Author Topic: Which should be my main Laptop?  (Read 562 times)

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Offline JMW IV

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Which should be my main Laptop?
« Topic Start: December 10, 2011, 03:16:02 PM »
Name   Dell Latitude D520
Processor   Intel Core Duo T2300 1.66Ghz
Screen   14.1” XGA
RAM   1GB
HDD   80GB
Optical Drive   DVD+-RW
Graphics   Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Network   10/100 Ethernet + Intel 3945 802.11g Wireless
Other   4 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire

*note - Battery does not hold charge, i need to get a new one*


or


Name   IBM-Lenovo Thinkpad T42
Processor   Intel Pentium-M 1.7GHz
Screen   14.1” XGA
RAM   1GB
HDD   200GB
Optical Drive   DVD-ROM/CD-RW
Graphics   ATI Mobility Radeon 7500
Network   10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 2200 802.11g Wireless
Other   2 x USB2.0


both will run Ubuntu 11.10, and will be used mostly for web-surfing, watching videos/listening to music, word processing, and an occasional game or two with light system specs. (Casual/Web Browser-based games, etc).

debating on which will be *my* computer and which I will set up for general usage in the house, like for my daughter.

whaddya think?  how much of a difference does the dual core make, vs the video card in the other one?

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #1: December 10, 2011, 03:37:49 PM »
I am leaning towards the Thinkpad at the moment, but I am not exactly sure how much better a dual core processor is. 

and if it is worth it to sacrifice having a dual core, in order to get a graphics card and more HD space.

Online Slateman

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #2: December 10, 2011, 05:43:32 PM »
Why such small screens?
Do you use it as a true laptop or merely as a desktop replacement?

Both of those need RAM upgrades.

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #3: December 10, 2011, 07:42:50 PM »
Why such small screens?
Do you use it as a true laptop or merely as a desktop replacement?

Both of those need RAM upgrades.

why such small screens? because thats what they came with. these are not brand new computers.

screen seems big enough to me. I'm not really in need of a 45-inch laptop screen lol.

and I am using them as just a regular computer.  and yeah, obviously they need RAM upgrades, they are both old computers.


Offline Nathan

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #4: December 10, 2011, 07:51:21 PM »
Eh, 14.1" seems like a pretty good compromise to me.  13" can be cramped, 15" isn't as portable.

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #5: December 10, 2011, 07:54:34 PM »
anyhow, i am pretty sure I have decided on the Thinkpad.

for some reason it is running smoother than the other laptop was.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #6: December 10, 2011, 07:57:59 PM »
anyhow, i am pretty sure I have decided on the Thinkpad.

for some reason it is running smoother than the other laptop was.

After installing Ubuntu?  Or with the stock bloatware infested XP install it probably came with?

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #7: December 10, 2011, 08:00:24 PM »
After installing Ubuntu?  Or with the stock bloatware infested XP install it probably came with?

after installing Ubuntu.  it is weird, really.

but i'm mainly going for the bigger HD (it is 250gb, not 200), the graphics card (although old, still better than Integrated), and the fact that the other laptop will have to stay in the house due to not having a working battery.

I will just deal with the lack of dual core-ness.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #8: December 10, 2011, 08:05:07 PM »
Could be some driver issues.  Honestly I don't really think that dedicated card is all that much better than a GMA 950 really, given the age difference.  If you don't mind my asking, how much were they?

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #9: December 10, 2011, 08:46:43 PM »
Could be some driver issues.  Honestly I don't really think that dedicated card is all that much better than a GMA 950 really, given the age difference.  If you don't mind my asking, how much were they?

i bought the Dell for 50 bucks. guy didn't know how to fix a BSOD. ;)

the Thinkpad i got from a family member for free.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #10: December 10, 2011, 08:52:47 PM »
Well hell yeah, $50 for two laptops ain't bad at all then :lol:

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #11: December 10, 2011, 08:55:31 PM »
Thinkpad>>>>Dell has been my experience.  I really hate Dells.

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #12: December 10, 2011, 08:58:19 PM »
Packard Bell 486 > Dell.  You must do the needful. 

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #13: December 10, 2011, 09:09:07 PM »
anyone know where I could find Linux drivers for this Radeon 7500? or any generic ATI drivers for Linux?

Offline Nathan

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #14: December 10, 2011, 09:32:28 PM »
From what I googled, it should be included in x.org by now.  The proprietary ATI drivers don't support it any more as ATI deemed the open source drivers to be complete and functional enough for the older cards.

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #15: December 10, 2011, 09:34:17 PM »
Nate - exactly how much worse is the Pentium M, than the Centrino Duo?

Offline Nathan

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #16: December 10, 2011, 09:48:27 PM »
Depends on what you are doing.  Single threaded applications would probably be about equal,  multitasking and multi-threaded applications will be faster on the dual core.  Centrino is the marketing intel used to use when a laptop also had a certain intel chipset and intel wifi as well.

Quote
The Intel Core Duo (Yonah core) is the successor of the Pentium M CPU. It features two processor cores (based on the Pentium M architecture) with 2x 1024 MB L2 Cache. The maximum TDP of 31 W is only 4 W higher than the TDP of single core Pentium M. Thanks to speedstep each core can be automatically and independently downclocked in steps to 1 GHz. In addition, the Core Duo now supports SSE3 instructions.

The performance of the Core Duo CPU is at least as fast as a equivalent clocked Pentium M. When using applications that can profit from both cores, the performance can be up to 90% faster (e.g. CineBench around 86% faster).

The Yonah core was later reused for early Pentium Dual Core models (e.g. T2060 or T2080).

For more information on the Core Duo, please refer to the Core Duo laptop CPU page.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebook-Processors.129.0.html

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #17: December 10, 2011, 09:55:21 PM »
Depends on what you are doing.  Single threaded applications would probably be about equal,  multitasking and multi-threaded applications will be faster on the dual core.  Centrino is the marketing intel used to use when a laptop also had a certain intel chipset and intel wifi as well.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebook-Processors.129.0.html

gimme an example of a "single threaded application" and a "multi-threaded" one.


Offline Nathan

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Re: Which should be my main Laptop?
« Reply #18: December 10, 2011, 10:05:42 PM »
gimme an example of a "single threaded application" and a "multi-threaded" one.



Honestly I don't even know anymore.  I'm not sure how much things have gone multi threaded lately.  I know WoW used to be single but it's multi now.