Compare Notebook Processors

[lloydkayak]

I am looking at buying a Dell Inspiron 1564 (R8k from IC) or the DELL INSPIRON N4020 (R6k)

Only real difference I can see between them is the cheaper model has an
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T4500 processor 2.3 GHz

where the 1564 has an
Intel® Core i3-330m processor 2.13 GHz

The PC is used for basic office and internet. No graphics programs/games. Will I see R2000's worth of difference from the i3 CPU vs Dual Core...

The idea is to have a PC that will work for 3 - 4years (Dell's 3 year warranty is a big plus over competitors).

Thanks in advance

 

[kayvee]

Personally I would go i3 as it is later generation processor so you are buying some future proofing moving forward.


Some useful info here:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebook-Processors.129.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

 

[Synaesthesia]

I reckon you won't notice much difference. Just make sure you have 2gb RAM and you're set. I agree that Core i3 is faster and better but you don't need the extra speed, 99% of the time a CPU is idle anyway.

 

[lloydkayak]

Thanks, the next question... I see reputable online notebook stores have much better specced machines for the same price as IC... surprise surprise

However, the folks buying the machine prefer a physical shop to online stores... Where can I go to buy machines at these / similar prices at a physical store in the gauteng area

There's a toshiba for almost R1000 less than the dell with an i5 processor, amd mobility GPU and 500Gb hdd vs 320Gb both have 4Gig ram

 

[Budza]

Take them to the physical store. Check the thing out, agree its's what they want. Note all details then buy the same thing online for less

 

[Pada]

The Dual Core CPU isn't Core 2 Duo yet. The Dual Core CPU does not have hardware virtualization (not required, but I'd say that it should be compulsory if you want to run virtual machines) and it doesn't have hyperthreading too.
The Dual Core CPU has less L3 Cache too: 1MB vs 3MB of the i3 330M.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i3_microprocessors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_microprocessors
You'll get way better multi-threaded performance from the i3.

Just remember that you pay quite a premium for that Dell next business day on site warranty, but is is worth it if you use the PC for your work.
Like for R8k you can easily get a Core i5 460M processor + 4GB RAM.
Also, both those Dell laptops are discontinued by most shops, so I can't find a comparable price for it.

I would much rather go for Dell Inspiron N5010 @ R7100 which has a Core i3 330M + 3GB RAM

Like you said, you can get a Toshiba with better specs for about R1k less than that Dell @ IC.
eg. TOSHIBA® Satellite Series L650-11F @ R7339
Specs:

TOSHIBA® Satellite Series L650-11F Notebook, Precious Black with black keyboard 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">, Intel® Core i5 Series Dual Core i5-430M 2.26GHz 3MB L2 Cache 1066MHz FSB Processor, 4096MB DDR3-1066 SO-Dimm Memory (2x2048), DVD Super Multi Double layer optical drive, 500GB SATA 5400rpm Hard Drive, 15.6" WXGA HD Trubrite LED (1366x768 resolution) TFT Display, ATI Mobility Radeon HD5650 with 1GB dedicated graphics, 10/100 Mbit Ethernet LAN, 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN, Bluetooth, intergrated webcam, 2.5 kg, 6 cell battery, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64, 1 Year International Warranty

This laptop would be a quite capable gaming laptop due to its graphics card, compared to those Dell Inspiron laptops with low end graphics cards.

 

[CamiKaze]

i3 is definitely the cpu to go for, plus it has threads.

Should last you a couple of years if you only gona be using it for office use.