Thursday, January 13, 2005
4 tips for getting the laptop you need
This article offers an overall explanation of the right chipsets for a new laptop. Here's a short synopsis:
Pentium III-M: This is an older chip, based on an obsolete desktop chip. It's workable, but there are better choices.
Pentium 4: This is a desktop chip. It's powerful and power-hungry. You won't get much more than two hours on your battery. These run hot, so the laptops have to be big for cooling.
Pentium 4-M: These are less powerful than their desktop brothers. But they are better with batteries, and the computers are not as heavy.
Pentium M: These run slower than the 4's, but they're just about as powerful. This is Intel's newest chip, and, for my money, the best of the Pentiums.
Athlon XP-M: Advanced Micro Devices’ answer to the Pentium. This is a good chip, and it’s usually cheap. Not widely used, but definitely worth considering.
Athlon 64: This is a top of the line chip from AMD. It could run 64-bit software, if any were available. It also runs today’s 32-bit software very well. This chip is extremely fast, but probably no better than its Athlon XP cousin. Don’t pay extra for the 64-bit capability; you can’t use it.
Celeron and Celeron M: The budget chip from Intel. This is not as fast as the Pentiums or the AMD chips.
Transmeta: These are used by a few Japanese manufacturers. Transmeta chips are on the slow side.
This article offers an overall explanation of the right chipsets for a new laptop. Here's a short synopsis:
Pentium III-M: This is an older chip, based on an obsolete desktop chip. It's workable, but there are better choices.
Pentium 4: This is a desktop chip. It's powerful and power-hungry. You won't get much more than two hours on your battery. These run hot, so the laptops have to be big for cooling.
Pentium 4-M: These are less powerful than their desktop brothers. But they are better with batteries, and the computers are not as heavy.
Pentium M: These run slower than the 4's, but they're just about as powerful. This is Intel's newest chip, and, for my money, the best of the Pentiums.
Athlon XP-M: Advanced Micro Devices’ answer to the Pentium. This is a good chip, and it’s usually cheap. Not widely used, but definitely worth considering.
Athlon 64: This is a top of the line chip from AMD. It could run 64-bit software, if any were available. It also runs today’s 32-bit software very well. This chip is extremely fast, but probably no better than its Athlon XP cousin. Don’t pay extra for the 64-bit capability; you can’t use it.
Celeron and Celeron M: The budget chip from Intel. This is not as fast as the Pentiums or the AMD chips.
Transmeta: These are used by a few Japanese manufacturers. Transmeta chips are on the slow side.
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posted by Brian & Brian at 8:47 AM
