Need help with portable PC

Dr. A. Cula · December 11, 2003, 08:30

I have decided to buy a portable PC. I set my mind on a Packard Bell with this setup:

AMD Athlon XP Mobile 2400+ (1.8GHz)
512MB memory
VIA Apollo KN266 motherboard
S3 ProSavage8 32 MB graphics card
40GB HDD
Realtek AC-97 sound card
DVD RW
Li-Ion battery

My problem is that I need one with low power consumption, as I plan to use it mostly while travelling. Someone in the office told me there is some sort of technology that allows a processor to use less power, but no one here has been able to give details.
Does anyone have any idea about this? How is this system performing re. power usage?
Also, how does 1304 euro sound for this system? Someone here thought it was a bit expensive.

PS: Please be quick. I'll go buy it in about 3 hours.

DaShi · December 11, 2003, 08:39

It sounds to me like you are not ready to buy yet. I'd wait until you've done more research before rushing into it.

Zopperoni · December 11, 2003, 08:40

The system you're planning on buying will weigh 3 Kgs or so. Personally, I think that's heavy.

The technology your colleague was talking about is Intel's Centrino.

However, prepare to pay more for Centrino laptops.

1304 euro is so-so, but why the hurry?

Dr. A. Cula · December 11, 2003, 08:53

I'm not in a hurry. I've been researching this for about a month now and came up with this system, mainly because the dealer is offering a nice monthly payment solution with a few options I couldn't find at other dealers. The thing is I missed the part about power so far.
I was planning on getting one this Christmass, but I just read a news piece that prices are going to explode (they actually used this word) around Christmass, especially for imported goods like this.

Oh, and thanks for the Centrino bit. Unfortunately, this dealer doesn't list Centrinos in the catalogue, which is a pitty. I understand I can change the configuration when buying a system.

reds4ever · December 11, 2003, 08:57

One solution (granted, not the ideal one) is to buy two batteries

Dr. A. Cula · December 11, 2003, 09:06

I'll probably buy another battery, if it doesn't add up too much on the monthly payment.

Zopperoni · December 11, 2003, 09:07

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. A. Cula
Oh, and thanks for the Centrino bit. Unfortunately, this dealer doesn't list Centrinos in the catalogue, which is a pitty. I understand I can change the configuration when buying a system.

It's not always listed as "Centrino". It's usually listed as "Pentium M", with a range of 1 to 1.70 GHz.
Centrino may be lighter and less power-consuming, but look out for manufacturers that consequently use less powerful batteries. The four-cell batteries will last just 2.5 hours as well.

Dr. A. Cula · December 11, 2003, 09:17

Nope, no Pentium M on the list either. Just a bunch of P4s and some Celerons.
Someone just told me the same things about batteries (duration and power). I hope this is not the case. I have seen quite a lot of websites set up by individuals unhappy with the systems and/or services provided by local dealers and this is not one of them.

laurentius · December 11, 2003, 09:20

P4s and Celerons are BAD, avoid them in Laptops at any cost!

Dr. A. Cula · December 11, 2003, 09:23

I knew Celerons were somwhat of a problem in desktop systems, but this is news to me.
This means I'll stick with the Athlon, as the only other option is a P4-based system and it's much more expensive.

laurentius · December 11, 2003, 09:27

Heres how it goes:
Pentium M is the best for laptops
Pentium 4 - M is good
Pentium 3 M is ok
Celeron is bad
Pentium 4 is extremely bad.

I dont know about the Athlons tho

Dr. A. Cula · December 11, 2003, 09:33

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Right now, I don't have much choice, as this is the most flexible deal I could find and the dealer only lists P4s and Athlons for laptops.

laurentius · December 11, 2003, 09:40

Your wellcome. I dont know what exactly your situation is but I bought a new laptop about 4 months ago. I lend some money from a bank with nice low intrest rate. So if you can reach a nice deal with local bank...

Anyway I'll explain my list briefly:

Pentium M *Most expensive, fast(est), lowest power consumption, low heat production
Pentium 4 - M *Reasonably prised, fast, low power consumption capabilities, reasonable heat production
Pentium 3 M *Inexpensive, older/obsolete/hard to come by, lower power consumption, low heat production
Celeron *Cheap, slow, reasonable power consumption, temperate
Pentium 4 *Overprised, fast, huge power consumption, very high heat production

Dr. A. Cula · December 11, 2003, 10:22

This means I'll stay away from P4s altogether. For some reason (maybe voodoo), most desktop systems I used had a tendency to overheat.

Getting a bank loan as a private individual is a huge hassle here, and banks usually don't bother with such small sums. But when a business asks for money, they get it immediately. So most shops here offer this possibility and in most cases all I need is my id and proof of employment. A bank would ask for a ton of paperwork, sit on it for month or so , and then tell me I'm not trustworthy enough. Now, if only the chief beancounter would hurry up and fill up the form I gave him...

Urban Ranger · December 11, 2003, 12:43

Packard Bell boxes aren't that good.

SpencerH · December 11, 2003, 13:32

You essentially have two paths. Follow the desktop replacement line i.e. I dont care if the battery lasts 2hrs I want POWER, or a pentium M with excellent power usage and reasonable speed (just dont expect to do really high end graphics stuff).

I saw some great Gateways the other day with the newer screens - well worth the money IMO.

laurentius · December 11, 2003, 13:37

P-M runs high end graphics just as well as P4 does

SpencerH · December 11, 2003, 15:07

Care to back that up?

MRT144 · December 11, 2003, 15:10

i want the desktop replacement with p4 3.20 ghz 2 gbs of ram, 7200 rpm HD. i would plan on using it for audio production and multimedia production...

Zopperoni · December 11, 2003, 15:14

Quote:

Originally posted by SpencerH
Care to back that up?

Dell Precision M60: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=04&l=en&s=bsd

Pentium M 1.70 GHz and 128 MB Quadro FX Go700.

Dell Inspiron 8600: http://catalog.us.dell.com/CS1/cs1pa...300&l=en&s=bsd

Pentium M with 128MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600 PRO Turbo.

SpencerH · December 11, 2003, 15:19

I found some myself on toms hardware comparing P4-M speeds and clearly at high resolutions its not the CPU that is the limiting factor. I guess I'm living in the past (at low resolution) where CPU speed did have effect.

SpencerH · December 11, 2003, 15:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Zopperoni

Dell Precision M60: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=04&l=en&s=bsd

Pentium M 1.70 GHz and 128 MB Quadro FX Go700.

Dell Inspiron 8600: http://catalog.us.dell.com/CS1/cs1pa...300&l=en&s=bsd

Pentium M with 128MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600 PRO Turbo.

I guess you thought I meant that you couldnt buy a P4-M with a high end graphics card. No I was foolishly assuming that (for example) a 3GHz P4 desktop replacement would outperform (for example) a 1.6 GHz P4-M once the GPU limit had been reached (and that doesnt appear to be the case comparing 1.4GHz to 2.2 GHZ P4-M's with the same video cards.