Can anyone explain processor speeds for me?
29 December 2007, 11:27 AM
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Can anyone explain processor speeds for me?
At the moment i have a Mesh laptop with AMD Athlon 64 3400 2GHz 960MB RAM.
The back of the screen at the hinges have been cracking for a while now and together with the unit being about 3-4 years old now, i'm considering getting another laptop at the ready.
Trouble is, i don't want to down grade to a slower unit and with these dual core processors and never having owned a system without an Athlon processor in it, i'm unsure what way to go.
I really only use the lappy for internet browsing, but i will always future-proof a bit, especially as i do download films no and again and upload a lot of large picture files.
One other thing i was unsure of, is this Vista program.....i've used a couple friends laptops and with Vista on it, i found they were kind of slow. I never found out if it's the sheer size of the program or some thing else. Certainly the processors in these lappys weren't 3400, but they weren't Athlon units, so i couldn't work out the problem.
Can anyone help me out a bit?
The back of the screen at the hinges have been cracking for a while now and together with the unit being about 3-4 years old now, i'm considering getting another laptop at the ready.
Trouble is, i don't want to down grade to a slower unit and with these dual core processors and never having owned a system without an Athlon processor in it, i'm unsure what way to go.
I really only use the lappy for internet browsing, but i will always future-proof a bit, especially as i do download films no and again and upload a lot of large picture files.
One other thing i was unsure of, is this Vista program.....i've used a couple friends laptops and with Vista on it, i found they were kind of slow. I never found out if it's the sheer size of the program or some thing else. Certainly the processors in these lappys weren't 3400, but they weren't Athlon units, so i couldn't work out the problem.
Can anyone help me out a bit?
29 December 2007, 11:42 AM
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AMD always named theirs at the equivalent speed of an Intel i.e. my dual core 3800+ actually has a stock clockspeed of 2000mhz.
You cant really compare dual core with single core in terms of outright clockspeed as your essentially running two processors.
The problem is at the moment AMD are nowhere near Intel in either dual core or quad cores stakes purely in terms of bangs for buck. I dont know much about laptops tbh but in the desktop world there is only one choice currently and thats Intels Quad Core Q6600 which runs at 2400mhz but obviously your running 4 processors (thats stock but many people are overclocking them to 3.6 and even 4.0ghz+)
So Id say that whatever laptop you pick go for an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU with as high clockspeed as you can afford as its very difficult to upgrade laptops at a later date.
As for Vista it really needs 2gb memory to run - preferably more although 32bit version only supports around 3-3.25gb so if you want to use more you need 64bit.
Simon
Simon
You cant really compare dual core with single core in terms of outright clockspeed as your essentially running two processors.
The problem is at the moment AMD are nowhere near Intel in either dual core or quad cores stakes purely in terms of bangs for buck. I dont know much about laptops tbh but in the desktop world there is only one choice currently and thats Intels Quad Core Q6600 which runs at 2400mhz but obviously your running 4 processors (thats stock but many people are overclocking them to 3.6 and even 4.0ghz+)
So Id say that whatever laptop you pick go for an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU with as high clockspeed as you can afford as its very difficult to upgrade laptops at a later date.
As for Vista it really needs 2gb memory to run - preferably more although 32bit version only supports around 3-3.25gb so if you want to use more you need 64bit.
Simon
Simon
29 December 2007, 12:28 PM
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Thanks Simon.
Couple more questions then if you could answer them?
If you had a Intel equipped unit that ran 1.86GHz and another one with the same GHz, but a dual core, would the dual core be twice as fast as the first one?
I see some places don't tell you the processor speed, but give you a T rating. IE T2750 or similar. How do you tell what speed it truely is?
Couple more questions then if you could answer them?
If you had a Intel equipped unit that ran 1.86GHz and another one with the same GHz, but a dual core, would the dual core be twice as fast as the first one?
I see some places don't tell you the processor speed, but give you a T rating. IE T2750 or similar. How do you tell what speed it truely is?
29 December 2007, 12:44 PM
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Thanks Simon.
Couple more questions then if you could answer them?
