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Pentium 4 Processors vs. Centrino Pentium-M Processors

post #1 of 5
7/19/04 at 11:39am
Thread Starter 
I'm a not-very-tech-savy-girl whose looking to buy a laptop for University. I was wondering if the Toshiba M35S456 is a good one. I'm confused about the long term benefits of Pentium 4 processors and Centrino Pentium-M processors. I'm seeing that the RAM (or whatever makes a computer fast) for the Pentium-M's only goes to 1.7GHz and with a Pentium 4 you can get more. But I keep reading that the Centrino Pentium-M's are better in the long wrong because they keep the computer cool and don't drain battery. Although I will have mine plugged in the majority of the time since it is a desktop replacement and my main concern is saving space. I read on another website that you should always get a laptop with Mobile in the name and with the Pentium 4's like the Toshiba A75S226, it isn't there. If anyone could help me, that'd be great.Thanks!
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post #2 of 5
7/20/04 at 3:14am
the "whatever makes a computer go fast" that you mentioned is the CPU, and it does go only up to 1.7 GHz on the currently offered M35's. I like the M35 because it is widescreen and thin, which makes it more portable than others. If youre gonna use it as a desktop replacement you may not need the thinness, but if your taking it to the U once in a while it will come in handy.
I have heard some people say that to compare a pentium M to a pentium 4, multiply the pentium m by 1.4 or something, and you get the equivalent. There is some truth to that, but it depends a lot on the application youre using, so don't take that as fact.
The way I look at long term benefits of laptops is like this: in two years, what's gonna make me stick with my current two year old laptop? It will be slow compared to newer models, that can't be avoided no matter what you buy. So I will buy something light with decent battery life, so that in two years I don't have to ask myself "why am I carrying this brick around if it's so slow anyways?". In general the lighter ones with longer battery life happen to be the centrinos, so that's what I will get soon.

Wow, what a rant, I should stop.

Saa|3
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post #3 of 5
7/20/04 at 3:31am
The Toshiba M35 is a good machine, of what I saw and used of it at BB, looks very nice. Don't be fooled by the low processor speed of the pentium M. as stated above just take your speed of the Toshiba, so 1.7 or whatever it may be and multiply it by 1.5( I use this but some people use less than this some more so this is the middle) and you get 2.55. So 1.7 PM ~ 2.55 P4 give or take. Of course there are many factors, but this is a rough estimate to how fast it will be. Hope these comments help.
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post #4 of 5
8/17/04 at 11:36pm
I'm thinking of buying the M30. I had the same questions about what is the diff. between the Pentium4M and the PentiumM. Centrino actual encompasses a suite of requirements (not just the CPU): PentiumM CPU, chipset (can't remember the code), and wireless card... mabye some other requirements... so you're guaranteed level of quality in the motherboard chipset, and not just the CPU, if it has that Centrino sticker. Anyway, the article is on Tom's Hardware guide online.

So here's what I found out: the P4 mobile is the older model. The Centrino is newer. The Centrino has lower clock speeds (which is what detered me from buying it originally) however in the benchmarks it runs good. (different chip architecture... it's a banzai chip I think... this is already replaced by the new Dothan chip... but that's gonna cost a bundle)

Also, your question of RAM... 1.7GB is huge for RAM. 512MB is fine. No problem...

I think you're wrong about the CPU running cool. I heard this model Toshiba runs HOT. But the battery life sounds good. My AMD 64 laptop runs for 2 hours, this Toshiba is supposed to run for 3.5 hours... thanks to the Centrino.
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post #5 of 5
8/20/04 at 2:44pm
I Think The Centrino Will Be A Better Choise For A Notebook. The Clockspeed Is Lower, But The Performance Is Better, As Chris Already Said.

Take A Look At This: http://www.intel.com/products/benchm...eexp/print.htm
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