Pentium M

[horse]

Hi,

I'm in the market for a new notebook.

Right now I've got a HP nx9010 with a 2.66 PIV and I like to have 3 or more big programmes open up at the same time. e.g Visual Studio, SQL Server, Photoshop etc. -no problem to the HP.

But...does anyone have any experience with a Pentium M and multiple programmes open?

Cheers,

Horse

[Firefoxx]

A Pentium M performs better than a 2.66P4. If you want to open a lot of programs, it's best to have a lot of RAM, for SQL Server/Photoshop, 1GB or more is recommended.

The newer desktop P4's (not the 2.66) have hyperthreading, which allows for 2 virtual CPUs, which means that simultaneous processes will run better than normal. Pentium M's don't have this feature yet.

If you want to get a notebook, go for the newer "sonoma" notebooks, since they have DDR2 ram, SATA, and PCI-express, and use the "dothan" processors which have more cache. A lot of laptop manufacturers are also offering LCD displays similar to the Sony Clearbrite displays at considerbly less.

For utmost performance, you can buy a Hitache 2.5" 7200rpm notebook drive to replace the slower driver in your notebook.

[horse]

Thanks Firefoxx,

Can you recommend a good and light notebook that fits your spec above?

Also, are notebooks cheaper to buy in Thailand than UK or perhaps Singapore?

Cheers,

Horse

[Phil Conners]

While there are Sonoma notebooks out, I haven't found any so far who actually have physical support for SATA - do you?

Even if they had, I understand SATA has been superceeded by SATA2/eSATA...

New notebooks are coming out every week these days, it's a tough time to buy one!

A P4-2.66 performs similar to a PM-1.5

[horse]

New notebooks are coming out every week these days, it's a tough time to buy one!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks - is there ever a good time to buy a laptop??

H

[Firefoxx]

Notebooks are not cheaper in Thailand. Remember that posted notebook prices are the prices sans VAT (of course, if you're a tourist maybe you can get a refund), and even then they're usually higher than in S'pore (I don't know about the UK).

Madsere, the interface included with sonoma is SATA internally, just like old notebooks use PATA internally. The interfaces don't look like the desktop counterpart, but they're using the new standard (with all the advantages of the new standard). Look closely at the harddisk specs for the sonoma notebooks and you'll see that they are indeed SATA, albeit in a 2.5" form factor. SATA is like PATA, and like PATA got upgraded to 66, 133, etc, so will SATA, while retaining compatibility.

Laptops are like anything else. You buy it when you need it/want it. Wait, and there will ALWAYS be something newer and better and cheaper around the corner.

I've seen some Acer specs in an Acer brochure, and they have something that I mentioned for a little under 60k baht, including the nice display. I don't have the brochure with me now, but you can check it out at your local dealer.