A few questions

Strongbad

Hi all,
Im in the process of looking for a laptop and after looking at several i have a few questions.
Is a 2Ghz Centrino processor equivalent to a pentium desktop processor of the same speed?
Is 533Mhz RAM a huge improvement over 400Mhz RAM?
If i get a 7,200 rpm drive will it make much more noise then a 5,400 rpm one?
Can i upgrade RAM myself or will i need to send it away to get done?
Thats all i can think of,
Thanks!

Tom Dunne

There is technically no such thing as a Centrino processor - it is the mobile version of the processor packages with the wireless technology.

So, a mobile procesor would not be the same as the desktop version at the same speed - it would have power saving features, for example.

As for the speed questions - it depends on what you are doing. Simple word processing and web surfing won't benefit. However, games and video editing may use the extra speed.

And finally RAM - most laptops have RAM in a module that is usually very accessible. So in general, it should be fairly easy to install it yourself. You just have to be 100% certain the RAM you have will actually work on the system you have.

Strongbad

Thanks for the reply. Performance wise would the laptop processor be similar to the desktop processor? I'd imagine cooling etc would slow down the laptop, correct? I want to be able to play relatively new games. The laptop im looking at has a 128mb ATI X600SE card on it, is it any good?

PonderStibbons

A 2ghz clockspeed in a Pentium 'M' (This is the name of the processor that comes with the centrino package) is pretty damn fast - the fsb (front side bus) is bigger, meaning that although it doesn't 'move' as fast as an ordinary pentium, it can work on more at a time, meaning that it is equivalent an ordinary Pentium 4 with just under double the clock speed, if you get me. It works this way because having the thing ticking over at a slower rate (as in having a lower GHz) means it doesn't use so much power.

As for the RAM, it is usually easy to install - but just remember you'll probably void your warranty.

commited

It's equivalent to an 3.2 P4 540 ish.

Ram upgrades generally dont invalidate your warranty btw

pclancy

Workmate has a 128Mb Geforce and only about a 1.5Ghz Pentium M with 512Mb. It eats BF2, CS, HL2 and everything he's thrown at it so far. Annoys me really as my desktop P4 3.0Ghz with 1024Mb and Radeon 256Mb 9250 doesnt seem to be able to BF2.

PonderStibbons

commited wrote:

Ram upgrades generally dont invalidate your warranty btw

Really? Where did you buy from out of interest? I emailed the makers of my laptop and they said I would invalidate the warranty if I upgraded the RAM(I did it anyway, but still!)

Strongbad

Im looking at a Toshiba with 2Ghz pentium M, 512Mb(which i will upgrade to 1.5Gb) and 128mb Radeon X600SE. Will i be able tp play the games mentioned above(BF2,CS etc) on that?

Tom Dunne

commited wrote:

Ram upgrades generally dont invalidate your warranty btw

Hmmm, I find this hard to believe. Any hint of a screwdriver taken near a laptop (or PC for that matter) tends to invalidate the warranty.

Do you have any links to manufacturers terms and conditions where this categorically called out?

Strongbad wrote:

Im looking at a Toshiba with 2Ghz pentium M, 512Mb(which i will upgrade to 1.5Gb) and 128mb Radeon X600SE. Will i be able tp play the games mentioned above(BF2,CS etc) on that?

It should be fine. I run HL2, Doom3 and FIFA2005 on my crappy Radeon 9000/9100 (with shared memory) without problem.

commited

PonderStibbons wrote:

Really? Where did you buy from out of interest? I emailed the makers of my laptop and they said I would invalidate the warranty if I upgraded the RAM(I did it anyway, but still!)

Depends on your warranty. Generally if they have a flap that you can open just for memory upgrades it doesnt affect your warranty. This was the case for my mates latitude. Worth checking of course You can also add ram to mac's without voiding the warranty too

http://www.directron.com/faqmemory.html#22 - found this

Karoma

More specifically: Upgrading RAM will not affect your warranty - unless you cause (physical damage) to the laptop as a result (ex: RAM Slot,etc.). Remember to use appropriate anti-static measures when handling and installing the RAM,or you've just wasted money and caused a future headache. And remember to remove the additional RAM further down the line if any issues do arise (For troubleshooting, or if you have to send the unit back to the manufacturer,etc.)
To purchase RAM: Crucial UK (I had bad experiences of their US site..); or preferably: (Irish) www.shop4memory.com

pclancy

No way. Acer, FSC, Sony, HP, Compaq, Toshiba will all invalidate your warranty if you have none manufacturer ram in the slots when the laptop was sent back to them or inspected by an engineer. Do upgrade using third party ram but dont ever let them know you've done that. It nicely gets the manufacturer off the hook cos then they can say maybe your ram caused the issue. Even though it might be identical in every way, without their part number on it they're not going to support it.

Karoma wrote:

More specifically: Upgrading RAM will not affect your warranty - unless you cause (physical damage) to the laptop as a result (ex: RAM Slot,etc.). Remember to use appropriate anti-static measures when handling and installing the RAM,or you've just wasted money and caused a future headache. And remember to remove the additional RAM further down the line if any issues do arise (For troubleshooting, or if you have to send the unit back to the manufacturer,etc.)
To purchase RAM: Crucial UK (I had bad experiences of their US site..); or preferably: (Irish) www.shop4memory.com