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Is Celeron a bad choice for a notebook processor?



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 18th 03, 09:43 PM
John
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Default Is Celeron a bad choice for a notebook processor?

Hi,

If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

1. Celeron
2. Pentium 4
3. Mobile Pentium 4
4. Pentium M

It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
Pentium M?

I'm thinking about picking up an Inspiron 1100 for the wife. She
leaves it plugged in almost all the time so battery life is not really
an issue. When she does take it in the car, I have an inverter that
will power it.

So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

It seems like there are a lot of Inspiron 1100's on Ebay. Brand new.
Is there something wrong with them?

She has an Inspiron 3800 which has NEVER held a charge for more than
an hour (even when it was brand new). Am I stupid for given Dell
another chance to give me a bad product?

Thanks!
John
  #2  
Old September 18th 03, 10:27 PM
Andrew
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Default

In comp.sys.laptops John wrote:
: Hi,

: If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

: 1. Celeron
: 2. Pentium 4
: 3. Mobile Pentium 4
: 4. Pentium M

: It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
: expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
: lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
: Pentium M?

I don't think Pentium 4M (Mobile Pentium 4) is really going to save a
lot of heat or battery power. If that's your big concern, go with
Pentium M.

: So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
: laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

A Pentium 4/4M should be a little faster than a Celeron due to larger
on-chip caches and faster memory speeds (I don't think Celeron uses
DDR RAM, either). But don't sell Celeron short. If your wife isn't a
power user, a Celeron will be fine. I have a 2GHZ Celeron in my
Toshiba notebook and I am very happy with it (it runs some CPU-intense
image conversion faster than my 1.8GHZ Pentium 4 desktop does). My
machine is very snappy and fast. Just make sure other specs are in
order. Make sure you get at least 512MB of RAM (or make sure you can
easily add it). Consider a laptop that allows you to add an internal
(mini-PCI) wireless card also. If your wife likes computer games,
make sure the laptop does not use shared video RAM and has dedicated
video RAM instead.

Even if you aren't worried about battery use, some of the sleek new
Centrino (w/Pentium M) machines are cool. Centrino allows for
smaller, lighter designs. Check a few of them out.

I bought my machine at Costco FYI - they have a great 6-month "no
questions asked" return policy. Never needed it - my Toshiba has been
great.

Andrew
--
---- Portland, Oregon, USA ----
************************************************** *****************
---- http://www.bizave.com ---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
---- To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
************************************************** *****************

  #3  
Old September 19th 03, 01:51 AM
Barry Watzman
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Default

The only difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 is in the cache
circuit. The Celeron has less cache, and the "associativity" of the
cache is different and not as good. this reduces performance by a
variable amount, but on average about 15% to 20%. There's nothing wrong
with a Celeron, it's a bit slower than a P4 of the same speed, but not
catastrophically so.


John wrote:

Hi,

If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

1. Celeron
2. Pentium 4
3. Mobile Pentium 4
4. Pentium M

It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
Pentium M?

I'm thinking about picking up an Inspiron 1100 for the wife. She
leaves it plugged in almost all the time so battery life is not really
an issue. When she does take it in the car, I have an inverter that
will power it.

So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

It seems like there are a lot of Inspiron 1100's on Ebay. Brand new.
Is there something wrong with them?

She has an Inspiron 3800 which has NEVER held a charge for more than
an hour (even when it was brand new). Am I stupid for given Dell
another chance to give me a bad product?

Thanks!
John


  #4  
Old September 19th 03, 01:56 AM
Barry Watzman
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Posts: n/a
Default

"I don't think Celeron uses DDR RAM, either"

The memory type is determined by the chipset, not the CPU. Celerons can
be used in ANY application in which a P4 of the same fabrication family
and FSB can be used, because in reality a modern Celeron IS a P4, the
differences are internal (in the cache system) and are not even
externally visible. There are neither different CPUs (either P4's or
Celerons) for SDRAM nor DDR nor, for that matter, even Rambus RDRAM.
There are just different chipsets. Many Celeron notebooks use the very
same motherboard for both Pentium 4 models and Celeron models, with DDR
memory. A good example of a Celeron Notebook that uses DDR is the
Toshiba 1415 series.


Andrew wrote:

In comp.sys.laptops John wrote:
: Hi,

: If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

: 1. Celeron
: 2. Pentium 4
: 3. Mobile Pentium 4
: 4. Pentium M

: It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
: expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
: lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
: Pentium M?

I don't think Pentium 4M (Mobile Pentium 4) is really going to save a
lot of heat or battery power. If that's your big concern, go with
Pentium M.

