Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Do I wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors
Do I wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors
by Rita Pajarita - 7/4/06 2:01 PMI was about to order a Dell m1210 with a Dual Core T2500 processor and 2G of Ram. But I just read about the new Core 2 Duo processors being released at the end of August.
Should I wait?
How badly do you need the laptop?
by steve749 - 7/4/06 2:14 PM In reply to: Do I wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors by Rita PajaritaThat's the big Q...
Regards,
JB
How long? (never ending?)
by R. Proffitt
- 7/4/06 2:58 PM
In reply to: Do I wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors by Rita Pajarita
When that ships, you'll likely hear of the next soon to arrive CPU.
You may be waiting and waiting...
When you find your right spot of money and product, you might want to buy. Then again, why not wait?
Bob
I thought
by goldberg3971 - 7/4/06 7:37 PM In reply to: Do I wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors by Rita PajaritaI thought Core Duo 2 was for desktops only.
No, there are 2 Core 2 Duo type of chips
by steve749 - 7/4/06 8:23 PM In reply to: I thought by goldberg3971http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 notes both Conroe and Merom. The latter is the mobile version of the Core 2 Duo.
Regards,
JB
Crap
by goldberg3971 - 7/4/06 10:19 PM In reply to: No, there are 2 Core 2 Duo type of chips by steve749Now I gotta get my MacBook after my vacation.
Upgrade?
by vfelix - 7/5/06 8:22 AM In reply to: Do I wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors by Rita PajaritaIsn't their going to be an upgrade or something on the core duo?
Yes.
by R. Proffitt - 7/5/06 8:55 AM
In reply to: Upgrade? by vfelix
This is why this issue/problem is a neverending cycle. One can wait for what's next, then when it arrives they find what's next.
Bob
Never ending cycle
by Rita Pajarita - 7/5/06 1:04 PM In reply to: Yes. by R. Proffitt
I am in grad school while working full time. Classes are online and on weekends. I have been getting by with my old desktop, but barely. I am looking to buy a laptop to make life easier in regards to school.
I am definitely stuck in the cycle you were talking about. First i was looking at the Sony SZ back in april. Then I heard about the Dell M1210, and decided to wait for that. While waiting for the M1210, I read the story about the Dell Latitude D420, and i thought a business notebook would probably be a better fit for my needs. So I waited for the D420. I can't tell you how mad i was when the D420 was released and Dell only offered the Core Solo processor, plus there was no optical drive. That is when i decided to buy the m1210. And then i read about the Core 2 Duo. I am tired of waiting and am ready to breakout of the cyle.
This is what i am about to order from Dell:
- XPS M1210 Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500(2GHz/667MHz FSB)
- Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
- Memory: 2GB Dual Shared Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
- Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7400 TurboCache™
- Sound Options: Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
- Hard Drive: 100GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
- Optical Storage Device: 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
- A/V Communication Package (Intg. web cam, Mobile Broadband Antenna, ear buds)
- Network Card: Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
- Wireless Networking Card: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Mini Card (802.11 a/g, 54Mbps)
- Bluetooth Networking: Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
- Anti-Virus/Security Suite: Trend Micro PC-cillin with Wireless monitoring and Spyware removal 15-month
- Primary Battery: 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
- Additional Battery: 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion
- TV Tuner and Remote Control
- Built in Wi-Fi finder
- One touch media (watch movies and play music without booting the computer)
- Warranty: 4Yr Ltd Warr,At-Home Srvc + Nights and Weekend
Total Price (w/ tax & shipping) = $2,450
What do you think?
insanely expensive
by mgwatson - 7/5/06 1:19 PM In reply to: Never ending cycle by Rita Pajaritabut you have about every add-on feature imaginable, and the warranty alone is worth about $300-400. at least you'll get some mileage out of it before your next upgrade. personally, i prefer to always buy second best technology with a minimum warranty (1 year usually), sell it when the warranty is about to expire, and upgrade to the newer second best technology. since i live in mexico most of the time, it's not too hard to unload good laptops at the same price i paid for them a year earlier.
if i didn't live in mexico i would probably do the same thing but on a two year cycle instead of every year.
i was going to buy a new dell this week but i just read about the core 2 duo chips and i was thinking of waiting until august because i know the current core duo chips will drop in price, and hopefully my little dream machine will be available for around $800.