If you had a Intel equipped unit that ran 1.86GHz and another one with the same GHz, but a dual core, would the dual core be twice as fast as the first one?
I see some places don't tell you the processor speed, but give you a T rating. IE T2750 or similar. How do you tell what speed it truely is?
Couple more questions then if you could answer them?
If you had a Intel equipped unit that ran 1.86GHz and another one with the same GHz, but a dual core, would the dual core be twice as fast as the first one?
I see some places don't tell you the processor speed, but give you a T rating. IE T2750 or similar. How do you tell what speed it truely is?
Newer apps and games are being written to use dual and quad core more efficiently so you will start to see better and better performance from your cpu.
Intel have a model number for each of their cpu's like the Q6600 I described earlier. The T2750 you refer to - I think you mean T7250 which runs at 2.0ghz. See here for a list:
Components » Processors » Intel Core 2 Mobile - Overclockers UK
Also when comparing cpu's of same speed check the amount of cache as one may have more hence the price difference. More cache is better.
Simon
29 December 2007, 12:48 PM
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Not so much info but usefull benchmarks on here:
Mobile CPU Charts | Tom's Hardware
Real world stuff too, not just a number from a benchmark prog.
Speed will also depend how the OS and application uses the cpu's, if it's not been written to take advantage, you'll see very little difference.
Mobile CPU Charts | Tom's Hardware
Real world stuff too, not just a number from a benchmark prog.
Speed will also depend how the OS and application uses the cpu's, if it's not been written to take advantage, you'll see very little difference.
29 December 2007, 12:55 PM
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Yer, when i download films the lappy slows to a snails pace, so that's where the dual core comes into play?
The processor is definately the first thing to get right though when looking for performance? After that, whats next? You mention cache, but what is that exactly? More memory helps the speed also does it not?
Having a brief look at the usual places, there seems to be very little laptops with over 1.8GHz. I was thinking there would be quite a few to choose from, but it still looks like you have to go to a builder of laptops like my current one?
The processor is definately the first thing to get right though when looking for performance? After that, whats next? You mention cache, but what is that exactly? More memory helps the speed also does it not?
Having a brief look at the usual places, there seems to be very little laptops with over 1.8GHz. I was thinking there would be quite a few to choose from, but it still looks like you have to go to a builder of laptops like my current one?
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29 December 2007, 01:41 PM
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i cant understand why your laptop should slow down when downloading large files?
it runs a hell of a lot faster then mine and i still get by with my 800mhz thinkpad
if mines running on batteries it drops down to 350mhz to save power
it runs a hell of a lot faster then mine and i still get by with my 800mhz thinkpad
if mines running on batteries it drops down to 350mhz to save power
29 December 2007, 07:35 PM
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Yer, when i download films the lappy slows to a snails pace, so that's where the dual core comes into play?
The processor is definately the first thing to get right though when looking for performance? After that, whats next? You mention cache, but what is that exactly? More memory helps the speed also does it not?
Having a brief look at the usual places, there seems to be very little laptops with over 1.8GHz. I was thinking there would be quite a few to choose from, but it still looks like you have to go to a builder of laptops like my current one?
The processor is definately the first thing to get right though when looking for performance? After that, whats next? You mention cache, but what is that exactly? More memory helps the speed also does it not?
Having a brief look at the usual places, there seems to be very little laptops with over 1.8GHz. I was thinking there would be quite a few to choose from, but it still looks like you have to go to a builder of laptops like my current one?
So, a dual core CPU *may* help in this case! Basically get the fastest Intel 'Core 2 Duo' you can afford and check things like the L2 cache size. The links above should point you at which Intel CPU versions have the larger cache size for the same speed rating. Places like PCWorld often have cheaper prices as they use CPUs with lower cache sizes (thus are cheaper). And get at least 1GB main memory. Also watch with PCW for 'Core Duo' (as opposed to Core 2 Duo!) in their products. Dual core but old technology.
As for Vista - I'd personally stick with XP for a while. The *general* consensus says Vista has some 'bedding in' to do ......
Dave - ex-Intel who never did understand their ridiculous naming convention!
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