laptop processor type

[nightsleep]

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Hey guys, I'm trying to buy a laptop for school and I wanted some opinions. Is the core duo processor really necessary (over a intel pentium)? I'm not playing games or running any fancy programs (unless we need some for dental school)...just day to day functions, using it mostly for school stuff. I've just been seeing more and more computers made with the core duo...I know thats the trend now, but how much better is it? Is it worth paying an extra grand for? Also, what's the difference between the core solo and the pentium? (is one better than the other?) Thanks for all your help!

 

[americanpierg]

Hey guys, I'm trying to buy a laptop for school and I wanted some opinions. Is the core duo processor really necessary (over a intel pentium)? I'm not playing games or running any fancy programs (unless we need some for dental school)...just day to day functions, using it mostly for school stuff. I've just been seeing more and more computers made with the core duo...I know thats the trend now, but how much better is it? Is it worth paying an extra grand for? Also, what's the difference between the core solo and the pentium? (is one better than the other?) Thanks for all your help!

...well lets just say your xbox from 5 years ago could run microsoft word. then im not in dental school so i dont know if ur going to do some insane 3d resurfacing of digital teeth with HDR lighting and 8x Anti aliasing and 16x anisotropic all rendered in real time with soft shadows enabled...then again you might just write an occosional paper

 

[INFNITE]

I have a MacBook Pro that's equipped with a Core Duo processor and it kicks my old desktop Pentium 4's butt when it comes to stuff like multi-tasking. Then again, it's running on Mac OS X instead of Windows, but everything just seems smoother on my new laptop. There are $1000 Core Duo laptops around, so it's not that expensive anyway.

 

[luder98]

Any current Intel Pentium or Celeron or AMD processor will be more than you need. You don't need to step up to Centrino Duo. It's not necessary unless you have extra bucks and want the latest. That can add $300-500 or more to the price tag. Good luck with dental school.

 

[MedicineNutt]

Dell is running a great sale...

www.dell.com

and if you want an even better deal checkout their outlet...

http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

Good luck and i hope you get what you want!!!

 

[grifgin]

dont get anything that does not have 64bit processor
everything in a year will be on 64bit and not on 32bit [ie now], microsoft vista is almost here, once she gets here... its gona be an avalanche of everything 64bit

 

[INFNITE]

64 bit has a long way to go. Dual Core technology is more utilized at this point. Also, consider getting a Mac. It's the best computing experience you can find anywhere(no virus/spyware plus it's ultra user-friendly) and the Intel Macs run Windows as well if you need it.

 

[nightsleep]

Thank you guys for all your help! I'm not a computer whiz so this info helps. I guess I'm just stuck because I had my heart set on a vaio with a relatively small size (13-14 inch) and under these circumstances, the upgrade to a core duo is another grand. I got the 14.1 inch FJ series for $1050 (Best Buy was having a great sale!) but the 13.3 inch SZ series with the core duo is $2000 (also sale price). Right now I'm trying to decide if its worth basically twice the price to trade it in and upgrade. With the technology changing so quickly, I was trying to get the latest stuff so my computer wouldn't be soooo behind in a few years....but dang you could buy 2 for the price of 1!!! (where the only useful upgrade to me would be the core duo!) 😱

 

[tinman831]

Thank you guys for all your help! I'm not a computer whiz so this info helps. I guess I'm just stuck because I had my heart set on a vaio with a relatively small size (13-14 inch) and under these circumstances, the upgrade to a core duo is another grand. I got the 14.1 inch FJ series for $1050 (Best Buy was having a great sale!) but the 13.3 inch SZ series with the core duo is $2000 (also sale price). Right now I'm trying to decide if its worth basically twice the price to trade it in and upgrade. With the technology changing so quickly, I was trying to get the latest stuff so my computer wouldn't be soooo behind in a few years....but dang you could buy 2 for the price of 1!!! (where the only useful upgrade to me would be the core duo!) 😱

