Please help : Choice of Processors

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Hi all,

I know that this is not the right groups to ask this question. But couldn't
resist because of the quality of experts around here. Apologies for
inconvenience.

I am planning to buy a new Dell laptop in a couple of days. I have a chioce
between these two processors:

1) Intel Pentium®M Processor 745(1.80 GHz/2MB L2/400MHz FSB)
2) Intel Pentium®M Processor 755(2 GHz/2MB L2/ 400MHz FSB)

Other things remaining the same, the first option will save me 200$. Do you
think that it is worth paying 200$ extra for the extra bit of clock speed? I
am buying my laptop for studies. I'll have it do complex tasks on large
survey datasets (sometimes as big as 250 MB) using mathematical/statistical
software. The laptop will have a 1GB DDR SDRAM (2 DIMM).

Please reply with your suggestions as soon as possible. Thanks

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Although the measurable difference between the two processors is negligible,
you are bound to receive multiple conflicting opinions.

Given that the real, measurable bottleneck for modern computers is the Hard
Disk Input/Output, I would go with the 1.8GHz processor and spend the extra
money on another Gig of RAM. That way you can be sure that your processor
will always be able to cache intermediate statistical calculations in memory
rather than going through the laborious processes of swapping out to hard
disk and back again.

steve


"Arindam" <Arindam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7D4C82A1-B169-4806-AA03-6A8D71FB1ED7@microsoft.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I know that this is not the right groups to ask this question. But
> couldn't
> resist because of the quality of experts around here. Apologies for
> inconvenience.
>
> I am planning to buy a new Dell laptop in a couple of days. I have a
> chioce
> between these two processors:
>
> 1) Intel Pentium®M Processor 745(1.80 GHz/2MB L2/400MHz FSB)
> 2) Intel Pentium®M Processor 755(2 GHz/2MB L2/ 400MHz FSB)
>
> Other things remaining the same, the first option will save me 200$. Do
> you
> think that it is worth paying 200$ extra for the extra bit of clock speed?
> I
> am buying my laptop for studies. I'll have it do complex tasks on large
> survey datasets (sometimes as big as 250 MB) using
> mathematical/statistical
> software. The laptop will have a 1GB DDR SDRAM (2 DIMM).
>
> Please reply with your suggestions as soon as possible. Thanks
>

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Arindam" <Arindam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7D4C82A1-B169-4806-AA03-6A8D71FB1ED7@microsoft.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I know that this is not the right groups to ask this question. But
> couldn't
> resist because of the quality of experts around here. Apologies for
> inconvenience.
>
> I am planning to buy a new Dell laptop in a couple of days. I have a
> chioce
> between these two processors:
>
> 1) Intel Pentium®M Processor 745(1.80 GHz/2MB L2/400MHz FSB)
> 2) Intel Pentium®M Processor 755(2 GHz/2MB L2/ 400MHz FSB)
>
> Other things remaining the same, the first option will save me 200$. Do
> you
> think that it is worth paying 200$ extra for the extra bit of clock speed?
> I
> am buying my laptop for studies. I'll have it do complex tasks on large
> survey datasets (sometimes as big as 250 MB) using
> mathematical/statistical
> software. The laptop will have a 1GB DDR SDRAM (2 DIMM).
>
> Please reply with your suggestions as soon as possible. Thanks
>

OK, rather than the 'save money' approach offered in the others get a bit
more analytical about your question.

How long does calculation of your datasets take with your current processor?
What processor is it?

Once you know this write an email to support of the company that produced
your software and tell them. Give them the specifications of the new
processors and ask them how much difference they would expect (with no
obligation on there part) the two processors to make.

Once you have an idea of that difference may be you can judge if you think
any time saving is worth the $$$.

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

> Hi all,
>
> I know that this is not the right groups to ask this question. But couldn't
> resist because of the quality of experts around here. Apologies for
> inconvenience.
>
> I am planning to buy a new Dell laptop in a couple of days. I have a choice
> between these two processors:
>
> 1) Intel Pentium®M Processor 745(1.80 GHz/2MB L2/400MHz FSB)
> 2) Intel Pentium®M Processor 755(2 GHz/2MB L2/ 400MHz FSB)
>
> Other things remaining the same, the first option will save me 200$. Do you
> think that it is worth paying 200$ extra for the extra bit of clock speed? I
> am buying my laptop for studies. I'll have it do complex tasks on large
> survey datasets (sometimes as big as 250 MB) using mathematical/statistical
> software. The laptop will have a 1GB DDR SDRAM (2 DIMM).
>
> Please reply with your suggestions as soon as possible. Thanks

With a full gig of RAM, the slower CPU speed will not make a
noticeable difference. Plus, the slower processor will be less
battery hungry, and will run slightly cooler.