Pentium vs. Celeron

[Guest]

I'm buying my college-age sister a basic laptop. All she uses a computer for
is IM'ing (constantly), writing papers, burning CD's, playing solitaire and
surfing the net. I was looking at a Dell Inspiron 1000 that has a 2.20 GHz
Celeron chip & 512 Mb Ram w/ 2 Dimms. Or a Dell Inspiron 1150 that has a
2.80 GHz Pentium chip & 256 MB Ram w/ 1 Dimm. My question is...is a Pentium
chip really worth the extra $275 I would have to pay or can I make do w/ the
cheaper Celeron? Also, what is a Dimm and are 2 Dimms better than 1? That
is my "stupid question" for the day. I would appreciate any help anyone
could give me. Thanks! -Michelle from NJ

 

[George Hester]

"...is a Pentium chip really worth the extra $275" - yipper - Celeron sux.

Dimm is a memory "format" construct whatever it has to do with memory.

Of course two is always better than one. 2 Dimm slots is way better than one.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=what+is+Dimm&btnG=Google+Search

 

[Guest]

Hi Michelle,

I see that someone else has alread replied, but I read through it and fear
that it might be somewhat misleading.

1. Yes of course, a Pentium 4 is better than a Celeron. A Nissan Maxima is
better than a Nissan Sentra, but that does not mean that you need the Maxima,
nor does it mean that the Celeron sucks. From what you described as your
sister's basic needs, a Celeron will be sufficient for her, and she will
probably never know the difference. If you have the money burning a hole in
your pocket then get the P4, otherwise the Celeron will do fine.

2. For memory and DIMMs. I believe that the gentleman misunderstood your
question, or it was badly asked. If you are buying a Dell Inspiron 1150
laptop they are probably giving you two alternatives: 512 Meg in a single
DIMM or 512 Meg in two chips (2x 256 Meg). The answer is the single chip is
better, for the following simple reason: If you have 512Meg and want to
expand to 1Gig and you have a single 512Meg DIMM installed, you can simply
add another 512Meg DIMM. If you have 2x 256Meg DIMMs, you would have to
replace them (ie: throw them out or sell them on ebay for a fraction of the
value) and buy two new 512Meg DIMMs.

I have checked the technical specs for the Inspiron 1150 and it does come
with two slots for DIMMs (actually SoDIMMs... the notebook version). Choose
the single DIMM option.

I hope this has helped. Anything further that I can help you with please ask!

Mitch

 

[George Hester]

"burning CD's" is why I said Celeron sux.

--
George Hester
_________________________________

Hi Michelle,

I see that someone else has alread replied, but I read through it and fear
that it might be somewhat misleading.

I have checked the technical specs for the Inspiron 1150 and it does come
with two slots for DIMMs (actually SoDIMMs... the notebook version). Choose
the single DIMM option.

I don't agree with that. If one DIMM can hold as much memory as 2 DIMMs then we really need to start looking at the speed of the memory. They are likly the same. But it is just my druthers that we have two or more DIMM slots. For CD-BURNING and Video stuff they will find the Celeron a dog. It is a low end Intel chip and will not scale well with future technology. This is just my opinion of course. Also resale of Celeron will be lame.

 

[Ron Bogart]

In

"burning CD's" is why I said Celeron sux.



I don't agree with that. If one DIMM can hold as much memory as 2
DIMMs then we really need to start looking at the speed of the
memory. They are likly the same. But it is just my druthers that we
have two or more DIMM slots. For CD-BURNING and Video stuff they
will find the Celeron a dog. It is a low end Intel chip and will not
scale well with future technology. This is just my opinion of
course. Also resale of Celeron will be lame.

I burn CD's all the time on a celeron without any side effects. Wish the
pocketbook could afford to pop out for non celeron but it's ability to
perform all necessary functions is not one of the reasons.

 

[Leythos]

I'm buying my college-age sister a basic laptop. All she uses a computer for
is IM'ing (constantly), writing papers, burning CD's, playing solitaire and
surfing the net. I was looking at a Dell Inspiron 1000 that has a 2.20 GHz
Celeron chip & 512 Mb Ram w/ 2 Dimms. Or a Dell Inspiron 1150 that has a
2.80 GHz Pentium chip & 256 MB Ram w/ 1 Dimm. My question is...is a Pentium
chip really worth the extra $275 I would have to pay or can I make do w/ the
cheaper Celeron? Also, what is a Dimm and are 2 Dimms better than 1? That
is my "stupid question" for the day. I would appreciate any help anyone
could give me. Thanks! -Michelle from NJ

Buring CD's is the only thing that makes any difference in what you've
posted. I have burned CD's with many celeron based systems, but you need
to be sure that you are not doing much else. For most people a Fast
Celeron is all that they will need, and in this case you sister fits the
classic example.

One key thing - get 512MB of RAM, get it in 1 SODIM if possible, so that
you can expand later. If you get 2 x 256mb then that's fine, but you
won't be able to expand without removing one later if needed.

A 2.2Ghz Celeron is not a slow CPU, and would be find for most people.
My wife has a Celeron 900Mhz system and uses QuickBooks, plays POGO
Games, Surfs, and burns DVD's and CD's without a single coaster.

If the $275 doesn't break your bank, get the P4, the system will last
you longer (performance wise) than the Celeron.

 

[Miss Perspicacia Tick]

"...is a Pentium chip really worth the extra $275" - yipper - Celeron
sux.

Dimm is a memory "format" construct whatever it has to do with memory.

Of course two is always better than one. 2 Dimm slots is way better
than one.

Huh?! So you're telling me that a system with 2x256GB modules is better than
one with one 1GB module...? OK....

