A couple of days ago,.. my friend asked for assistance , in buying a new laptop for his son who lives in UK. The following should be the main features: Processor: Pentium M Centrino 1.7Ghz RAM : 512MB HD : 80GB Wireless features ( i think he means 802.11) Budget range is $1200-1600. I would appreciate if you have suggestions. Also regarding the processor, which one is better, Pentium 4, pentium M or centrino. What is the main difference, apart from the battery life. Is AMD a better option. Since his son is doing his master in computer sicence,.. i think he wouldn't be using it for games.
Centrino isn't a processor. It's a Pentium M-based CPU matched up with some wireless networking and a few other features I can't remember off the top of my head. The design of the Pentium M is much more efficient than the Pentium 4, despite running at a slower speed. Additionally, since the Pentium M was designed for laptops, it puts out considerably less heat than the standard P4 and uses much less juice.
The Pentium M is a very good processor for its clockspeed, often outperforming CPus running at an equivelant 2.6GHz or more, but they are more expensive than laptops with desktop or dekstop - M CPUs. AMD don't have a direct competitor to the P-M right now, however they are developing their mobile CPU called Turion 64 which will have less heat output than even the P-M.
