Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Mobile processors

So, I have really been into computers, I have done a lot of work with them and currently run a small business repairing/upgrading/building computers. Because of my busy schedual I have been out of the loop a little bit on computer hardware when it comes to mobility (since I dont normally service laptops). I will be going off to college in the next year, and I want to start keeping my eye out for those good deals on an affordable laptop to purchase in the next 6-7 months. Really the budget shouldnt go over $800. I have seen Compaq doing a really nice deal for only $520 coming with a 1.5ghz Celeron M 256Mb of memory (DEFINATELY add another 512 to that) 40 gig hard drive (dont need a WHOLE lot of space). And I would upgrade to the 12 Cell battery for $25 more. And the extra $25 for intergraded 802.11g (I love t3h wireless). My question is... What are the competeing lineup for affordable mobile processors. I have seen the Athlon Sempron, which I know is a good technology. And now this Intel Celeron M which has been out for a while and supposedly like the Mobile power saving Pentium M. I want a fairly light laptop, that gets really good battery life (3.5 hours+) that I can primarily use for web browsing, School work and so on. So my choices have narrowed down to Celeron M and the Sempron... Anybody have any input on these two particular processors?

edit: Operating systems arent really a problem, if I have to buy a laptop from like overstock that has no OS on it thats fine.

I'd vote p4-m w/ centrino =)

Works well for me.

I prefer the AMD processors myself, same or more bang for less buckage, ya dig?

Pentium M >> Celeron M in terms of performance with similar battery life.

Intel > AMD for battery life vs. weight.

I prefer AMd for desktops, but not laptops.

Wait for a Dell deal. 600M or 700M for <$700

If your "primary use" is going to be web surfing and school work, why are you worried about the processor so much? You seem to be more worried about cost. So, stick with the Celeron M. It'll be PLENTY of processor power for the next 4 years for what you want.

--JamesT

hey alias,

Check out my ebay auctions i sell laptops all the time.

Ussually centrino 1.6's.

ebay name is Kanakrysvt

Yea, definitely wait for a Dell deal. They offer $750 off laptops $1499 and above a lot and sometimes there are other deals below 700 bucks as well.

I just recently bought a 600M for $771 shipped and these are the specs:

1.8 Pentium M
60GB hdd
512MB RAM (1 dimm)
DVD ROM/CD Burner
64MB video

Thats about it, I love it so far and it only weighs about 5 pounds with the battery and I get insane battery life. You work on computers so you should know to stay as far away from Celeron as you can, no matter what type of Celeron it is. I would go with the Sempron over the Celeron any day of the week, but I would also go with the Pentium M over both the Sempron and Celeron any day of the week.

So IMO just wait for a good deal on a Pentium M.

The Celeron M does not have Speedstep so the battery performance is not as good as the Pentium M ("Centrino" if it comes with the integrated wireless). That said it's still a good choice as both are preferable over the Athlon laptops.

I've had two Athlon based laptops and even the "Mobile" version builds up way too much heat compared to the Pentium M. My fan runs most of the time, and I have to keep the laptop elevated to get enough cooling to keep it from getting too hot to touch.

Recently bought one of those entry level Compaqs for my dad. It was a Celeron M, but surprisingly quiet, ran very cool, and showed decent battery life. It came out to $400ish after rebate and all I had to do was yank out the 256 ram for two sticks of 512.

The Dell deals can be very decent too. I just got the 700M: 1.7ghz Centrino, 60gb, dvd burner, 2 yr warranty for ~$770 after everything. This one will be going from 256 to 1 gig of ram as well, it's much cheaper to upgrade yourself than to pay for it when you order.

yeah, thats what Ive always known, I have always told people to stay away from Celeron, I had no experiance with this particular processor, so I have no idea if Intel actually made a good budget based processor... But I guess I was wrong. I probably will keep my eye out for a cheap Pentium m... I have never liked dell before due to overactive hard drive problems that I have had to fix many a times... But I figure I could just get an extended service plan.

I have a HP NC6000 centrino 1.6 gig 512 ram, 60gig Hdd with bluetooth on ebay right now
its about 200 less than your 750dell and way better.

check it....

Thats what you need jared