HELP!! Which CPU is better. Am i being ripped off

[Ali195]

Ok so my £1049,99 2 year old laptop has been written off. My insurance company gave me £379,99.

I couldnt believe it. Now im currently in talks with them about not matching the specs of laptop they wrote it off against.

- Old laptop had:
Microprocessor 1.66 GHz Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5500 with Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology
Microprocessor Cache Level 2 cache 2 MB


- Laptop they wrote if off against (and costs £379,99) is:
Model Intel® Pentium® dual-core processor T3400 2.16GHz
Cache memory 1MB
Bus Speed 667MHz


Which is better. I think its the Intel Core Duo cos its got more Cache. Yeah???

 

[IAmATeaf]

Well the cache would help but your old laptop had a Core 2 Duo processor whereas the replacement if based on the older Pentium dual core technology so your old laptop is better. They may be basing their decision on clock speeds citing that the replacement runs at a higher speed so it must be better but as we all know for Core 2 Duo processors clock speeds when compared to previous Pentiums means nothing.

 

[gamesaregood]

Does not seem like a fair replacement to me, what were the full spes of your old laptop and the one they are replacing it with?

 

[sja360]

as above, however in this market currently that's probably what your laptop is worth perhaps? thats maybe what they're basing their decision on. £1050 sounds a lot for that laptop thats 2 years old...
i paid £450 2 novembers ago for my fujitsu Pi2515 which was -
T5250 1.5Ghz Core 2 Duo 667FSB
2GB RAM
250GB HDD
Intel X3100 Integrated Graphics.
what else spec wise did your laptop have? i.e. high resolution monitor? specific size i.e. 11" or 13" or something?

 

[Ali195]

Product Name dv2275ea
Product Number RY389EA#ABU
Microprocessor 1.66 GHz Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5500 with Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology
Microprocessor Cache Level 2 cache 2 MB
Memory 2048 MB (2 x 1024 MB)
Memory Max up to 2 GB
Video Graphics Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Video Memory up to 128 MB (shared)
Hard Drive 120 GB 5400 rpm
Multimedia Drive Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
Display 14.1” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
Fax/Modem High speed 56K modem
Network Card Ethernet 10/100BT integrated network interface
Wireless Connectivity Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Integrated Wireless LAN

Bluetooth® wireless networking
Multimedia Features HP Pavilion webcam with stereo integrated microphones
Sound 3D Sound Blaster Pro compatible sound 16 bit integrated
Keyboard 101 key compatible keyboard
Pointing Device Touch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down pad, volume control, mute buttons

2 Quick Launch Buttons
PC Card Slots One ExpressCard/54 slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)

External Ports 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
1 VGA port
3 USB 2.0 ports
1 IEEE-1394
1 RJ 11 modem connector
1 RJ 45 Ethernet connector
S-video TV out
Remote control infrared port (Remote Control optional)
2 Headphones-out one w/ SPDIF Digital Audio, 1 Microphone-in port
Cable docking connector

Dimensions 23.70 cm (L) x 33.40 cm (W) x 2.60 cm (min H) / 3.90 cm (max H)
Weight 2.43 kg (5.33 lbs)
Power 65 W AC Power Adapter
6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery

*************************************


VS


*************************************
Operating System
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
Chassis
Chassis dimensions 300x260x37mm
Weight 2.6Kg
Processor
Model Intel® Pentium® dual-core processor T3400 2.16GHz
Cache memory 1MB
Bus Speed 667MHz
Memory
Installed memory 2048MB DDR2
Hard Disk Drive
HDD size 320GB SATA
CD-RW / DVD-RW
Optical drive DVDRW+R9
Graphics
Chipset Intel 4500M
Integrated on motherboard or on AGP Slot Integrated
Screen
Internal resolution 1280x800
Monitor size 15.4-inch with Diamondview
Technology and ratio TFT
Sound
Chipset Realtek ALC861
Integrated on motherboard or on PCI Slot Integrated
Communication
Ethernet 10/100 LAN
WIFI Yes
Connectors
USB Port (total/front/rear) 3 x USB 2.0
VGA Yes
Audio in Yes
Microphone IN Yes
Headphones Yes
Keyboard and pointing device
Pointing device Synaptics Touchpad
Keyboard type 90 Key Qwerty
Accessories
ACCESSORY Integrated webcam
Warranty
Standard warranty 1 Year Standard



Its being looked into at the mo but it will get sorted because i work for the insurance company in question but the red tape is a pain in the scooby balls

 

[smids]

Don't take it - the replacement is a 15.4" vs your 14.1" (i.e. less portable), heavier and slower. Demand a proper comparator. You can buy a 14.1" HP laptop still with roghly those specs. It would probably cost about £500 now but you need to point out that their offer is not even close to your old laptop.

 

[deshepherd]

Well the cache would help but your old laptop had a Core 2 Duo processor whereas the replacement if based on the older Pentium dual core technology so your old laptop is better. They may be basing their decision on clock speeds citing that the replacement runs at a higher speed so it must be better but as we all know for Core 2 Duo processors clock speeds when compared to previous Pentiums means nothing.

However, remember that Intel call their current low end CPUs (e2xxx, 5xxx) "Pentium Dual Core" even though they are based on the same design as the mid/high end "Core2 Dual Cores" ... the "Pentium" (and also possibly now "Celeron") names are just a way yo try to distnguish the different parts of the marketplace.

Thus I suspect that both CPUs are the same design with the trad-off being reduction of 50% in L2 cache vs 30% increase in speed.

 

[steve258]

Both CPU will perform about the same in fact I'd imagine T3400's extra 500mhz should more than make up for the L2 deficiency. And yeah both are Core based CPUs.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

Ah, the Pentium branding strikes again. STILL the worst naming scheme ever to put on their core based chips.

I'd say the speed would be about the same due to the clock difference.
The more important thing to look at is the rest of the hardware, screen resolution and the weight compared to what you had previously.

 

[IAmATeaf]

However, remember that Intel call their current low end CPUs (e2xxx, 5xxx) "Pentium Dual Core" even though they are based on the same design as the mid/high end "Core2 Dual Cores" ... the "Pentium" (and also possibly now "Celeron") names are just a way yo try to distnguish the different parts of the marketplace.

Thus I suspect that both CPUs are the same design with the trad-off being reduction of 50% in L2 cache vs 30% increase in speed.

Ahh, yes good point, I'd forgotten about that

Comparing the 2, the replacement doesn't have TV out, a card reader or bluetooth from the info you've given so I'd also mention these if any of these features are particularly important to you.

 

[Corasik]

The offered laptop has approximatly equal CPU, Im pretty sure the GMA4500M outperforms the GMA950M, the screen is bigger (if you like it thats good, if you dont its cause to reject their offering).

The replacement appears to lack bluetooth, and card readers. It also doesnt have a "sound blaster" card, probably just has a standard AC97, although for regular use the difference is minor, just something to point out if you wish to be difficult.

Size, weight and battery life are worth considering, it really depends on how you use your laptop.