Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Centrino Confusion!

by chrisfelder Oct 22, 2004 5:48AM PDT

I'm shopping for a new laptop that I use mainly as a desktop since I don't travel much with it. I do lots of processor and memory-intensive high-resolution graphics but need the portability of a laptop. I'm reading so much about the Pentium M (looking at Dell 8600) and Intel M P-4 (as in dell 5160) but I can't seem make sense of it. Bottom line is I'm looking for the best processor. Power is important; batter life is NOT as important. What am I best with as far as these processors...any suggestions?

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
Re: Centrino Confusion!
by marccarvajal Oct 22, 2004 7:51AM PDT

first of all, if you intend to use a notebook for graphic designing, go for a Mac.

if you want to stay with a PC, go with P4 rather than Centrino. Centrino just makes notebooks more mobile (longer battery life, Wi-Fi, slimmer designs, etc). however, the rating for P4 and Centrino processing speeds are different because the processors are (essentially) 2 different processors (apples & oranges)... a Centrino processor is NOT a variation of a P4 processor. i read somewhere on CNET that a 1.4GHz Centrino processor is as fast as a 2.5GHz P4... hope this helps!

- Collapse -
Re: Centrino Confusion!
by KenSanramon Oct 23, 2004 11:40PM PDT

Among the Pentium 4M processor, the Athlon 64 processor (64bit) and the Pentium M (Centrino) processor the first to be phased out will likely be the Pentium 4 and 4M processors. Intel just cancelled the 4.0 ghz Pentium 4 and they have signaled they will no longer just keep releasing faster and hotter processors but rather focus on other improvements as Apple, AMD and the Intel Pentium M processor have already focused on.

You may be better off with an Athlon 64 based notebook (HP/Compaq both have one at hpshopping -- also see E-machines at Best Buy) for the future with 64bit (already used in Windows SP2 update) if you don't value the light weight and battery life of the Pentium M processor as I do with my Compaq X1000 series.

A Pentium 4M is a good choice for you now if maximum power (and no regard for weight, heat or future 64bit) is any priority but then don't spend over $1500 as in 2 short years when Microsoft Longhorn 64bit arrives (or even sooner when the new 64 bit 2 cpu chips are released -- possibly late next year) you will want to switch.

I am perfectly satisfied with my Pentium M Centrino for 2 years, I spend under $1500, and the power and battery life benefits will allow this notebook to be used in more situations later (where ultimate power is not the paramount issue).

- Collapse -
Re: Centrino Confusion!
by big dawg Nov 12, 2004 6:55AM PST

ok the 8600 uses a centrino bases processor and also uses a pc3200 type ram- so in other words
the centrino chips a low voltage cpu - which takes up less battery - but thier performance is so-so
the ram pc3200 is pretty good and far as mgz goes-
in other words the computer will perform better and for what you say you are intending to uses it for!
in conclusion ----
a centrino is a crappy cpu chip- and then dell puts a pc3200 bases ram in the laptop- which i dont get! makes no sense at all!- confuses me why they did that and that is such a nice laptop!

now a pc 5160-- which uses pentinum 4 chip which is fast but, kills the battery -(reminder all laptop batteries dont last that long) is a 10x better chip than the centrino!
it is better for what you are going to uses it for!
it uses a pc2700 type ram which is very sufficient for the this laptop!
it is expandale to 2gb of ram-so is the 8600 (the more ram the better the computer will run - if you decide to purchase more ram - buy the ram aftermarket-(in other words for your needs
go with over one gigabyte of memory!)
dell will include memory for the computer(and sometimes a free upgrade so take it-)

to sum it all up and i hope i answered your question

dell 5160- with the better graphics card!
and upgrade after market(the ram)-
and dont forget to include a extra battery
- worth it-


if you have the extra money buy the dvd burner
you will have the complete package
its like having the desktop in your hand


p.s_i have a 5160 with 2gb memory and it is fast!
(i looked into the 8600 but a performance and price-i think the 5160 has it beat by far!)

- Collapse -
Re: Centrino Confusion!
by KenSanramon Nov 13, 2004 5:45PM PST

and when 64bit appears big dawg will be dropping his Pentium 4M (Intel discontinued further mhz upgrades for the Pentium 4M already) for a 64bit 2 cpu chip from AMD or Intel (at this point no one knows the progress of either but AMD showed a prototype already and continues to make inroads.

The Pentium M (Centrino) is 32 bit as well as the Pentium 4M but it has the best weight, thickness and performance for a mainstream notebook where portability is a paramount factor - a desktop replacement is fine for many but that is not a notebook -- that is a one piece unit with the LCD and keyboard and cpu all in 1 piece but still essentially confined to A/C use plugged in for all but short (2 hours or less) intervals and huge relative power use (these have to use at least 12 cell batteries even to get 2 hours -- Pentium M's using 8 cell batteries get 3.5-5 hours battery life.

The Athlon 64 of course if the only current cpu with the future of 64bit benefits built in and it is still heavier and uses more battery life than the Pentium 4M.

The reason the person above cannot compare the Athlon 64 to the Dell 8600 (Centrino) or Dell Pentium 4M's is Dell at this point in time refuses to sell any AMD notebook products !!!!!!!!

That may change soon if AMD comes out with a superior chip to Intel and Dell has no choice but to sell what the customer wants.

In fact, AMD is preparing to release a low voltage version of the Athlon 64 (still 1 cpu not 2 yet -- wait for that later) that will allow better battery life and thinner/lighter designs that will give the Intel Pentium M a run for it money (as that is 32 bit).

Since I spent under $1500 I will get 2-3 years productive use from my Pentium M system but I would get an Athlon 64 before I would get a Pentium 4M for anything other than a desktop replacement 17" LCD for gaming like the HPzd7000 and that is about 9 pounds before the A/C adaptor and over 12 pounds after.

Back to Laptops forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info