STRAT Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Hi guys my poor old P100 32 mb RAM laptop is finally giving up on me. time for a new one. This will be for home use - internet browsing and modest 3d modelling. NO GAMES, and no intensive 3d. just general stuff. Ideally i'd like a desktop pc, but due to my circumstances this is not possible. so a laptop it is. My budget is around the £800 mark and i want one i can easily go in and buy off the shelf with no hastle. Some of the pc shops in the UK (ie, pcworld) have cracking little numbers i'd be happy with. but, my question is..... I know laptops cost allot more than their desktop cousins because of the monitors and compact technology, but they're generally much lower spec'd too. What would be the laptop to desk top equivalent? i mean like what would be a desktop equivalent of say a laptop AMD Athlon Mobile XP 2200+ Processor be? or say the desktop equivalent of a laptop Intel Mobile Celeron 2.6GHz Processor be? what is the general speed/performance differences between laptops and desktops these days? cheers fellas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeDaCoM Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 I think the main difference is the hard disk.. usually a 5000 rpm. or less.... and the memory speed 266Mhz. it is not a processor problem. the "mobile" thing is that has variable voltage capabilities.. so when you don't use the processor it doesn't consume battery. but it is as fast as a desktop processor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaz Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Strat, I don’t know if this will help. I have a HP Pavilion ZE4300. AMD XP 2200, 512 ram w/ 64 ram shared video. Chaz CINEBENCH 2003 v1 **************************************************** Tester : Chaz Processor : Laptop AMD XP 2200 MHz : 1.05 GHz Number of CPUs : 1 Operating System : XP Home Graphics Card : Resolution : Color Depth : **************************************************** Rendering (Single CPU): 63 CB-CPU Rendering (Multiple CPU): --- CB-CPU Shading (CINEMA 4D) : 69 CB-GFX Shading (OpenGL Software Lighting) : 192 CB-GFX Shading (OpenGL Hardware Lighting) : 100 CB-GFX OpenGL Speedup: 2.79 **************************************************** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hess Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Strat, I'm not a fan of laptops AT ALL. The way I see it, if your traveling enough to need a laptop, you probably shouldn't get one, just so you'll actually have a chance to chill once in a while, and read a book, or listen to some nice relaxing music. But if you HAVE to get a laptop...you've pretty much got two choices. Any of the new g4 powerbooks (if your apps run on mac's), or Intel's centrino laptops. Manufacturer doesnt' really matter much, they all suck total ass. Dell, gateway, sony, toshiba, all have horrible support. If it breaks, its going to be hit or miss whether you'll get help, get a 4 hour phone conversation, or have your warranty denied. Ya thats harsh, but its also the truth. In fact in the past 5 years the only laptop I haven't seen break from a major manufacturer is this old IBM. Power supplies seem to be the big thing to go. Flap, frizzle, snap, pop, BAM. Goodbye mainboard, goodbye harddrive (or maybe you'll be lucky), and hello to replacement hell. Didn't get the complete care package? Your screwed, will try and say you dropped it, and you instantly have to defend yourself and try to convince them it just "happened". Those "express tech support lines" you pay 20-80 bucks more for? It means 20-40 minutes on hold, instead of hours. Ya I'm bitter, but I also deal with a huge # of laptops on a daily basis, and are constantly frustrated with my inability to fix them. If something goes wrong, there really isn't anything you can do. You can "TRY" some things, but its no where near as easy as a desktop or workstation to fidget or replace. You can't store spare parts, cause each laptop is inherently different. Many parts are specific to JUST that particular laptop brand/model. Anyway...as far as performance goes, the Intel centrino's are pretty speedy as their based on the evolution of tualatin, which by itself would have obliterated the p4 if intel had allowed its clock speed to increase significantly. Basically a 1.6 centrino system will blow the doors off a 2.4 P4-M. Anyway I'm blabbin now due to beer consumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigcahunak Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Laptops s***k thats true. you just cant work on those things. However, if you talk about them breaking down, I have to add a tip from small experiance: In a big business, where a person who gets a laptop doesnt care too much about it - they break all the time, and it doesnt matter which manufacturer the laptop actually is. In my office we have two laptops (not mine). Dell Latitude (p3 500mhz) - never had a single prob, for 5 years. New Compaq Evo (p4 2ghz), which replaced a much older Dell Latitude that never had a single prob for over 7 years. We just sold the old Latitude and it looked and functioned like NEW, and I'm sure it ain't thanks to Dell quality. My point is - they dont break, if you wont break them. Spead wise - they are all the same. Just dont plan on really working on it. Look for portability. Its a laptop - dont look for a desktop aquivalent, cause there isnt one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted December 11, 2003 Author Share Posted December 11, 2003 cheers Greg, i feel full of confidence now here's what im buying in a couple of hours - Intel Mobile Celeron 2.6GHz Processor 256 Mb RAM Memory 30 Gb Hard Drive DVD ROM & CD ReWriter Drive 15" TFT Screen 64Mb Intel 852GME Graphics Microsoft XP Home Microsoft Works 7.0 2 x USB Connections 1 Year FREE Warranty pcworld is probably the biggest corporate computer store in the uk, and this product is being advertised as a special deal right now on tv. as i say, for me i want a mobile system i can use around the house, do my internet browsing, and do modest 3d modelling work on it. seems a good deal to me. my I.T. manager likes it, but as you say, who knows? all i need to get extra is another strip of 256 ram. [ December 11, 2003, 03:27 AM: Message edited by: STRAT ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_sul Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 "celeron" .. did i see that correctly .. he he he .. .well if i were u .. i would waste my time on a celeron .. what applications are u planning to use .. certainly not 3d or graphics stuff .. i hope .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_sul Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 "celeron" .. did i see that correctly .. he he he .. .well if i were u .. i would not waste my time on a celeron .. what applications are u planning to use .. certainly not 3d or graphics stuff .. i hope .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pictor Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 If it's not too late and you haven't already handed over your hard earned cash take a look at http://www.rockdirect.com/notebooks2.htm They've a decent range including some splendid 17 inchers from 1200 quid and all their models have a rather generous 3yrs return & collect warranty included in the price. They also got the thumbs up from Computer Arts winning best 17" laptop review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted December 11, 2003 Author Share Posted December 11, 2003 and whats wrong with a celeron for normal usage? we use them in work for cad use even. Pictor - unfortunately i just got it but thanks for the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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