Mobile Processor or Desktop Processor for a Laptop?

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alphakilo

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Just wondering what is the best cpu to get for a laptop? How do the mobile and the desktop cpus differ aside from the thermal output? I am looking to pick up a gaming laptop and I am geared toward an X2 4400+ which does somewhat futureproof my investment considering gaming laptops are so expensive. Are laptops overclockable, CPU and GPU? Is this advisable considering it is a laptop and heat is a major concern?

Thanks a lot in advance!
 
If you're taking battery life into consideration, an X2 or comparable desktop CPU would be out of the question. Not only would battery life be terrible, but the laptop would run very hot. Overclocking the CPU and GPU is possible in some cases, though you won't be very successful in a laptop.

At this point, future-proofing has not come to the laptop yet. Upgradeable video modules are rare and with the frequent chipset refreshes, it's going to be hard to expect a long life of CPU upgrades. I wish you luck nonetheless.
 
I guess if you want a laptop that is meant to be a desktop replacement for you and that plays all the latest games with the most possible framerates, you should get a desktop CPU in your laptop. Just be sure you have other components that can feed your CPU with info with no bottlenecks such as a fast HDD (7200 rpm), lots of RAM (1gb to 2gb), and a powerful mobile GPU (7800, 6800, etc).

If other components aren't high-end like the CPU, I recommend getting a mobile CPU instead like the Pentium M with FSB533mhz.
 
Dual-Core is most likely out for now - but there is the Mobile Athlon64, which many Arima-based laptops use (including models by Gateway, eMachines, Voodoo, and Sager). The Gateway 7510GX has the Mobile Athlon64 3700+ and an ATI Mobility Radeon x300 w/ 128MB dedicated RAM. 7200RPM drives for notebooks are still few and far between, but there's a lot of 5400RPM mopdels to chhoose from (and will usually save you some $$ as well).
 
You can get decent battery life (around an hour with a powerful enough battery) from a balls to the wall gaming system, toss a spare battery in the bag, and you are good for two. Of course, systems like that are more designed for those who will almost always be around an AC outlet than all over the place road warriors.
 
For a desktop replacement that would basically sit around on a table plugged into an outlet all day, I'd go with the high end CPUs paired with the super mobile GPUs.

Of course, if you need battery life in the 2+ hour range and lug the notebook around everywhere, I'd get one with something like a Pentium M. Desktop replacements can become very heavy for some models (like 8 - 10+ pounds).

As for overclocking - it is possible to do on notebook CPUs and GPUs, but it's not recommended due to increased heat problems.
 
BillLeeLee said:
Desktop replacements can become very heavy for some models (like 8 - 10+ pounds).
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I can attest to that. I carry my DTR and my M70 to work everyday. - I think that my backpack weighs somewhere around 25 pounds loaded with both bricks, both laptops and all the other crap that I put in there.
 
Your best option for a gaming laptop lies with the Intel Pentium M or AMD Turion mobile CPU's. The Pentium M is easily as fast as that X2 that you were thinking about for gaming and it consumes only a fraction of the power. AMD's Turion model is a good CPU as well that gives good performance against a Pentium M but you dont find them in very high-end notebooks. Your cheapest option would be to get a Dell with a coupon. The Dell M170 with Pentium M 760/770/780 and Go 7800 GTX is currently the fastest gaming notebook for the price you can get it at with a 30%/35%/40% coupon. Coupons come and go so you have to watch for them.
 
To answer the OP - If you can get all of the other features that you are looking for but can get a mobile proc - get it and don't look back.
 
Your best option for a gaming laptop lies with the Intel Pentium M or AMD Turion mobile CPU's. The Pentium M is easily as fast as that X2 that you were thinking about for gaming and it consumes only a fraction of the power. AMD's Turion model is a good CPU as well that gives good performance against a Pentium M but you dont find them in very high-end notebooks.
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Considering that the Pentium M just edges out the Turion in head-to-head comparisons, I don't see how it could match the X2 in any fashion whatsoever. Also, the reason you don't find the Turion in "high-end" models is because a.) AMD never positioned the Turions as a high-end part; and b.) they just hit retail within the last few months. There is a new series of the Turion coming out in December (I think) that drops the voltage requirement even further than the existing Turions, leading to even better battery life.

