calling computer experts out there!

[tom]

the core duo 2 processor..what is this exactly? my knowledge of computers today is somewhat out of date as i have been using my current laptop for 4 years now. and while its still going strong, my only complaint is that the fan is very loud and it kicks in too early now, and can heat up quickly too. even when shutting down programs and unecessary operations, the same thing happens. plus, i think its time to move on anyway, so am thinking of getting a new laptop.

how good is this model?
Acer Aspire 8920G / Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz / 4GB / 640GB / 18.4" / Blu Ray / Vista Ultimate / Laptop / Notebook (Gemstone Blue)
(from play.com, £1350 approx)

i am thinking of getting this computer..i like to consider it an investment for long term use. i'll be using it mainly for internet, perhaps playing the odd game or so, and watching dvds/bluray etc.

but i like to know how does a 'core duo 2 processor' work..is this two processors rolled up in one, with one chip doing all the background operations like antivirus etc, while the other chip focuses on the things the user is doing?

furthermore..in regards to the memory, RAM, does more memory reduces the 'stress' a computer goes through..by this, i mean the more memory, the more it can do. with my current computer, it only has 512mb..and my processor is a celeron, and it seems to be knackered since it tends to freeze abit as well and i notice when this happens the fan is screaming.

anything else i should look out for in laptops today, let me know!

[munchingfoo]

The freezing on your current computer is likely caused by pagefaults. This happens when you don't have enough memory to do all the things you ask your computer to do at the same time.

The computer has to switch one process out of memory in order to put another one in. This process takes aaaagggggggeessss(yes - that long!)


Anything more than 2Gb is likely to be wasted on your usage, but since memory is pretty cheap right now you might as well have the 4Gb if its on offer.

As for the core 2 duo, you are pretty much right. It allows multiple processes to be run at the same time so if you are watching a DVD the antivirus (or whatever) will run happily in the background).

You will probably find that a laptop of that spec is far too powerful for your needs. The graphics cards will play most games you want to play on a laptop, but don't try playing anything brand new.

Unless you have loads of cash and don't care, I'd suggest you get a lower spec laptop. Or you could use the difference to get one with a good graphics card.



[hr]

"The entirety of these definitions lie outside the gamut of the sRGB color space — such a pure color cannot be represented using RGB primaries. The color swatch to the right is a desaturated approximation, created by taking the centroid of the standard definition and moving it towards the D65 white point, until it meets the sRGB gamut triangle."

[SpecialK]

Get a MacBook Pro. Trust me, it'll be the best decision of your life.

[Wiler Viriya]

By the odd game, do you mean crysis? If so, this isn't going to be good enough. Otherwise yeah, as above. That spec is way more than you need.

[Jerry]

Quoting SpecialK from 12:30, 10th Jul 2008
Get a MacBook Pro. Trust me, it'll be the best decision of your life.

Ignore this advice, it will be the best decision of your life.

[tom]

Quoting Wiler Viriya from 13:05, 10th Jul 2008
By the odd game, do you mean crysis? If so, this isn't going to be good enough. Otherwise yeah, as above. That spec is way more than you need.

no, not crysis..i'm not really much of a hardcore gamer, much more of a part timer actually. the games i have in mind are half life 2, half life 2 episodes 1&2, wolfenstein, GTA3, vice city and san andreas, and perhaps football manager. most of my other games will be played on the ps3 anyway.

i also have another question..for the computer i have in mind (stated in the first post), i understand that the core duo 2 processor has two processors of 2.5ghz speeds each. a salesperson at a computer store says this is 'effectively 5ghz'. is this true? also, if i was to play a game that required a processing speed slightly higher than 2.5ghz to play, will this laptop cope? ditto to the memory too..it says 4GB RAM, but this comes in two 2GBs..so if i was to play a game or programme that requires more than 2GB RAM, again, will this computer cope or not? i just like to understand its capabilities better before i buy it, as none of the stores in my area has it.

finally, i checked the graphics card, its NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GS 512MB..is this any good?

[househunter]

Laptop GPUs are normally shit, but at least it's a dedicated one. You should be able to play ANY game on that system (so long as you don't max out the settings on the newer games)

Example, Crysis will work, but only at medium/low settings.

And to rile things up, Macs are for fucking kids and posers.

[orudge]

Quoting tom from 15:12, 10th Jul 2008
i also have another question..for the computer i have in mind (stated in the first post), i understand that the core duo 2 processor has two processors of 2.5ghz speeds each. a salesperson at a computer store says this is 'effectively 5ghz'. is this true? also, if i was to play a game that required a processing speed slightly higher than 2.5ghz to play, will this laptop cope?

Well, it's "effectively" 5GHz in a way, but each processor core can only use 2.5GHz itself. However, more applications these days are being written with multiple processors/cores in mind, so can take advantage of this extra processing power. Also, one other advantage is because background processes like antivirus software can be executed on a different core, it can leave more processing power "remaining" for any games you play. Basically, your system should cope fine with the majority of modern games, at least from a CPU point of view.

