Core 2 Duo Notebooks Reviewed

An anonymous reader writes "With the launch of Intel's Core 2 Duo chip today, I found this article that not only covers the new chip itself, but also reviews and benchmarks two retail notebooks. It's interesting since one machine has the entry level 1.66GHz CPU while the other has the top end 2.33GHz chip."

Comments

Bottom line?

[gelfling]

So it's a glorified gamer machine? How fast can it start and run Lotus Notes or Thunderbird? How fast can it run a complete AV scan? How well and how fast does it run end to end, real world applications and not just RAM resident games? These benchmarks suck and pretty much ignore the fact that it's a notebook machine at all. And battery life appears to suck hard.

Re:Launched today?

[ZachPruckowski]

Core 2 Duo desktop and laptop chips were formally announced in July (the 27th or so). Desktop chips (Conre) were launched then, and started shipping (with models coming out in serious numbers over the last two weeks). Notebook chips (Merom) were "launched" today, which means we can look at pretty benchmarks as Intel starts shipping them out to most OEMs. We will see the processors in computers at stores in a few weeks.

Re:Nomenclature

[ThinkingInBinary]

You are entirely wrong.

So the Intel Core 2 Duo chip, also known as Merom was internally known as Conroe...

No. Merom and Conroe are the notebook and desktop versions, respectively, of the same chip. Merom and Conroe are both the internal names of the chips. Officially, they're both called "Core 2 Duo", and the model numbers distinguish the two series. There are physical differences, including FSB speed and (IIRC) cache architecture.

and is based on the Pentium M 'Banias' mobile chip based out of Haifa.

No. Core Duo is based on the Pentium M Dothan, which was an improved (more cache and higher FSB) version of Banias.

Additionally, the original Core Duo (Yonah) isn't really a Core product,

True. Props to Intel for the dumb naming.

it's just a P4M with two cores.

No! It's a Pentium M with two cores! Big difference! The Pentium 4-M is a pathetic, hot, power-hogging, slow version of the Pentium 4. The Pentium M is based mostly on the Pentium III, and was designed from the ground up to be more efficient per watt.

Core structure actually starts with Core 2 Duo, thus the Core 2 identification?

Yes. structure = microarchitecture.

While I agree, Intel's naming and branding sucks... try not to make it worse!

Don't forget the legal stuff

[suv4x4]

Jesus, check their logo.

intel(r)
core(tm)
inside(tm)

This requires talent. I just hope we don't run out of words we can use seeing how businesses trademark them one by one.

Re:battery life

[Anonymous Coward]

It also says "Times in seconds (lower is better)"

The Bottom of the Barrel (Executive Summary)

[Gary W. Longsine]

This article tells absolutely nothing useful about the Core 2 platform, but it may have useful bits in it for those who are buzzword hungry. As our sister site reports, the first chip is better than the other chip. Let's have a look at a list comparing features of Chip A and Chip 2.

• first chip - better than some other chips, unless you wait until spring
• chip II - chip C is better than this in all respects, except that a certain chip which may or may not be the second chip or chip 3 is more modern and consumes less heat and is faster
• third chip - designed in a foreign country and better than chip 2 but slower than the second chip
• another chip - better than a chip which is to say not really better, but overwhelmingly not quite as power hungry as chip 1
• a different chip - this is the be-all and end-all of chips off the ol' block, the mother load of chipdom, but not very impressive otherwise as that other chip

Having trouble following me? Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry! As you can see, I'm having some difficulty stringing nouns and verbs together in order which conveys useful meaning. This article is a wedgie bunchy terdhammer pukebucket of crap. This article is a hopeless string of buzz words in a mash-up, probably ripped from an ars technica article or two and cranked back and forth through the Google translator to obscure the source . Don't waste your time reading it.

I hope and desire that reading this really-not-fine-in-any-way article has not permanently affected my linguistic processing ability, although it may be so effected... doh! affected.

Doesn't anybody *screen* these submissions?

Re:The Bottom of the Barrel (Executive Summary)

[nmb3000]

That guy ignore! Real review of article here is:

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• First when the fragment - it does not wait to the spring, improve than the fragment which has other things
  
• Chip II - chip C this compared to compared to recovers with all directions, being instead of second chip or chip 3 intelligence the map which will not be the specific chip which it does not know today and compared to the enemy consumes ten and it is quicker
  
• It becomes design from the foreign nation and 3rd the chip - and second the chip than folds and it cuts smaller 2 to improve it sees but it is slower
  
• The different chip - with chip 1 by hungry force compared to it recovers with realness and it talks and the chip which is for compared to improves but overwhelmingly positively
  
• The different chip - this when it is not like that, all, the different chip with the fact that it is impressed quite together but chipdom mother burden ol block falling chips end all, and so
  

There is a trouble which follows me? Oh, Oh! Me quite sensibility be! The possibility you seeing the broad way which is, me the order broad way what kind of to be young bud which conveys meaning which is useful ties the personage and freezing to death together and. This article wedgie of the trash is terdhammer pukebucket where it is convex. This article is to chain every hour comfort which is not hope of popular saying, Iri it is torn like that and probably ars technica articles or in order to do darkly from 2 origin Google interpretations which the crank attach it leads and. It it does not waste you timely reading to dry.

I do not know and so brought about... as many as doh logs i hope and the fact that it reads the what kind of method article from under the precision which is not this realness is Yongwon and to my language processing ability and the thing effect do not go mad i want! where Effect it received.

The troublesome army song submits *screen*?

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Mod the tubes it will kick and power Insightful is this post!