I need help choosing a processor - Tech Support Forums

jacobln · November 27th, 2003, 08:25 PM

Hello,

I am about to purchase a new laptop, but I have three processor options. I know Pentium pretty well, but I am choosing inbetween just two other processors. One is a Celeron 2.4 GHz, and the other is a Athlon XP-M 2500+ 1.87GHz.

My question is, which one is best for running Microsoft Office applications, Internet applications, and Instant Messageing pretty much at the same time? There will be some games (maybe) played on this laptop, and I know for sure DVD's will be played on this laptop. So which is better for me? The Celeron 2.4 GHz, or the Athlon XP-M 2500+ 1.87GHz?

I also have another concern. The techie I spoke with at Hewlett-Packard said that the Athlon XP-M 2500+ 1.87GHz is equal to a Pentium running at 2.5GHz. Is this true? If so, then why is the Athlon speed-wise measured differently than Pentium and Celeron?

Thank's for all of your help! I am looking to buying a laptop within the next week or so. I am looking forward to hearing your opinions...should I go with the Celeron, or Athlon?

**Whir** · November 27th, 2003, 08:28 PM

Go with the XP-M. Much better chip than the Celeron.

And welcome to TechIMO!

Rand Dusing · November 27th, 2003, 08:32 PM

I second the XP-M.

John Prophet · November 27th, 2003, 08:37 PM

The celeron isnt in the league of the other two at all...it just doesnt have the power.

Both of the others are good....I think maybe a consideration would be battery life..not sure which one wins out there.

JP

jacobln · November 27th, 2003, 08:37 PM

Hey!

Thanks for the quick replies! So do any of you know why the Athlon is clocked lower than the other processors, such as Pentium or Celeron?

Is what the HP techie said true about how the Athlon XP-M 2500+ 1.87GHz is equal to a Pentium running at 2.5GHz? I do not understand, and I very much would like to. Can any of you help me out?

Thanks again!

John Prophet · November 27th, 2003, 08:41 PM

The athlon just goes about doing its computations in a different way..its sort of like a car..the car has an engine, but it also has a transmission and rear end gear ratio etc. So in that case stating the horsepower alone doesnt show the whole picture.

The Pentium 4 does more clock cycles but the Athlon gets more done PER CLOCK CYCLE....so its just that they work in different ways. It gets really technical, lol.

JP

jacobln · November 27th, 2003, 08:50 PM

Wow...so thanks! OK, now tell me this. Is my getting a "1.87Ghz" Athlon as "fast" as my Pentium 2.5GHz? As in, will I see more lag in my laptop than on my Pen. 2.5GHz? I know memory plays into this as well, but lets say they have equal memory, but different processor speeds. What differences will I noticeably see?

JLN

excuzzzeme · November 27th, 2003, 08:58 PM

Think of the differences as one has a wider highway but the exits are far between and the other (Athlon) has a more narrow highway but many exits that can get you to the same place.

John Prophet · November 27th, 2003, 09:08 PM

You need to look at some "benchmarks" lol.

Because of the different ways they work..each processor will have strengths and weaknesses at doing different things....I dont either one would be "laggy" at anything though, lol.

One may be slightly better for games, one for office stuff, one for multimedia etc etc.

Here is a big killer article doing a comparison of almost every cpu ever made, lol.

look more to the bottom for the graphs and stuff and youll see some charts showing reletive speed and power etc.

I would think the xp2500 and P4 2.5ghz would be fairly close in performance. I will say that the P4 has pulled ahead a little in the last 18 months or so and its been hard for AMD to keep up. (tho I am an amd fan)

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030217/index.html

here is an example chart from the article....they dont have the xp2500, they have the 2400 and 2600 and a bunch of p4's.
http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/200...charts-23.html

I think either would work well for you.
JP