The graphics card looks fairly decent too, and should play the majority of games fine - certainly, HL2 and the like will play just fine on that, probably with close to max settings too. Newer games may not be as smooth as you'd like on the highest settings, but stick them down to medium or so and it should be fine.

[hr]

http://www.owenrudge.net/
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37103734

[munchingfoo]

According to the article I looked up you got an 8600GS with it, but the article did mention that a plan was in the pipeline to fit them with 9650M GSs. Make sure you are getting the second one.

CPU - no, its not effectively 5Ghz. If you have one program - the max speed at which it will run is 2.5Ghz (unless its a clever multiprocess program). Not that Ghz means anything anyway. Its just a value (almost) made up by companies to make you think their machine is faster. For example - if you encode all the instructions on your computer to complete within 1 cycle and its a 2 Ghz machine, you can do 2,000,000 instructions per second.

If you encode all of exactly the same instructions to take two cycles on a 3Ghz machine you only get 1,500,000 instructions per second.

Of course the consumer sees the 3Ghz and assumes its faster. Generally speaking a 3.0Ghz pentium 4 is faster than a 2.8Ghz pentium 4, but this isn't always true (most notably with the northwood and prescott), because pentium 4 defines a set of architectures.

As for the memory, yes. 4Gb means 4Gb available for any one application. The only worry you could have here is that the sticks are matched and compatible, but given that it comes with the machine this won't be an issue.

[hr]

"The entirety of these definitions lie outside the gamut of the sRGB color space — such a pure color cannot be represented using RGB primaries. The color swatch to the right is a desaturated approximation, created by taking the centroid of the standard definition and moving it towards the D65 white point, until it meets the sRGB gamut triangle."

[tom]

http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire ... ersion.asp

Sweet!!

i think i might wait a wee while for the price to go down though :p

[househunter]

Also if you're going for 4GB of RAM make sure you get a 64 bit OS, mainly Vista 64 (do not touch XP 64 with a 60 ft barge pole).

This will enable you to see all 4GB of your memory as 32 bit OSes could only address up to 4GB of total system memory which included things like video card memory.

But I'm sure Acer wouldn't be retarded and give you a laptop with 4GB of RAM without Vista 64 or something.

[househunter]

Also if you have space for a desktop PC you could always build a PC with the same specs for half of that price.

[tom]

Quoting househunter from 15:42, 11th Jul 2008
Also if you're going for 4GB of RAM make sure you get a 64 bit OS, mainly Vista 64 (do not touch XP 64 with a 60 ft barge pole).

This will enable you to see all 4GB of your memory as 32 bit OSes could only address up to 4GB of total system memory which included things like video card memory.

But I'm sure Acer wouldn't be retarded and give you a laptop with 4GB of RAM without Vista 64 or something.

it's 32 bit, but i don't understand what you're saying in the second paragraph anyway!

[househunter]

This will explain it better. There are more links on Google, mainly from people on forums asking why their systems are only seeing 3.25GB when they have 4GB installed.

http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/32- ... gb-of-ram/

Basically you'll need a 64 bit OS if you want to use all your RAM.

[tom]

Quoting househunter from 19:32, 11th Jul 2008
Basically you'll need a 64 bit OS if you want to use all your RAM.

Is it possible to buy a 64 bit vista and install it on the laptop?

[tom]

also, househunter..following from my previous post i did abit of research and someone said that its possible to install 64bit vista on a laptop that already has a 32bit installed in it, provided that the processor is capable of 64 bit processing..however, while the most important thing is that the processor is capable of handling this, what about the other hardware?

Intel core 2 duo t9300 2*2.5ghz processor, this page says its capable of 64bit processing:
http://www.superwarehouse.com/Intel_Cor ... /p/1516350

[tom]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windows-Vista-U ... 628&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windows-Vista-U ... 628&sr=8-4

which 64bit version of vista do you recommend with this computer, househunter?

[househunter]

AAAAHHH so many questions. Your system is more than capable of running 64 bit Vista.

As for which version, if you're buying Vista Ultimate retail then you should get the 64 bit media along with the 32 bit media. If you're getting anything else then you can order the 64 bit media from Microsoft for the price of postage. All that matters is your licence key.

[househunter]

Actually you'll need to contact Acer and make sure that all the components have 64 bit drivers available just to make sure. You should also ask if they can put Vista Ultimate 64 on instead of the 32 bit version. It shouldn't actually cost them anything.

I hate laptops in all honesty.

[Senethro]

The whole thing about having too much ram for your operating system to use happened to me. I was surprised to learn that your video ram on the graphics card counted towards this total. I was pleased to learn it was so simple to get 64bit vista.

And just for comparison, I got a better spec desktop for £~850 two years ago (ish). Thoguh to be fair, my cheap laptop just about makes up the difference :/