: So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
: laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

A Pentium 4/4M should be a little faster than a Celeron due to larger
on-chip caches and faster memory speeds (I don't think Celeron uses
DDR RAM, either). But don't sell Celeron short. If your wife isn't a
power user, a Celeron will be fine. I have a 2GHZ Celeron in my
Toshiba notebook and I am very happy with it (it runs some CPU-intense
image conversion faster than my 1.8GHZ Pentium 4 desktop does). My
machine is very snappy and fast. Just make sure other specs are in
order. Make sure you get at least 512MB of RAM (or make sure you can
easily add it). Consider a laptop that allows you to add an internal
(mini-PCI) wireless card also. If your wife likes computer games,
make sure the laptop does not use shared video RAM and has dedicated
video RAM instead.

Even if you aren't worried about battery use, some of the sleek new
Centrino (w/Pentium M) machines are cool. Centrino allows for
smaller, lighter designs. Check a few of them out.

I bought my machine at Costco FYI - they have a great 6-month "no
questions asked" return policy. Never needed it - my Toshiba has been
great.

Andrew
--
---- Portland, Oregon, USA ----
************************************************** *****************
---- http://www.bizave.com ---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
---- To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
************************************************** *****************


  #5  
Old September 19th 03, 03:16 AM
Falkon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"John" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

1. Celeron
2. Pentium 4
3. Mobile Pentium 4
4. Pentium M

It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
Pentium M?

I'm thinking about picking up an Inspiron 1100 for the wife. She
leaves it plugged in almost all the time so battery life is not really
an issue. When she does take it in the car, I have an inverter that
will power it.

So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

It seems like there are a lot of Inspiron 1100's on Ebay. Brand new.
Is there something wrong with them?

She has an Inspiron 3800 which has NEVER held a charge for more than
an hour (even when it was brand new). Am I stupid for given Dell
another chance to give me a bad product?

Thanks!
John


It's not just battery life that is an issue - it's heat and noise. Consider
that normal PCs are often annoyingly noisy when stuck under the desk imagine
how loud it can get sitting on top of the desk. Many users complain that
notebooks with desktop processors sound like jet engines and many have been
known to shut down automatically because they get so hot.
My advice - stay far away from notebooks with desktop processors. There are
sound reasons why CPU manufacturers design chips especially for notebooks.
If you're looking to save money then consider a notebook with a Mobile AMD
AthlonXP processor. Similar to P4-M performance at a Celeron price.
Try the HP-Compaq nx9005 starting from US$924. My flatmate's got one and it
ran office for 3.5 hrs on the battery, is silent, doesn't get hot on your
lap and runs 2D apps and DVD movies with ease.
--
Falkon



  #6  
Old September 19th 03, 05:04 AM
catfan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"John" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

1. Celeron
2. Pentium 4
3. Mobile Pentium 4
4. Pentium M

It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
Pentium M?

I'm thinking about picking up an Inspiron 1100 for the wife. She
leaves it plugged in almost all the time so battery life is not really
an issue. When she does take it in the car, I have an inverter that
will power it.

So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

It seems like there are a lot of Inspiron 1100's on Ebay. Brand new.
Is there something wrong with them?

She has an Inspiron 3800 which has NEVER held a charge for more than
an hour (even when it was brand new). Am I stupid for given Dell
another chance to give me a bad product?

Thanks!
John


I have an Inspiron 1100 and its fine for everything I do... Ideally it
should not be used on the lap because it is quite heavy. admittedly it is
not COMPLETELY silent but it does not sound like a jet engine either!!
desktop machines are much louder and i doubt u would be able to hear it and
even in an environment that is completely silent, you will only hear a
slight fan noise... the fan has 2 speeds, it will only go on the high speed
when the CPU is being used extensively (eg. for playing games), otherwise it
is always set to low (which is barely audible). its very fast with 512 RAM
and will handle ANY ordinary apps with no problems. 3D games will probly be
beyond it due it its integrated graphics board but anything else will run
well.
if u intend to use a notebook on the road a bit, i suggest u dont go for the
1100 cos it is quite heavy to lug around... around 3kg+. however,
portability around the house, occasional travel.... the 1100 is fine.



  #7  
Old September 19th 03, 10:35 AM
John
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(Andrew) wrote in message ...
In comp.sys.laptops John wrote:
: Hi,

: If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

: 1. Celeron
: 2. Pentium 4
: 3. Mobile Pentium 4
: 4. Pentium M

: It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
: expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
: lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
: Pentium M?

I don't think Pentium 4M (Mobile Pentium 4) is really going to save a
lot of heat or battery power. If that's your big concern, go with
Pentium M.


The cost is keeping me away from the Pentium M.

