Pentium DualCore vs CoreDuo/Core2Duo

[Azhar]

Hiya folks,

I've always been an AMD person, so I've never really followed up on Intel offerings until Core2Duo and i7 came around. Now that I'm looking around for a new laptop, I'm seeing alot of low price laptops for around $400 but they all have a Pentium Dual Core processor, usually around 2.5ghz.

My sister in law's 14" Acer laptop has a Pentium Dual Core with 4gb of RAM and it's pretty snappy and quick.

Is there a difference between a Pentium Dual Core and a Core2Duo processor? Is it worth the bargain basement prices you find these laptops at?

 

[rcf1987]

lower end core 2 duos are called pentium dual cores i have an e5200 that runs at 2.5ghz that is a wolfdale core 2 duo chip but is labeled as a pentium dual core. just make sure its not a pentium 4 dual core there old and arent that good

 

[Zero82z]

The T20xx and T21xx mobile Pentium Dual-Core CPUs are based on the older Core Duo Yonah core. All the others are really low-end Core 2 Duos, including the T23xx, T24xx, T3xxx, and T4xxx CPUs.

 

[BinarySynapse]

The T20xx and T21xx mobile Pentium Dual-Core CPUs are based on the older Core Duo Yonah core. All the others are really low-end Core 2 Duos, including the T23xx, T24xx, T3xxx, and T4xxx CPUs.

Well, they aren't based so much as they are them rebadged.

lower end core 2 duos are called pentium dual cores i have an e5200 that runs at 2.5ghz that is a wolfdale core 2 duo chip but is labeled as a pentium dual core. just make sure its not a pentium 4 dual core there old and arent that good

However, the desktop PDC's aren't just rebadged C2D's. They have a reduced bus speed and L2 cache and disabled features.

 

[Zero82z]

Well, they aren't based so much as they are them rebadged.

No, the Yonah Pentium Dual-Core chips have cut-down L2 cache. They aren't just rebadges.

 

[BinarySynapse]

No, the Yonah Pentium Dual-Core chips have cut-down L2 cache. They aren't just rebadges.

ahh, I stand corrected then. I wonder why I never noticed that. Guess I assume that since my Celeron M 520 has 1MB, that the Pentium Dual Core's would have 2MB.

 

[PGHammer]

No, the Yonah Pentium Dual-Core chips have cut-down L2 cache. They aren't just rebadges.

Pentium Dual Core and Celeron Dual Core are both based on Core 2 Duo (Conroe, Conroe-L, or Wolfdale) with chopped on-die cache, no VT-x, and, in most cases, lowered clockings.

I have the E1200 (Celeron Dual Core) which is based on the Conroe C2D (specifically the E6300), however, it has but 512KB of L2 (less than a fourth that of the E6300 it's based on, but identical to the P4 2.6C that it replaced), and has a stock clock of a mere 1.6 GHz (however, it's capable of tall overclocks, especially compared to stock; I'm running @ 2.67 GHz with a 1333 MHz FSB, and that's on stock voltage and with the stock HSF, push-pins and all). It's underneath the Northwood-C's old stock clocking, but has a MUCH taller FSB, which gives you an idea just HOW hobbled the entire Netburst architecture was (not just Prescott, but even Northwood). I have a processor WEI (with the Celly) of 5.4, whereas the P4C's WEI portion was a mere 4.2 (Vista in both cases).

 

[Zero82z]

Pentium Dual Core and Celeron Dual Core are both based on Core 2 Duo (Conroe, Conroe-L, or Wolfdale) with chopped on-die cache, no VT-x, and, in most cases, lowered clockings.

T20xx and T21xx mobile Pentium Dual-Core CPUs are based on the Yonah core, and are not Core 2 CPUs.

I have the E1200 (Celeron Dual Core) which is based on the Conroe C2D (specifically the E6300)

Actually, it's based on the Allendale core, not Conroe. It is essentially an E2140 with half the cache disabled.

It's underneath the Northwood-C's old stock clocking, but has a MUCH taller FSB, which gives you an idea just HOW hobbled the entire Netburst architecture was (not just Prescott, but even Northwood).

Completely different architectures. You can't compare them based on cache size or clock speed, since they have completely different designs. By the way, your Celeron has an FSB speed of 800MHz, which is the same default speed as many P4s had.

 

[PGHammer]

T20xx and T21xx mobile Pentium Dual-Core CPUs are based on the Yonah core, and are not Core 2 CPUs.

Actually, it's based on the Allendale core, not Conroe. It is essentially an E2140 with half the cache disabled.

Completely different architectures. You can't compare them based on cache size or clock speed, since they have completely different designs. By the way, your Celeron has an FSB speed of 800MHz, which is the same default speed as many P4s had.

True; but I'm running it with an FSB of 1333 MHz (an FSB overcrank of 533 MHz from stock; 333 MHz quad-pumped vs. 200 MHz stock). And the latest version of CPU-Z specifically states "Conroe", not "Allendale", for the E1200. (The E1400 is Allendale-based, however.)

The Celeron DC is also a true dual-core; whereas the Northwood-C it replaced was only a *virtual* dual-core (HTT). At stock, they do run the same FSB (200 MHz quad-pumped); but there are also outside-the-die differences between the two as well (the Northwood-C was commonly paired with garden-variety DDR system memory for example, while my Celly is teamed with DDR2).

It is because of these differences that the current-generation Celerons, while weaker than the *regular* C2D (and, to an extent, even the Pentium Dual-Core brethren) are far from the third-class citizens typically coming to mind when you hear the *C* word (the Celerons of the Netburst-architecture era)

 

[BinarySynapse]

True; but I'm running it with an FSB of 1333 MHz (an FSB overcrank of 533 MHz from stock; 333 MHz quad-pumped vs. 200 MHz stock). And the latest version of CPU-Z specifically states "Conroe", not "Allendale", for the E1200. (The E1400 is Allendale-based, however.)

The Celeron DC is also a true dual-core; whereas the Northwood-C it replaced was only a *virtual* dual-core (HTT). At stock, they do run the same FSB (200 MHz quad-pumped); but there are also outside-the-die differences between the two as well (the Northwood-C was commonly paired with garden-variety DDR system memory for example, while my Celly is teamed with DDR2).

It is because of these differences that the current-generation Celerons, while weaker than the *regular* C2D (and, to an extent, even the Pentium Dual-Core brethren) are far from the third-class citizens typically coming to mind when you hear the *C* word (the Celerons of the Netburst-architecture era)

The off die change have nothing to do with what makes an architecture better or worse.. You could get Core2 compatible motherboard that utilized DDR1. and they'd still stomp any Netburst processor out there. The reason that the Celerons of this generation are better than top-of-the-line processors of the Netburst line is because the architecture is a thousand times more efficient.

 

[Linux_Box]

I'm a former AMD user coming back to Intel (PII 450mhz was my last Intel!!). Here is a good link to help with Intel processor basics:

Core2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors

Pentium Dual Core
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_microprocessors

IMHO, look for Wolfdale core if possible.

I ended up with an e5200 to get me started for a year or so... it ought to be much better than my 939 x2@2.9GHZ which has held up for my gaming needs until now.