Of course, if you need battery life in the 2+ hour range and lug the notebook around everywhere, I'd get one with something like a Pentium M. Desktop replacements can become very heavy for some models (like 8 - 10+ pounds).
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I get 2.5 - 3 hours with my Mobile Athlon64 setup running on battery, and the weight isn't an issue to me. I prefer a unit that actually feels like it's there instead of some featherweight model that I can't tell is in the bag or not when I pick it up.
 
tntoak said:
Considering that the Pentium M just edges out the Turion in head-to-head comparisons, I don't see how it could match the X2 in any fashion whatsoever. Also, the reason you don't find the Turion in "high-end" models is because a.) AMD never positioned the Turions as a high-end part; and b.) they just hit retail within the last few months. There is a new series of the Turion coming out in December (I think) that drops the voltage requirement even further than the existing Turions, leading to even better battery life.
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But the P-M doesn't edge out the Turion, it flat out destroys it in games, and wins other benches by a modest portion, the Turion only wins in synthetic bencharks, and then only by a hair. Plus, the X2 isn't the processor you want for gaming purposes. There are FX notebooks coming out that will take out a P-M for pure gaming....

That being said, I would take an X2 laptop over a P-M or an FX, simply for the great multitasking ability without a slowdown, and because dual cores are cool.
 
i have a P-M overclocked to 2.13 (thanks to the switch in the asus z71v) and i am disappointed with its performance. people say that a 1.7 or so should be comparable to a 2.4 ghz p4. well, i have both. and the P-m seems pokey. i only have a 9500 in my desktop, and it seems to perform much better than the 6600 go. the FSB speeds and lack of hyperthreading or dual core in PMs are the biggest drawback. in retrospect id get a p4 based notebook with an x700.
Or you could wait till notebooks that support the yonah core come out.....dual core and a little extra fsb wouldn't be bad.
 
But the P-M doesn't edge out the Turion, it flat out destroys it in games, and wins other benches by a modest portion, the Turion only wins in synthetic bencharks, and then only by a hair.
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Are you referring to the Tom's Hardware Guide & Anandtech tests? Both of them were basically discredited, especially THG. For some reason, THG tested them head to head in a desktop configuration instead of a mobile config. There were some other irregularities and discrepancies involved in the testing - I don't have the info on hand at the moment.
 
I have the gateway M675. Processor is 3.0Ghz P4 HT (desktop processor). I upgraded the ram from 512 to 1 gig. The LCD screen is 17.1" (battery drinker I'm sure). The graphics card is not that impressive, its an ATI 9600 64mb, but Gateway's newest model of this system has a very nice gfx card. It will run most games at a decent setting. I haven't tried to OC it because I am a bit scared of the heat. My battery at 30% wear runs about an hour and 10 minutes. If it were a brand new, it would run about an hour and a half. That is just taking notes in class. I'm sure if I had the stock ram in there and maybe underclocked the gpu it would last a lot longer.

Also, don't forget the weight. This thing weighs almost 9 pounds. The majority of the weight comes from the battery, which is quite large compared to other laptops, but I can definately live with it. Its not something that you would say OMG I hate this thing its so heavy.

I have been playing Doom3 at a decent setting without any lag. The 17.1" display is really nice :D
 
pre1014 said:
in retrospect id get a p4 based notebook with an x700.
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I think that would be a huge mistake. My university requires all students to buy a laptop from them upon entering freshman year and my year was the last that they offered P4-M laptops before switching to P-M. I am made bitter by that fact every single time I'm reminded of it. It's a decent machine when it comes down to it, they put enough RAM in it and such, but the P4 processor at 2.2ghz is like a bad practical joke to me. If it's gonna be low clock speeds give me a P-M so I can save power - or if it's gonna be a P4 at least give me HT and a few more megahertz so I can use it.

But with regards to your specific situation, blaming your laptop's lag on the P-M is a bit short sided. There are more factors to consider.
 
RawsonDR said:
I think that would be a huge mistake. My university requires all students to buy a laptop from them upon entering freshman year and my year was the last that they offered P4-M laptops before switching to P-M.
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Just gotta point out: he said P4. That is the desktop version, not the mobile version. It has HT. Note the title of the thread; he is talking about getting desktop processors for (somewhat) mobile systems.
 
laptop chip for laptops! cause you want battery life and a Desktop CPU uses to much power...= no good.
 
Stormlifter said:
laptop chip for laptops! cause you want battery life and a Desktop CPU uses to much power...= no good.
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Battery life is a state of mind ;) Buy extra batteries and stash them in the bag.
 
tntoak said:
Considering that the Pentium M just edges out the Turion in head-to-head comparisons, I don't see how it could match the X2 in any fashion whatsoever. Also, the reason you don't find the Turion in "high-end" models is because a.) AMD never positioned the Turions as a high-end part; and b.) they just hit retail within the last few months. There is a new series of the Turion coming out in December (I think) that drops the voltage requirement even further than the existing Turions, leading to even better battery life.
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Well the Pentium M can easily match the X2 in gaming because games are not multithreaded and something like an X2 4400+ is only 2.2Ghz. The Pentium M also has 10 cycle L2 cache which is faster then the 17-18 cycle L2 cache on the Athlon 64's. Something like a Pentium M 770 is comparible to an A64 4000+ and FX-55 in gaming.
 
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