: So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
: laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

A Pentium 4/4M should be a little faster than a Celeron due to larger
on-chip caches and faster memory speeds (I don't think Celeron uses
DDR RAM, either). But don't sell Celeron short. If your wife isn't a
power user, a Celeron will be fine.


I should have stated the intended use in my original post. She is a
technical writer so she uses FrameMaker, Adobe Acrobat, and Adobe
PageMaker. Plenty of RAM is a must. If I buy from Dell, I'll buy the
minimum amount of RAM from them and get the most I can from Crucial.

easily add it). Consider a laptop that allows you to add an internal
(mini-PCI) wireless card also.


I have a Compaq/HP Evo N800c with built-in wireless and I really like
that. She also uses the wireless LAN in the house so having built-in
wireless is a plus. That didn't seem to be an option on the cheaper
Dell models. I'll look again.

If your wife likes computer games,
make sure the laptop does not use shared video RAM and has dedicated
video RAM instead.


The Inspiron 1100 uses shared video RAM.

Thank you for your insight and advice!

John
  #8  
Old September 19th 03, 07:49 PM
rpga
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Posts: n/a
Default

A Celeron cpu is not a bad thing and was a good choice
in the P3 days as the old ice code did not have the problems of the new P4
infinite pipeline which has much
longer data pipes that the smaller cache can not handle very well so a big
hit on cpu speed In fact the celeron P4 1.7gig was out preformed in all
benchmarks I did by my older P3 1.2gig celeron


"John" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

1. Celeron
2. Pentium 4
3. Mobile Pentium 4
4. Pentium M

It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
Pentium M?

I'm thinking about picking up an Inspiron 1100 for the wife. She
leaves it plugged in almost all the time so battery life is not really
an issue. When she does take it in the car, I have an inverter that
will power it.

So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

It seems like there are a lot of Inspiron 1100's on Ebay. Brand new.
Is there something wrong with them?

She has an Inspiron 3800 which has NEVER held a charge for more than
an hour (even when it was brand new). Am I stupid for given Dell
another chance to give me a bad product?

Thanks!
John



  #9  
Old September 20th 03, 01:59 AM
Eric Griffin
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Posts: n/a
Default


"rpga" wrote in message
...
A Celeron cpu is not a bad thing and was a good choice
in the P3 days as the old ice code did not have the problems of the new P4
infinite pipeline which has much
longer data pipes that the smaller cache can not handle very well so a big
hit on cpu speed In fact the celeron P4 1.7gig was out preformed in all
benchmarks I did by my older P3 1.2gig celeron


"Pat, I'd like to buy some punctuation."


--Eric

"John" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:

1. Celeron
2. Pentium 4
3. Mobile Pentium 4
4. Pentium M

It seems like a Mobile Pentium 4 or Pentium M is substantially more
expensive than a Celeron or Pentium 4. I assume this is because of the
lower heat and increased battery life of the Mobile Pentium 4 and
Pentium M?

I'm thinking about picking up an Inspiron 1100 for the wife. She
leaves it plugged in almost all the time so battery life is not really
an issue. When she does take it in the car, I have an inverter that
will power it.

So what's the difference between a Celeron and a Pentium 4 in a
laptop? The Pentium 4 seems to be roughly $100 more.

It seems like there are a lot of Inspiron 1100's on Ebay. Brand new.
Is there something wrong with them?

She has an Inspiron 3800 which has NEVER held a charge for more than
an hour (even when it was brand new). Am I stupid for given Dell
another chance to give me a bad product?

Thanks!
John





  #10  
Old September 22nd 03, 03:13 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Regarding your old 3800...
I had mine for over three years, and it got lots of use as my primary
work machine both on the road and the office. It even went along on
some vacations as a DVD player. I recently replaced it with an I8500,
as it was time to move up. In all that time it gave dependable
service and good battery life (couple hours no problem). It still
works well enough that we are now using it as a low-end FTP server in
the office.

Depending on what the machine is used it for, (word processing, web,
etc.) I would not knock the Celeron.. Funny, I had a desktop Celeron
300 and when I overclocked it to 450, it actually benched faster than
my friend's Pentium 450 by a small margin, thought not sure why.

On the other hand, if a Pentium of comparable speed is available for a
difference of $100, I'd go for it. Just remenber the standard Pentium
4 (not 'M' or Mobile or Centrino) will run batteries down faster. My
new I8500 has a 2.2GHz Pentium 4M and I noticed that it was running as
low as 285MHz during idle (due to Speedstep)... that's gonna save some
battery time.

Good Luck in your purchase..
Pat

"John" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

If I want an Intel based notebook I think these are my options:


 




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