5720 - Multitasking?

What size of machine do you prefer? If you don't mind heft, I'd suggest the 9750 or something w/ some muscle. A lot of people here are going to scream bloody murder, but I disagree w/ most on here that the P-Ms are as powerful as the P4s. I've got one of each to work with and the P-M just cannot multi-task like my P4 can. Simple as that. Just. Cannot. Do. It. I'm sure there are plenty of satisfied 5720 owners on here that'll say that it performs great for them. That's fantastic. It just proves to me that I multitask more than they do- because I do see a difference. But hey- that's just me. For what you're asking, it sounds like you work like me, so that's why I suggested the V8 muscle car and not the compact sports car. Just my 1/2 cent worth

If you're into waiting, the dual-core bit (Duo Core) might be an option. Depends on what you want out of a machine, how much you're willing to pay and how long you're willing to wait for it. No matter how long you wait, there'll always be something better on the horizon.

I also suggest the dual-core, or at least a pentium with HT. I can notice the difference in multitasking between my P-M 2.0 and my Pentium IV with HT. Even thought the PM has 2 times more RAM, still it coughs when I have several different programs open at once.

yea, go anything with dual. When i used my 5720, i thought it was pretty fast, but it still had some lag like my old athlon 2400xp+. when i returned my 5720, i went ahead and bought a fast computer. the athlon 4400+ X2 is SERIOUSLY FAST, unbelievably faster than any P-M. at first i thought dual core was a gimmick, and i purchased it since i'd be future proofing my comp. But i was doing lots of small stuff [winamp, aim, firefox, open folders] while ripping a dvd and playing HL2 online w/ full gfx .... all at the same time w/ no lag.

It was nuts, i didnt even realize this was possible, so now im a believer and supporter of all the X2 hype.

So to answer your question, go dual core if you need the speed so all your applications do not lockup on you.

The problem is that windowsXP is not very good at smp. I still get a single process that can bring the machine down. In linux, multitasking is nearly perfect.

The real advantage in windows is using apps that support smp, like 3dsmax.

Hi!
If you are going to go dual core go with an amd machine.
You will not see much difference with the core duo, and you are still 32-bit. If you are going all out just go for an amd-x2 or fx60 machine.

--K1tty

ps... and run linux lol

No one will scream bloody murder . And no one can argue that the PM is as good as HT or dual core processors for multitasking . If that's what you do, get the 9750. I have a 5720 and, for what I use it for (office, gaming) it IS as good as machines with the amd or P4 processors. Look up the reviews and you'll see this is the case. Most games are heavily reliant on the video system, not processor.

A pentium M chip can multitask fairly decently, but its no match for any HT or Dual core machine. It'll be better than your old AMD machine. I notice some slowdown moving between Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks windows and it can get a little bit long. But its something that can be dealt with. But this slowdown would be less if I had HT or dual core.

Would imagine you'd see a difference. Your machine's only an 1800+? Only way I can imagine you wouldn't see a difference is if you had 32mb o' RAM installed in the new machine I've got a 3500+ for my desktop and it just kills me. Can't hardly stand to use the thing. Just so used to flying around w/ the 8790. When it works, it's a screaming machine. The Dell P-M 2.13 I'm using is definitely much faster than my AMD desktop.

On the Dell, right now I've got Firefox (35 tabs open), PTGui 5.1, ACDSee 8.0, 2 Explorer windows, Trillian, GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger, Trend Micro Internet Security and ZoneTick going. I can open ACDSee Photo Editor and make panoramic photos in PTGui w/ all that going with no problem. However, if I try and run and of the Macromedia suites, things start slowing down a bit. I can run Word fine, too, so for medium multi-tasking, the P-M is fine. Now, that amount might be a lot for some people, so that's why I figured that some of the P-M owners would disagree with me. I definitely can't keep all this going and run a game. Can you say, "Crawl?" With the 8790, I can alt+tab out of a game and continue on my way with the other things in the background. That's the difference from what I can see. If you don't plan on alt+tabbing out of a game to work on other things, the 5720'd be fine, I think.

Sorry, but that doesn't really make sense. The 3500+ is still a very good chip and windows will simply not be more responsive with the P-M chip. In fact, I bet the performances of those two chips are very similar. It's likely that your install of windows on the amd machine has seen better days or your running with too little ram.

I have a 3400+ running in linux (I only have one windows parition left out of all of my machines) and that machine absolutely screams. I do tons of multimedia and graphics work and it is just as responsive as my X2 4800+. Of course in linux you don't have spyware, virii or tons of useless services running... You may want to consider a reformat of winxp.

It's got a gig o' RAM, so that shouldn't be a bottleneck. I figured that it *should* fly when I got it. I haven't even had it a year. Installed XP Pro on it when I got it and haven't been impressed with it yet.

As much as I hate reformat/reinstalls, since you say that you've got a similar machine that cruises right along, I'll have to give it a whirl because mine definitely is a pig. Won't say it's as slow as my P3 700mhz Sony laptop, but it gives it a run for its money in the Make-Me-Grumpy Dept.