Expensive: Yes. Insane: I don't think so
by Rita Pajarita - 7/5/06 2:58 PM In reply to: insanely expensive by mgwatsonIt is expensive, but I don't change computers often, so I try to max everything out when i buy it so it lasts. My current Dell desktop i bought June '99 and still meets most of my needs, I just added a CD burner, RAM, and 2nd HD over the years.
Mexico is great for tech
by hamidsimba - 7/7/06 12:02 PM In reply to: insanely expensive by mgwatsonI also live in Mexico City and sell my laptops and digital cameras after 1 year at basically the original price, maybe minus 10%. Still, I am also waiting for Intel's Core 2 Duo chips to be able to run Vista at a better speed.
My kid is about to buy a laptop for college.
by R. Proffitt - 7/5/06 5:04 PM
In reply to: Never ending cycle by Rita Pajarita
The compaq V2630US which is all of 549 bucks and lists the usual compliment of ...
• 512MB memory
• 80GB hard drive
• Burn & play DVDs & CDs via the Double Layer drive
• Built-in 802.11g wireless LAN networkability
• 6-in-1 memory card reader
Model V2630US
It's some 1.8GHz Turion so no slug. Compared to your 2,450, he'll keep nearly 2,000 to replace it in a few years with the next one.
You can go overboard.
Bob
You get what you pay for
by llubosfv - 7/11/06 6:22 AM In reply to: My kid is about to buy a laptop for college. by R. Proffitt
I can definatly admit that your system has a better cost:performance ratio, but I would not consider his $2400 system a waste of money by any means. The specs you listed look like the specs that are put on a compter at a retail store. They are the kind that grab the normal comsumers eyes, but don't really say that much about how good the system really is.
512MB memory: That is what Windows XP requires, so that is plenty, right? Well, depending on what your child does, the performance increase from 512 to 1024 can be huge. Also, don't forget that Windows Vista is only a few months away, and 512 will not be good for Vista. Also, your 512 is made up of 2 256 DIMMs, so you can't double your memory by buying just buying a new 512 stick since you would have to take one of you existing 256 out.
80GB hard drive: yes your laptop has 80% capacity of his, so it looks like it is not that different. But yours is only 4200 rpm vs his 7200 rpm. That will make a huge difference in performance.
The rest of the things you listed are pretty standard on laptops now days.
Besides those features you listed here are some other things to compare.:
Graphics Card: His graphics card will allow him to play games with MUCH better performance than yours. Although you card lists 128 MB for the card, that is 128 MB shared memory. Which means if it is using 128 MB, your laptop only has 384 MB for everything else.
TV Tuner: His laptop can be used as a TV. It can also act as a PVR and record TV. Yours can't.
Sound: I'm not sure about how good your sound card is, but his should give him much cleaner sound quality. This makes his laptop a much better choice to be used as a multimedia hub.
Warrenty: This is the biggest advantage his system has over yours. Laptops break. It is a fact of life. Dell's in home service is incredible. I have had motherboards die on my laptops and Dell has been there next day and replaced them. Being at school, this is HUGE. And most of the time it happens after you have had it a while. His laptop will last him 4 years for sure with that warrenty. Your son may be glad he saved $2000 since he may have to spend quite a bit on replacemt parts or a whole new laptop after that first year.
This may sound like I am knocking your kid's new laptop, but I am really not. All I am saying is that you get what you pay for. Just because someone doesn't go the cheap route, doesn't mean he is going overboard. Besides, a person with a 40 GB hard drive and a mobile Sempron could say that your kid has gone overboard too.
Yonah and Merom are pin-to-pin compatible
by Ghost26 - 7/5/06 1:36 PM In reply to: Upgrade? by vfelixEvery owner that own a Core Duo based laptop can upgrade the Yonah ( Core Duo ) for the Merom ( COre 2 Duo ) by simply put out Yonah and place the Merom on the socket. Same socket, same number of pins, same chipset, same motherboard ... the only difference between Yonah and Merom is that Merom has a few upgrade in term of technology like the Advanced SmartCache ( SmartCache in Yonah ), a better performance-per-watt ratio than the Yonah ( Yonah is about 30 % faster than a Single-Core if we disable one core ), SSE4 instructions sets ( for games ) and the biggest upgrade, the x86-64 instruction sets ( in other words, the 64 bits technology ).
For the upgrade, you must have the BIOS upgrade for your motherboard.
I will upgrade my Inspiron 6400 ONLY if 64 bits will make a big leap into our life, things that I don't beleive. Myh Windows Vista license and my Office 2007 license and also my 1 GB RAM bar will pass before the upgrade of my processor.
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