thinking of a lappy but

Ice_2

thinking of getting lappy but what does this mean...intel core 2 duo T7300-2GHz(2x) 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 cache....does this mean its actually 4 GHz I don't know I don't understand core 2 duo always had a desktop you see laptop world is new to me....help I have £499 to spend on a good lappy...:)

d123

core 2 duo doesn't mean 4ghz, it just means it has 2 2ghz processors, and for some programs it can use both processors to speed up use. In general use it probably equates to faster than a normal 2ghz processor, but only by about 20% or so.

£499 will buy you a pretty highly specified laptop.

BillScarab

What d123 said except that the Core 2 Duo processors are a very efficient design and even if you ar eonly using one core it will be faster than an older 2 Ghz processor. You can't really compare the speed of different families of processors as they have different architecture.

BTW beware of any seller, typically on ebay, who advertises a 2 Ghz dual core cpu as being 4 Ghz or a quad core as 8 Ghz. They either don't know what they're on about or they're scam merchants.

jje_2

Lappys generally lower spec than desktop machines . Lower graphics card smaller hard drive smaller screen . Less able to play the very latest games and less able to work on processor intensive tasks . Plus relatively more expensive than a desktop . However all this is offset by the convenience of a portable computer .Bring it with you anywhere and you have a working machine .Internet connection via wireless all over the place and some of its even free .For the majority of computer users who email surf the web write a few docs and make a few little changes to their pictures a laptop makes more sense . However bear in mind that they are easier to steal more expensive to repair and easier to damage and with limited upgrade compared to a desktop.
Its the old story of knowing what you want to do with the machine and therefore what sort of spec coupled with budget .
Basically with processor speed what has happened is that the limit has been reached for single speed couple that with shrinking of cpu dies the industry is moving to multiple cores as a way of getting more work out of the same space .
Dual core gives rough 20% increase in speed plus those programs that are written for dual core are faster . The main benefit you will see is that the machine is less likely to freeze when trying to do more than one task .
jje

Ben_Doone

Ice wrote: »

thinking of getting lappy but what does this mean...intel core 2 duo T7300-2GHz(2x) 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 cache....does this mean its actually 4 GHz I don't know I don't understand core 2 duo always had a desktop you see laptop world is new to me....help I have £499 to spend on a good lappy...:)

I bet you end up with a 15.4 Widescreen and a dodgy touchpad.

Best getting a mini mouse .. or a full size mouse .. or a real mouse if you is that way inclined.