Newbie: Laptop vs. Desktop processor & memory

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

You have to compare apples to apples. A processor running at 2.0 Ghz
doesn't know if it's in a laptop or a desktop computer. A processor that is
designed to run in a laptop, like the Intel M series, can adjust it's speed
to suit the circumstances. Then there is the factor of Front Side Bus
speed. The faster, the better. So, don't try to compare a laptop with the
Intel M series of processor, designed to run in laptops, to one with a
conventional Pentium processor, designed to run in desktops, like the P4.
Or with a processor from AMD, which makes great processors, by the way!

I'm betting those $500 to $600 laptops have a Celeron processor in them.
Avoid them like the plague. Spend a little more money for any processor
other than the Celeron. Also do not buy a laptop with less than 512 MB of
RAM. And I would go with a dedicated video card, 64 MB at least.

"mhj" <mhj@w-link.net> wrote in message
news:1120554577.125252.140440@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> I'm going to be purchasing a laptop soon, and am confused about how
> much memory and processing power I'll need. I've read several
> comments here and on other websites that a laptop with the same specs
> as a desktop still runs slower.
>
> My current desktop is several years old and does everything I need it
> to do. Athlon 1.15 ghz chip, 512 meg memory, 40 gig hard drive (still
> only half full).
>
> I'm getting into web development, and can have Photoshop, Dreamweaver,
> a second HTML editor and several instances of IE running all at once
> with no problems on my desktop.
>
> There's a lot of new low-end notebooks for sale in the $500 - $600
> (USD) range right now. They all have at least the same memory and chip
> speed of my desktop, some a bit more. I'm inclined to get one of these,
> but I'm basing this on the assumption that these will run everything as
> well as the desktop currently does.
>
> Will a notebook with the same specs run as well as the desktop, or do I
> need a faster processor and more memory to achieve the same
> performance?
>
>
> Mark / Seattle
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Andrew, Kevin, thanks for the info. A question to clarify what you both
said:

Will a laptop with a 1.2 or 1.5 ghz chip (assuming it's the appropriate
chip) and 512 megs ram do roughly the same job my desktop (1.15 ghz AMD
chip, 512 megs ram) currently is doing?

Except for a bit of image manipulation associated with my web design
business, I'm mostly in the category of people who use a computer to
"...just web surf and do some MS Office stuff.", as mentioned below.

Mark / Seattle



Andrew wrote:
> Kevin <webman6@hotmail.com> wrote:
> : You have to compare apples to apples. A processor running at 2.0 Ghz
> : doesn't know if it's in a laptop or a desktop computer. A processor that is
> : designed to run in a laptop, like the Intel M series, can adjust it's speed
> : to suit the circumstances. Then there is the factor of Front Side Bus
> : speed. The faster, the better. So, don't try to compare a laptop with the
> : Intel M series of processor, designed to run in laptops, to one with a
> : conventional Pentium processor, designed to run in desktops, like the P4.
> : Or with a processor from AMD, which makes great processors, by the way!
>
> : I'm betting those $500 to $600 laptops have a Celeron processor in them.
> : Avoid them like the plague. Spend a little more money for any processor
> : other than the Celeron.
>
> Completely disagree. There is nothing wrong with a Celeron in a
> budget machine. I've been using a Celeron-based laptop (2GHZ Toshiba)
> for 2+ years with no problem. I also use a 2.4GHZ P4 desktop, so I do
> know the difference.
>
> When it comes to Pentium M (part of Centrino), the budget version,
> Celeron M, suffers a bit in performance but also, I'm told, in terms
> of battery life, because it lacks some of Pentium M's power-saving
> features. If you don't care about battery life and are willing
> to put up with slightly reduced performance so long as the price is
> right, a Celeron M-based laptop would be fine. For most people, who
> just web surf and do some MS Office stuff, a Celeron M has more
> performance than they need.
>
> Andrew
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