 

[Leythos]

Huh?! So you're telling me that a system with 2x256GB modules is better than
one with one 1GB module...? OK....

It actually depends on the chipset and how the memory is accessed - a
single DIMM can be slower to access than 2 DIMMs for the same size. For
typical systems, as discussed in this thread, more than 512MB of RAM
won't provide any increase in performance to the user.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I was looking at a Dell Inspiron 1000 that has a 2.20 GHz
Celeron chip & 512 Mb Ram w/ 2 Dimms. Or a Dell Inspiron 1150 that has a
2.80 GHz Pentium chip & 256 MB Ram w/ 1 Dimm. My question is...is a Pentium
chip really worth the extra $275 I would have to pay or can I make do w/ the
cheaper Celeron? Also, what is a Dimm and are 2 Dimms better than 1?

The RAM comes on Dual Inline Memory Modules - DIMMS, each of which in
this case provides 256MB of Memory ( so 2 for the 512 MB machine). I
would say the Celeron should be quite enough speed, and the extra RAM
could be useful. The more expensive machine *may* have technology
(Centrino) that gives longer battery life, and maybe inbuilt wireless
networking. But I would go for the cheaper one

 

[Raymond J. Johnson Jr.]

"burning CD's" is why I said Celeron sux.

 

[George Hester]

right

 

[NobodyMan]

_________________________________

"...is a Pentium chip really worth the extra $275" - yipper - Celeron sux.

You are a brain dead moron. For what the OP said the computer would
be used for, a Celeron would work perfectly fine, AND the user
probably won't even care. I would agree that for heavy gaming a
Celeron would suck, but not for it's intended purpose here.

Dimm is a memory "format" construct whatever it has to do with memory.

DIMM is the abbreviation for Dual Inline Memory Module. It is merely
a form of memory chip. They come in various amounts of memory.

Of course two is always better than one. 2 Dimm slots is way better than one.

WTF? One slot would be just fine, as you can buy one DIMM that is
equal to what you could put into 2 slots. I prefer multiple memory
slots, but more isn't necessarily better; empty DIMM slots serve no
purpose accept to gather dust.

George Hester

Don't give advice when you really don't know what you are speaking
about!

 

[NobodyMan]

For CD-BURNING and Video stuff they will find the Celeron a dog. It is a low end Intel chip and will not scale well with future technology. This is just my opinion of course. Also resale of Celeron will be lame.

1. This computer will do just fine with CD writing. The limiting
factor has nothing to do with the speed of the processor; it will
always be faster than the data stream to the CD burner. The limiting
factor is how fast the writer is, which has NOTHING to do with what
type of processor is installed.

2. Celeron will play video just fine. I will stipulate that is is
not a good choice for somebody that is a heavy gamer, but go back to
the original post. That is not what this machine is for.

3. NO processor is worth anything on resale. The technology moves so
fast that a six month old Pentium anything is already outdated and
nobody wants to pay any significant percentage of the original
purchase price for it.

 

[Guest]

Thank you all for your knowledge and expertise. I appreciate it. People
seem very passionate about their chip choices, although I guess I would be
yelling if someone were debating department store makeup vs. drugstore.
Here's a quick question. If you had to choose between these 2 computers,
which one would you pick... A) 2.2gig celeron; 512ram; 2 dimms or B) 2.8gig
pentium; 256ram;
1 dimm??

 

[George Hester]

Look I am not going to call you a green blob from a Louisiana Bayou although
maybe I should. You don't like my opinions say so without the vitriolic
name calling. As far as I'm concerned immature name calling shows what you
are made of and in my book your suggestions hold little weight.

 

[George Hester]

Sure it does hold value on resale. Just go to eBay and find out how much a
Celeron gets vs a Pentium.

 

[George Hester]

Michele I don't like the 1 DIMM. Some here say it is fine for the intended
use. That's fine and really all opinions have value even if they are wrong.
Your choices are good and I'd take the Pentium over the Celeron any day.
But the 1 DIMM is problematic. I'd drop down in the speed of the Pentuium
and go up in available memory slots if possible. If
not...well...well...remember memory is what effects robustness speed is what
effects impatience I know we are talking Notebook but speed costs power
memory don't.

 

[Harry Ohrn]

I'd go with the 2.8 P4 hands down. You will see a noticeable boost in
performance between the two.You can always upgrade RAM later when prices are
cheap but it will cost you a lot more to upgrade processors.

BTW I was running a Celeron 2.4 for several months then upgraded to a
Pentium 2.6 on the same box. The change in speed and performance was very
impressive.

 

[Leythos]

Thank you all for your knowledge and expertise. I appreciate it. People
seem very passionate about their chip choices, although I guess I would be
yelling if someone were debating department store makeup vs. drugstore.
Here's a quick question. If you had to choose between these 2 computers,
which one would you pick... A) 2.2gig celeron; 512ram; 2 dimms or B) 2.8gig
pentium; 256ram;
1 dimm??

In todays systems, most times it's not going to make ANY difference
between 1 DIMM or 2 DIMM's when it comes to performance, where it makes
a difference is in room to expand without removing existing parts.

As for the choice, Xeon first, then P4 with Hyper Threading, then P4,
then Centrino, then Celeron.

If money is an factor, get the Celeron, it will do everything you asked
about.

As I said before, unless we have the details on the motherboard and
chipset, the issue of 1 DIMM or 2 DIMM's is not going to be a
PERFORMANCE issue, it's only an upgrade issue.

 

[zibby]

For what you intend to use it for, go with A option.
I would go with B and add more memory, WinXP chokes on 256Mb
(clean install will run fine, but as you add software that runs in
background things get slow)