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRS15451&l=en&m_30=136643&oc=N0054505&rbc=N0054505&s=dhs

has a newer processor than this machine

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRS15454&l=en&m_30=136643&oc=N0054508&rbc=N0054508&s=dhs


. My understanding being to be careful that you aren't buying a core2duo machine that is in fact older than a dual core.

Also, I think I have this right that the 2MB cache of the latter will make it quicker but will it make much difference for the following

Wanting two different laptops
1. Use by adult for word processing, data management (Excel etc), internet, basic gaming (if at all)
2. Use by daughters for above but probably more extenisve use as they move through high school and possibly better gaming (can imagine we get into SIMS etc), playing and storing music, watching dvds, bluetooth etc added.

Much appreciated if you can comment on processor, cache and suitablility of laptop.
TIA

davester

whats the intel 7i processor then?

isofa

Intel are rebadging everything to: Core i3, i5 and i7. Roughly: i3 is entry level, i5 mid-range, i7 top end. This terminology will replace Centrino, core/duo etc. to make things easier for consumers...