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Laptop Processors

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:confused:

Just a short question (i think)

When looking at PC and Laptop specifications i've always thought that for general performance the first things to look at are the processor and the RAM. Now here is my confusion, around a year and a half ago i bought a laptop with a Pentium 4 3.02Ghz processor and 512MB RAM, for just under £600, the rest of it was standard integrated graphics etc. At the same time all other laptops on the market in the same price range seemed to have processor speeds of between 1.2 and 1.6Ghz and RAM would be 256-512MB and again crappy integrated graphics and even the more expensive laptops i looked at (£1000+) would have the lower processors speeds, and similar RAM but would have decent graphics cards and the like

I guess what i'm asking is what is it that i am interpreting wrongly to have made me think my laptop was superior to these other ones, as the price definitely didn;t suggest it was?
Bought, not Brought

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  • geordie_joe
    geordie_joe Posts: 9,112 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Bamber19 wrote:
    :confused:

    Just a short question (i think)

    I guess what i'm asking is what is it that i am interpreting wrongly to have made me think my laptop was superior to these other ones, as the price definitely didn;t suggest it was?

    No superior, just different.

    Laptops all have different specs, for different jobs.

    The more "superior" features it has the more expensive it will be.

    One laptop may have "superior" graphics and a large HD, but to keep the cost down they have a slower cpu, maybe less ram.

    Another may have a faster cpu, more memory, but to keep the cost down it has crappy graphics. Maybe they leave out the network card/modem or some other feature too.

    All you can do is pick the model that has the features you need.
  • And don't be mislead by the processor speeds. The processors have a diifferent architecture to a 3ghz Pentium and work much more efficiently. A 1.8 ghz dual core processor will be as good or better than a 3ghz Pentium will require less power and less cooling. Therfore the battery lasts longer and you don't need a fan that sounds like a heliocopter taking off to keep it cool.
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