Buying a New Laptop: your advice?

[maroon1]

Originally Posted by vegojimbo

guys, i saw 2 laptops and one was Dual Core and the other Core2Duo.
which one is better? the DUal core (4Mb) ot the Core2duo? or is it just the same?

My friend there is no CPU called Dual core.

There is "core duo" and "core 2 duo", and they are both dual core processors

core 2 duo is the latest processor made by intel and it is the fastest

[vegojimbo]

Originally Posted by maroon1

My friend there is no CPU called Dual core.

There is "core duo" and "core 2 duo", and they are both dual core processors

core 2 duo is the latest processor made by intel and it is the fastest

look man i'm actually not talking about laptops but desktop PCs


here's a Pc spec:
-CPU: 3.4 Dual Core 4 MB Intel
...
...
...

her's another desktop PC:
-CPU: 1.86 Core2Duo 4mb Intel
...
...
...

now what's the difference?

these 2 are offers by a computer store.

[maroon1]

Ok, the first one is called Pentium D and it is only available in desktops. Pentium D is a dual core CPU

Core 2 duo 1.86Ghz will perform much better than Pentium D 3.4Ghz

And by the way Core 2 duo 1.86GHz has 2MB cache, not 4MB

[maroon1]

Ok I'll explain why core 2 duo at low clock speed is faster than Pentium D at high clock speed

Pentium D (Pentium dual core)
3 execution units
31 stage pipeline


Intel core 2 duo
4 execution units
14 stage pipeline

Execution Units: The number of execution units basically determines how many things a processor can do at once:

Pipeline: The length of the pipeline determines how long it is before an instruction is processed completely and the processors "decision" or output is finalised.

As you see the Pentium D has 31-stage pipeline. This means that it takes the Pentium D 31 clock cycles to complete a single instruction before it can start another.

The core 2 duo on the other hand has a short 14 stage pipeline and will process more than 2 instructions on each execution unit in the time it takes the Pentium D to do one single instruction on each unit.

Also, the core 2 duo has more execution units which mean that it can do more things than Pentium D at once.

Thats why Core 2 duo at 1.86GHz is faster than Pentium D at 3.4GHz

[vegojimbo]

Originally Posted by maroon1

And by the way Core 2 duo 1.86GHz has 2MB cache, not 4MB

well, i asked the computer store and they said it is 2*2 Mb cash meaning 4 MB not 2 like u said. (CPU: 1.86 C2D 2*2 Mb)

once again, not my opinion, bc i don't know a thing about it but it's the PC store who said it.

[maroon1]

The computer store that you asked are stupid and they don't know anything about computers.

The core 2 duo use a shared cache memory, so this means if core 2 duo has 2MB, it will be shared to the two cores. If it has 4MB it will be shared to the two cores.

Any way, in desktops the ones that are clocked at 1.86Ghz don't have 4MB cache.

core 2 duo E6300 has 2MB cache
Core 2 duo E6400 has 2MB cache
core 2 duo E6600 (and higher) has 4MB cache

The E6300 is clocked at 1.86GHz and it has 2MB cache. So, if the core 2 duo that you are getting is 1.86Ghz then it must be E6300 which has only 2MB cache.

The E6600, E6700 and EX6800 have 4MB cache. E6600 is clocked at 2.4GHz. So, this mean that the ones that have 4MB must have a clock speed of minimum of 2.4GHz (in desktops)

[vegojimbo]

If i want to get the E6600(2.4 GHz, 4 Mb cache), how much does it cost?
and does it need specific motherboards? will it work on the Intel 946?

[maroon1]

Core 2 duo will work with motherboards like Intel 965 and 975X, but I'm not sure about Intel 946

The price of E6600 is about $300 in Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

These are the prices in USA, so it might be much more expensive in Lebanon

[Superman]

Originally Posted by Osiris

Guys,

U want to get a laptop.. I need your advice here.
I want to pay around 1500 USD.

I heard about many different brands:

Acer: I read bad reviews about this one.

Fujitsu-siemens: excellent specifications with a good cheap price. Is this brand good ?? Anyone using it ??

Sony Vaio and Toshiba: Very good, but so expensive.

Compaq-HP and DELL: what do you think?



Thanks a lot !

My advise to u is go for HP without even thinking twice.

Toshiba have problems in the batteries, Vaio fiyon defauts and I bet u heard about their clash in the market, DELL bi wajji3lak rassak... HP is the best so far!

U have the new model and it'll cost u $1540...

Specs are:
-Core Duo2 1.83 GHz
-4 Mb cache
-HDD 100GB
-Ram 1GB DDR2
-15.4 TruBright Screen
-VGA Nvidia G-Force 7200 256 Mb Turbo Cache
-Wi-Fi
-DVD-RW Lightscribe
-Bluetooth, MMC
-Web Cam integrated 1.3 Mega pixels
-Remote Control
-3 years warranty

It's one awesome Laptop u'll be having...

[Coldplayer]

I am thinking of buying a laptop.
However i need some help by professionals and those who understand about its technology.
Well, what is the difference btw very small laptops and big laptops... other than their size and weight... do they have different specifications?
Does the brand differ a lot if 2 computers have the same specifications but with different brand (toshoba, vaio, hp, acer...) which one do u recommend.?
As i have noticed in my research, each laptop has a code... if i take this code and tell my friend from dubai (for instance) to buy this laptop with that code... will it have the same specifications as stated under that code? can i trust pc shops on that?
What else to consider when buying laptops?
THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE !!!