I am buying a new Laptop, and I don't know the different between Pentium M processor, Centrino, P4. Which one do you think is a good buy? Everthing is the same except for the CPU and Monitor.

Inspiron 5100: Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.4GHz,15.0 XGA Price: $1,277.00
OR
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.66GHz,15.0 XGA Price: $1,327.00
OR
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.4GHz,15.0 SXGA+ $1,377
OR
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.66GHz,15.0 SXGA+ $1,427


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m processor and the p4 are very close in performance, the main difference is the battery usage. The Centrino is a setup of parts used in the laptop itself, so that it gets the best battery life that it possible can. Also the Centrino need less mhz to be equal to the p4 or the m-p4 and it has a better battery life.

<font color=blue>"You know, that my backstab attack does double the damage. I can make an off button for him." </font color=blue>

Isn't the Pentium M the Centrino? I mean, the mobile Pentium 4 is called the P4-M...notice the 4 in the name, which leaves the Pentium M and Centrino...aren't those the same?

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

You are correct.

<font color=blue>"You know, that my backstab attack does double the damage. I can make an off button for him." </font color=blue>

centrino is the marketing name for Pentium M.
Pentium 4M is the gaming mobile CPU of intel.

<font color=red>If your nose <b>RUNS</b>, and feet <b>SMELL</b>.
Then you must be born <b>UPSIDE DOWN</b>.</font color=red>

One way to confuse they heck out of everyone.

Wait thats what Amd is doing with all their new A64's

Actually there is a small difference. Pentium M is the new processor from Intel, which was specifically designed for notebooks and offers the same performance as a 50% higher clocked Pentium 4. Centrino on the other hand, is just a name for a laptop that has the Pentium M processor, the 855 chipset (specifically designed for the Pentium M processor), and some wireless adapter by Intel. If a laptop does not have all three, then it can't be called a Centrino. Since the 855 is the only one available chipset for this CPU then you always see them on a laptop featuring the Pentium M CPU. On the other hand, some companies choose not to include Intel's wireless adapter and use an adapter from another company. In that case they can't call their laptop a Centrino.

I hope this clears things up

kinda repeating what pitsi said but to sum it up
p4 is the desktop processor that caan be found in laptops

p4m is a low-voltage p4 but still uses alot of power

pentium M (mobile)(centrino)is a differently designed core, that runs at lower clock speeds but preforms better per mhz. It has a much longer battery life and usually tends to be found in the smaller lighter (more expensive) laptops

AMD does not have anything equilavent the the pentium moble, all they do is under volt their processors like the p4m's
hope that is clear

what are you planning on using this for? get a p4 or p4m if it is going to be pluged in most of the time, but if you need to travle or take it to alot of classes I'd go centrino, but for gaming the p4 or p4m would be better

P4 = Desktop Pentium 4

Mobile Pentium 4 = Desktop P4 with SpeedStep

P4-M = Lower voltage Moblie P4

Pentium M = A mobile, lower voltage, P-III with many architectural features of the Pentium 4. Has 1024 cache. Currently the best performing mobile processor. As said previously, part of the Centrino packaging.

There's also a P-III LV (ULV), but power users don't want those.

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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by dwellman on 09/15/03 12:07 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

Centrino will get you a wild 4 hours of mobile use, sometimes more, it that's important for you...

Roses are <font color=red>red</font color=red>, violets are <font color=blue>blue</font color=blue>, post something stupid and I won't reply to you!

I thought there were three cpu options for intel laptops
1) p4 desktop cpu up to 3gig
2) p4m with battery saving features, a converted p4 desktop.
3) centrino/banias, banias being the chip designed from the ground up for laptops, while the p4m's were just conversions of th p4 desktop, the centrio part just meaning the other three specifications being met,like wireless, etc.
The fastest centrino you can get is 1.7, while the fastest p4m is 2.6. What am I missing here? Isn't the p4m a different processor than the centrino? If not then why can't you get a faster centrino than 1.7?

everything makes sense up to the last part, centrino is the general name assosiated with the pentium moble,
the pentium moble is a different chip then the p4 or p4m.
the p4 and p4m are the same chip (basically) while the pentium mobile is a differently design core specificaly for laptops make sense?
(even though the pentuium mobils are 1.7ghz they preform much better then a p4 1.7ghz would because it's a different core)

No, from Intel, there are actually 4-- 5 if one includes the desktop P4 (and not including Celeron), however, the Mobile Pentium 4 is being phased out, if it hasn't already, in favor of the much more appropriate P4-M-- just like Mobile Athlon is also being eliminated in favour of the Athlon XP-M series.

The performance conscious buyer would consider the Pentium M (almost always part of Centrino system) or the XP-M (which would be even better if laptop integrators chose to give AMD based boards discrete graphics)

Budget conscious buyers should look to P4 (or Mobile P4), Mobile P-III (not the new LV or ULV), or XP-M.

Avoid Celeron and Crusoe at all cost.


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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b>

Mobile Pentium 4 is different than P4-M?