What is the deal with these laptop processors? (1 Viewer)

[EricDeB]

I'm in the process of buying a laptop and I am very confused about the differences between all of these processors. What I have seen so far:

Intel Celeron
Intel Pentium M Centrino
Intel Pentium M
Intel Centrino
Intel Pentium 4
Intel Pentium 4 Mobile

What is the difference here?! I'm going crazy. I mean I see one laptop that has like a Pentium 4 3.2 ghz and I think that has to be the best, but on the more powerful models they have Pentium M 1.6 ghz?? Can someone explain this to me. I'm looking to get a laptop more on the lines of a desktop replacement as I am kind of a power junky. Which processor should I be looking for?

Thanks for clearing up this mess
Eric

 

[Christ Reynolds]

intel celeron - forget this, unless you want to spend the absolute minimum amount of money

intel pentium 4 /intel pentium 4 mobile - fast processors, but the battery life is not great.

all the rest - they all describe the same thing. "centrino" is not a processor, but a collection of technologies. if you get a pentium M processor, an intel pro wireless adapter, and either the intel 915 or the intel 855 chipset, then you have centrino technology. it's not really important, but if you get it, it's usually a good sign you have an efficient and light laptop.

the one you want is the pentium M processor. ignore the GHz ratings, unless you are comparing within processor families. for example, the pentium 4 3.0 GHz is slower than the pentium M 770 (2.0 GHz) chip. doesnt make much logical sense, but it's true. you can't really compare GHz to GHz anymore, unless you are comparing different variations of the same type of chip.

CJ

 

[Scott L]

Nice post Christ. Is Intel ever going to use that fancy Pentium M tech in their desktop processors?

 

[Christ Reynolds]

actually, you can buy motherboards that support it right now. there are quite a few benchmarks of it. in fact, much unless you follow this sort of thing, it may come as a surprise to hear that NONE of intel's future processors are built upon the pentium 4's architecture, but the pentium M. it's a great processor, and not just for notebooks. i've been sort of an amd fan for a long time, but i'm in the process of buying my first ever notebook, and it's got the pentium M 760 processor in it. if the linux support is good, i'll be very happy with it!

CJ

 

[EricDeB]

Alright I'm going for the Pentium M thanks a ton!!

 

[Max Leung]

Pentium M is a good choice - I used my friend's Centrino notebook a while ago, and it was frickin' fast and cool running.