Dual core in Laptop vs Desktop

[Gig-O-Ram]

Something I thought might be an interesting point for discussion. Follow along boys and girls...

Since my wife's desktop is down right now, she's been using our laptop a bit more. The laptop has an Intel Core Duo T2050/2MB L2/Yonah @ 1.6ghz w/1GB RAM, shared video and 120GB hdd divided into two partitions (FAT32). Since I am trying to determine how to go about bringing her desktop back to life, I have wondered if I should go with her P4 2.8ghz and a new s478 board, or if I should just upgrade the platform altogether with a different socket board and a newer processor. With that said, I've suggested to her the possibility of dual core cpu's.

Okay, here's the point of a little debate that came up: She has told me that she hasn't noticed much, if any, performance increase or convenience with the dual core in her laptop, as opposed to the single core P4 that is in her desktop. She feels the two are about the same.

She doesn't do a whole lot of heavy multi-tasking (like surfing while burning and listening to music while working with pictures, blah, blah, blah), but she tends to be online with AOL quite often, and also works with her photos in PhotoImpact Pro 8.5, and likes to switch back and forth between the two. She tells me that when doing this on the laptop, AOL (version 9SE) comes back up in fragments instead of a smooth transition. She had the same results on her other computer, which had the 2.8ghz P4, 1GB RAM and 80GB hdd (1 partition, NTFS). Her DT originally had 512MB RAM, but I upgraded it to 1GB (PC3200), and she told me at first she noticed some performance increase when I bumped up the memory, but performance would go down the longer she worked. But I guess THAT's another issue.

But again, the point is, she doesn't think dual core cpu's are all they're cracked up to be - she's unsure of their validity. She tells me that when she's on the LT, the system will frequently lock up for several seconds (mouse cursor won't even move) and then go back to normal, which she feels shouldn't happen with a dual core. We have disabled several services in the LT in order to get faster boot times, and I just defragged the hdd - but could there be another issue that's causing the lock-ups and the lack of smoothness when switching from one app to another? Could it be the difference in the cpu speed on the LT (despite the D/C platform) as opposed to the P4? Could it be the slower hdd on the LT? The hdd in the DT was 7200rpm, but I was told LT hdd's are slower.

:hmmmm: Did ya get all that? LOL! :alberteinstein:

[Jokerswild]

I'm no expert but I would think that unless your using apps that can use the dual core, say like Photoshop then you probably won't see much difference for the average person.

[JazzyJake]

go through your Maxpc archives and dig out that dual core edition.

[One4yu2c]

Two part answer:

1) The issues she's describing aren't related to a lower clocked dual-core processor versus a higher clocked single-core. If I had to guess, I'd say the integrated graphics are what's causing the lack of "smoothness" when alt-tabbing between applications. And if it's using a 5400RPM hard drive, that would make a difference too.

2) Your wife's correct in that she doesn't need a dual-core rig for her purposes. Switching between AOL and Photoshop isn't much of a multitask. A better example of multitasking with those two programs is if you tie up the CPU applying an intensive filter to a photo, and while the processor is working to do that, try and play around in AOL. A task like that is going to exploit the multi-threaded weakness of single-core processors, as would trying to RIP a DVD or run a virus scan while performing another CPU intensive task at the same time.

If you can pick up a s478 mobo on the cheap, then that's going to be the path of least resistance here, particularly since she seems pleased with the performance. Multi-threaded apps are, and will continue to be, more commonplace in the future, but until they become mainstream standards, average users aren't going to see the same benefits as power users.

[fps justin]

It's always nice to have a dual core desktop, but if she is happy with it, why introduce something more expensive?

Even better, GIVE YOUR PC TO YOUR WIFE.

Get money and buy yourself a new C2D system! haha. That sounds like a good idea.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Slight correction: In the original post I stated that she has tried switching between the AOL and the photo program on the laptop with not as much finesse as she expected - I was mistaken. She has had that issue on the desktop, but hasn't actually tried it on laptop yet. I guess I was a bit confused in what she told me.

I read her you guy's responses, and she is in agreement that the issue isn't necessarily related to one cpu speed or the other, as well as most of the statements and that she doesn't need a dual core cpu for her needs.

I guess I'll look for a decent 478 board and go from there. I told her the one about giving her my rig, and she doesn't necessarily disagree, but I think $$ for a new rig for me might be a bit hard to come by right now. But who knows?