Well in about 6-8 months, that 1000 dollar upgrade will probably cost around 500, maybe less. Save your money. You won't need that much processing power in dental school anyways. As long as your laptop can get on the internet and has word processing, you're golden. 🙂

 

[ItsGavinC]

dont get anything that does not have 64bit processor
everything in a year will be on 64bit and not on 32bit [ie now], microsoft vista is almost here, once she gets here... its gona be an avalanche of everything 64bit

I'm running Vista on my MacBook right now, and it's a 32-bit processor.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Thank you guys for all your help! I'm not a computer whiz so this info helps. I guess I'm just stuck because I had my heart set on a vaio with a relatively small size (13-14 inch) and under these circumstances, the upgrade to a core duo is another grand. I got the 14.1 inch FJ series for $1050 (Best Buy was having a great sale!) but the 13.3 inch SZ series with the core duo is $2000 (also sale price). Right now I'm trying to decide if its worth basically twice the price to trade it in and upgrade. With the technology changing so quickly, I was trying to get the latest stuff so my computer wouldn't be soooo behind in a few years....but dang you could buy 2 for the price of 1!!! (where the only useful upgrade to me would be the core duo!) 😱

Geez, get a MacBook (with a 2 GHz CoreDuo!) with the student discount, AND get a free iPod for the same price as that FJ series one.

 

[SpikeyMike83]

kinda off-topic but i'm happy to see some people running on Macs. I really wanted one for graduation but the parents were kinda iffy about it depending on what I might need for dental school. I convinced them that because the Macs can now run Windows there were no worries. But I know some schools require a purchase from their bookstore...

So, anyone already in dental school run into any problems using their Mac?

 

[Galen1]

I see you're applying to NYU, if you get in, you won't be able to use the Mac... Just thought I'd let you know!

 

[INFNITE]

another cool thing about Intel Macs: you can actually run Windows at near native speeds inside the OS X environment using this program called "Parallels Desktop" I've been using it to run Photoshop (not yet universal on Mac) and the results are great. I can boot up Windows within Mac OS X in less than 15 seconds, and switching between the two operating environments is a piece of cake. The downside of it is that graphics acceleration in Parallels isn't that great and you can't run games. Other than that, you can basically run all the Windows programs in the world with no trouble.

 

[PegaNinguem]

My two cents... (for those that are cheap like me)

Dell always has some coupon or special up for grabs. Check www.techbargains.com or www.slickdeals.net. I waited until I saw the Dell E1505 Duo-Core (T2300) with enough bang for the buck. In my case the memory was upgraded to 512megs and free DVD-RW drive. With whatever special coupon they offered with a stackable $35 off $300 coupon you can get off of Ebay for $1, it came out to $800.

I got an excellent deal for a great setup that more or less appears randomly on the deal sites. Just for example, here's one recent "special": http://www.techbargains.com/u.cfm?afsrc=1&id=65989&u=3

But to answer your immediate question, for the average dental student, the difference between Centrino vs. Core Duo (vs. Turion) is not as important as the difference between the amount of RAM and hard drive size.

Oh, plus, good thing a co-worker reminded me. If you intend to upgrade to Windows Vista, you will need to upgrade the video on the laptop. I believe Vista requires a minimum of 64megs graphic memory. The caveats never end: on the Dell the 128 Radeon is really 64 onboard and 64 shared, so be aware.

Hey guys, I'm trying to buy a laptop for school and I wanted some opinions. Is the core duo processor really necessary (over a intel pentium)? I'm not playing games or running any fancy programs (unless we need some for dental school)...just day to day functions, using it mostly for school stuff. I've just been seeing more and more computers made with the core duo...I know thats the trend now, but how much better is it? Is it worth paying an extra grand for? Also, what's the difference between the core solo and the pentium? (is one better than the other?) Thanks for all your help!

 

[ItsGavinC]

So, anyone already in dental school run into any problems using their Mac?

No problems at all under OS X, and if I did have problems, I'd just boot up Windows.