PM or P4, which is better?

vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
edited April 2005 in Hardware
Not sure if I'm in the correct forum, so feel free to move.

Looking to buy a notebook for a college student. I've been looking at some remanufactured notebooks, with 512 RAM, XP Pro, 56 Modem, Ethernet, and CDRW/DVD combo drive.

I'm not a tech guy at all. Seems like I can get comparable models with either PM-1600 or P4-2800. Not sure which is better or why (I have always avoided the Celeron processer).

Looking at prices around $750.00.

Any help? (Looking more for a comparison of the PM-1600 and P4-2800, but feel free to make other suggestions.)

Comments

  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited April 2005
    Go for the Pentium M. Much lower power consumption = better battery life. 1.6GHz PM is much faster than what the '1.6GHz rating' entails (when compared to P4s). Dont quote me on it, but in some applications the 1.6GHz PM may be faster than the 2.8GHz P4.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited April 2005
    I've seen avowed Intel-bashers who will admit that the Pentium-M Centrino technology works very well. It has a much lower power consumption than their regular line.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited April 2005
    We Intel bashers bash mostly the P4. The P3 wasnt bad, but the P4 is horrible. With the Netburst architechure its has horrible battery life. My 1.6P-M gets over 4 hours battery life with 512 RAM, R9600, and a 40GB HDD,

    I suggest the P-M as well. It may be more expensive but it is definitely better than the P4.
  • GrayFoxGrayFox /dev/urandom Member
    edited April 2005
    Pentium M :)

    They proform well and they have good battery life :).
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    You may have a hard time finding a Pentium M notebook for $750, but I often see good Pentium M notebooks on sale for $999.

    Pentium M's are great. I have a Pentium 4 2.0ghz laptop (job issued), and some of my co-workers are getting Pentium M 1.6's. Theirs are running much faster than mine :thumbsup:
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    I'm a dyed-in-the-wool intel basher, and I am also a huge fan of the Pentium M - they are some of the best processors that Intel has ever put out. They are very low power consumers and they perform far better than a similarly clocked P4. Therefore, I'd say that a 1.6 or 1.8ghz P-M would perform as well as a p4 2.8 but give you much improved battery life.

    So, I concur with everyone else on this topic - PM over P4 all the way :D
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited April 2005
    primesuspect wrote:
    I'm a dyed-in-the-wool intel basher...
    You were the one I had in mind when I said that. ;D
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    I concede that the P-M is a stellar processor.
  • vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
    edited April 2005
    WOW!

    Thanks for all the fast replies. Looks like it is unanimous.

    What a great source of information here at SM.

    Thanks again,

    Jim
  • vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
    edited April 2005
    Managed to find a Pentium M 730 (1600) for just over budget. Came to $794 including tax (free shipping). 512 RAM, 40 HD, XP Pro. Remanufactured Dell Latitude D610.

    Thanks for the advice.

    BTW, I've got my new office computer folding again. Should be much faster than my old Gateway.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    Nice find! That'll perform great :)
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    I have a P-M 765 in my laptop. If a 730 is even half as fast as a 765 then you're not going to have any problems. :rarr:

    -drasnor :fold:
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