Celeron M vs Centrino - which one? Help please!

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seven7seven

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Hi all,

My dad wants to get a new laptop. He'll be mainly using it just for e-mail, surfing & office productivity stuff.

I see Makro has some really good deals on Fujitsu Siemens laptops.

Currently they have:


Option #1(link)
Amilo Li 1720 Intel Celeron M 1,4GHz with 15,4" Crystal View Widescreen
for R5,499.00 ON PROMOTION - (NORMAL PRICE: R6295,00)

Specs:
* Onboard 56k modem
* Internal 56K modem
* Onboard sound
* Up to 128MB shared graphics
* Intel celeron 1,46GHz
* 512MB ddr ram
* Dual layer dvd writer
* 80gb pata hard drive
* 15,4" cyrstal view screen
* W-lan
* Microsoft windows xp home
* 12 month warranty

But then I saw they also have this one:

Option #2: (link)
Amilo M1450 Intel Centrino Mobile 1,7GHz with 15,4" WXGA Crytal View Screen
For R 5,999.00

Specs:
* USB 2,0
* Onboard 56k modem
* Onboard sound
* Up to 128mb shared graphics
* 512mb DDR ram
* Intel centrino 1,7GHz
* 40gb hard drive
* Dual layer DVD writer
* W-lan
* 15,4" crystal view wide screen
* Microsoft works 8,0
* Microsoft windows xp home
* 12 month warranty


As far as I can tell the only differences are the hdd size (80gb vs 40gb) & CPU.
The Centrino will be faster (higher clockspeed & more L2 cache), but will also yield bettery battery life right?

40gb of hdd should be fine, but obviously 80gb would be nice.

So, which would do you think I should go for? Faster CPU + less HDD, or Slower CPU + more HDD?

OR if you know of a better deal, please let me know! :)

Thanks very much, your help is much appreciated!

Kind Regards,

Richard :D
 
depends what he wants to do celeron m is fine for documents

centrino is for stuff the requires a little more grunt :)

that is not a bad a pc for normal use
 
Centrino is definitely better but if I were buying a new laptop I wouldn't get anything older than an Intel Core Duo. The Centrino is getting pretty dated now and if you want the thing to last you you'd be better off getting something more recent.
 
you DO understand that centrino is just a marketing branding exercise right?

the celeron m is the better deal.

justification:
1) your old man isnt interested in cpu speed, so the celeron m is plenty good enough
2) the extra hdd space will come in handier than a 1.7ghz cpu (which will probably run most of it's life at 900mhz or 1ghz due to speedstep)
3) i bet my left nut it is the same actual chassis, so battery life will be pretty much identical
 
werner said:
you DO understand that centrino is just a marketing
3) i bet my left nut it is the same actual chassis, so battery life will be pretty much identical
Click to expand...

Ok I will take you up on that!

prepare for dissection! lol
 
Celeron M is such a dog, its slower than a donkey going backwards. Def go with the centrino, serious no brainer! :)
 
biltonguy said:
Celeron M is such a dog, its slower than a donkey going backwards. Def go with the centrino, serious no brainer! :)
Click to expand...

Celeron is EXACTLY the same as the centrino but only has 1MB cache apposed to 2MB and lacks speedstep technology
 
Centrino

Have had one for some time and it's awesome. Battery life is great and Wifi is good quality - intel.!
Speedstep comes into play to conserve battery life when not on power. If you want performance, get a desktop - laptops are meant to be mobile - and battery is everything to do with mobile. Having said that, it outperforms the celeron hands down. That 2Mb Cache works!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the input so far everyone. I was gladly surprised to see how many replies the thread has already had!

ATI said:
For the price it is a steal.

Also has WXGA awesome :D
Click to expand...
It=the Centrino?

I'm leaning towards the Centrino... Although I think my dad doesn't really care about the faster CPU but I rate it's a better investment (ie. will have better resell value). Hopefully he'll be willing to spend the extra R500 otherwise will have to settle for the Celeron M, which still won't be a bad machine though.

He only needs a basic entry-level machine but the two are so close in price so might as well make sure we get the best deal.

I'm still open to input & advice though :D

Thanks again!
 
please, for the sake of my sanity, can i clarify one thing please.

there is NO CPU called a centrino. never was, and never will be.
however, the intel folks kindly managed to brainwash the world using centrino advertising everywhere.

centrino is a standard. the standard has to have 3 items to qualify.
1) pentium m or better
2) intel chipset
3) intel wlan
if you have all 3, you are entitled to carry a centrino badge on your product.

replacing the cpu with something else doesnt suddenly make the tooth fairy unhappy and cause volcanoes to erupt:-) to all intents and purposes it is the same machine, still.
or, as another example, removing the wlan card doesnt make santa start killing random reindeers. nor does it suddenly make the battery life go to pot or make the machine any slower.

so, a centrino badge tells you to expect a certain level of performance. in real life, that level of performance is also available without a centrino badge, depending on the spec you pick.

i know it has little to do with this thread, but i see folks referring to a centrino cpu so often that i would like to gouge their eyes out, repeatedly.:-)

performance is dependant on your desires. if you desire high battery life, then something slower may well=better performance.
if you game a lot, you may equate better gfx and faster cpu with performance, and forego battery life.

i have seen centrino laptops with 2hr batteyr life, and other with 5+hrs. so please dont immediately equate centrino with long battery life...it all depends on the chassis the parts are fitted to.
but, yes, a centrino laptop is guaranteed a pentium m as a minimum (banias or dothan) and they have lower power consumption than desknote-type machines.

but lobbing out the pentium m in favour of a celeron based derivative doesnt cause the world to stop spinning:-)

ask you old man what he would prefer....faster cpu, or 500 in his pocket and a hdd twice the size. your initial post said "email, surfing and general office stuff" and for that the celeron chip is ample.

all laptops have k@k resell value...the minute the warranty is finished they are worth zero. if they make it that far...
 
Centrino has speedstep YES it has longer battery life!

1 Characteristic a centrino should have is 4 hours batter life...you will see that if you google.
 
I get 5 hours on extended battery and 3 hours on standard battery - 8 hours when I travel :)
 
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