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Thread ID: 34399 2003-06-11 20:41:00 Notebook choice SpiderVenom (1412) Press F1
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151900 2003-06-11 20:41:00 I am helping a friend choose between two notebooks:

IBM R40
Intel Pentium M 1.4 Ghz 400Mhz (I figure the 400Mhz is the FSB?)
256 MB Ram PC2100 DDR SD-Ram in one of two slots (standard, scales to 2048 MB max)
40GB ATA-100 HDD
ATI Mobility RADEON XGA 16MB
14" XGA Screen (I think)
Battery life is claimed ~6.2 hrs
Ports: AC adaptor, Expansion bus port for dock, external microphone, external display, headphone/line out, infared, RJ-11, RJ-45, S-Video out, USB 2.0 x 2
2.8 Kg, (H)38.9mmx(W)313mmx(D)254mm
Intel PRO/Wireless Network 802.11b
10/100 Ethernet
WinXP Pro
$2,790 ex GST


Compaq nx9010
Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz
512MB PC2100 RAM, scales to 1024 in two slots
40GB HDD
DVD-ROM, CD Writer Combo drive (combo, yuck)
15" XGA TFT screen 1024x768
ATI Mobility Radeon 64mb shared (shared, double yuck)
56kbs modem
10/100 Ethernet
JPL Pro Speaker / 16 bit stereo sound
Ports: 1 parallel, 3 USB 2.0, PS/2 Keyboard/mouse, Headphone I/O, Mircophone, IEEE 1394, S-Video, PC Card II
49mmx329mmx272mm, 3.49 KG
WinXP Pro
$2990 ex GST


I figure the Compaq would have a battery life of ~ 2 hours, due to its desktop p4.

My friend wants this for a general purpose laptop, but also to drive a projector for powerpoint displays. I reckon the IBM would have the performance advantage due to the Pentium M. However, it has no floppy and a smaller screen. But with LCD's a, say, 15" will have the same viewable space as a 17" CRT - does this hold true for laptops?

Also, there will be multiple users who will be a bit rough. So what seems the better option?
SpiderVenom (1412)
151901 2003-06-11 23:34:00 Do you really need advice when there is only $200 diff between the two, and one has double the ram, with a 2.4 as opposed to a 1.4 P4 inside?

Doesn't take a genius to go for the 2nd option.

Lo.
Lohsing (219)
151902 2003-06-12 00:53:00 dont those pentium m cpu's out perform the p4 laptop chip?

From what i hear they spank em.

Me thinks more research is in order for who ever is makin the purchase
metla (154)
151903 2003-06-12 01:01:00 A P4 1.4 is NEVER going to outperform a P4 2.4 with double the ram. Regardless of whether it is a P4M chip or not.

Besides, the new technology is this Centrino stuff...

Lo.
Lohsing (219)
151904 2003-06-12 06:39:00 aaahhhh,Centrino must have been what i was thinking of.... metla (154)
151905 2003-06-12 08:20:00 Yeah, my mate was trying to convince me that the new Centrino chips with lower clock speeds would spank higher P4 chips... Dunno enough about it to be able to comment though!

Lo.
Lohsing (219)
151906 2003-06-12 23:28:00 No, the Pentium-M should equal or outperform the P4 desktop chip. And battery life is an issue - 6 hours as opposed to 2. SpiderVenom (1412)
151907 2003-06-12 23:31:00 Dude, have you tried benchmarking a P4M against a P4??

There is no way a P4M would keep up with a desktop P4 across all CPU benchmarks...

If battery life is an issue, then you should look at the new Centrino chips... they are much more effecient than the P4M. Quite expensive too IIRC.

Lo.
Lohsing (219)
151908 2003-06-13 00:58:00 NONONO!!

A pentium m is different from a P4-M (for example, it has a 1MB cache). I haven't bechmarked it, but the PC World test center have :D. And it outperforms desktop p4s.
SpiderVenom (1412)
151909 2003-06-13 01:40:00 Hang on, are we talking about the same thing here? I thought P4M was the Pentium4 Mobility CPU??

Lo.
Lohsing (219)
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