Ok, so my parents are wanting to buy two new laptops for themselves, and they want the best they can get..

i dont want any sugestions on what kind of computer they should get, they will be getting XPS's, i just want to know the differense, and what the pros and cons are of Dual Core Power Processors, and Intel Centrino Dual Processor, and which one you think is better....

ive looked online and couldn't find much, my parents have looked and hopefully someone here can help thanx

This post has been edited by Albus Dumbledore: Jul 5 2006, 01:45 AM

Well first of all, i know a lil bit about this stuff

Let me explain a little something. Theres pros and cons about having a dual processor.
Most of the older applications only optimize the single processing unit. The technology in the applications is poor and it will only pick up the single one, thus making the computer slower.

However if your using new-er applications. Microsoft office 04/05/06 etc, they optimize the dual, thus making it faster!

I suggest your parents get dual processors as the market is changing, practically all applications made can recognise the 2nd processor and eventually, the applications will ONLY run on dual, or triples

C2D, hands down. I've got a macbook pro with the C2D chipset and I've never owned or used a faster Mac, and that includes Desktops. Of course the dual dual-core 3.0 MHz Xeon Mac Pro would be WAY faster I'd wager, but I've never used it either. My wife has a C2D equipped Sony Vaio and it's damn quick as well. I mean Q-U-I-C-K! I've never used a faster Windoz 'puter and it's only got a 1.88MHz chipset (mine's 2.33). Furthermore, you want to get the very latest greatest technology when you go to buy a laptop because these things become obsolete so fast you want to get some joy out of using them for as long as you can. Right? I'm sure my Mac will be disgustingly slow this time next year, but I'll try and keep it for at least a couple years before upgrading again.

As far as i know
1. power processor is manufactured by IBM and earlier used to come with MAC and
2.centrino dual core is manufactured by intel and is now coming with MAC and other notebooks and PC's.

Dual core definitely gives performance boost to the applications which are compatible because there are two different processors are fabricated on a single processor chip and both works separately. And drawback of core two duo processors are that they need better cooling then their counterparts single core processors. Since Two processors are there on a single chip so heat produced is much more then single core. In single core where the normal temperature is below 50 degree celcius in case of dual core processor the temperature normally remains above 65-70 degree celcius.

Speaking of DualCores, there are variants of Intel DualCores aswell as AMDs. The Pentium D and the Core2Duo (Conroes) are examples. When deciding on what to buy, try to realize what you want to do with the unit and what applications you want it to have. 90% of current softwares doesn't utilize dualcore technology so using those apps will just consume double power on a single processing speed. This means, lesser battery life, hotter unit and more expensive.

The previous intel dualcores (Pentium D series) are said to be inefficient since it consumes so much power with only 33% processing gain. But the Conroe technology changed it all. This Conroe is byfar the most efficient dualcore processor today since it boosts performance with lesser power and cooler unit. So it has a better Boost/Watt efficiency.

I've been using Pentium D on my video editing unit before since Sony Vegas 7.0 can utilize dualcore technology but i eventually moved to conroe and trust me, its really better.

I also had AMD X2s and AMD Sempron units and they are really good in gaming but power monster units.

AMD in laptops aren't that good for me.

So know what you need to do before deciding.

That doesn't sound right to me. I know Assembly Language and I've read the Intel documents on dual core technology, the Operating System always controls which processor does what. It will not matter whether the application runs on one processor or two. HOWEVER, programs that are not optimized for 64-bit technology, which is different than dual core, will run slower 32-bit code on 64-bit intel processors is emulated. This essentially makes all programs that don't use 64-bit technology slower on a 64-bit chip than on a 32-bit chip.

Dual core is still a new technology. I see Intel now has a quad core chip. Personally, I'm going to wait a couple years for a new computer, so I can see what else Intel will come out with.

They are very useful for running multiple powerful applications.
But legacy software (old software written for single core processors) will only run at the speed of one of the cores. Butcause it has not been optimised for spreading the load. This means, that if you use a dual core processor, with 2.2 GH each, (thats 4.4 combined) running a legacy programme on that, will only use the speed of one (2.2GH) so only really half the speed you payed for.
But remember, if you buy a good dual core, say 2.0GH or more, even using just one core 2gigaherts isnt too bad, infact, it would have been considered fast 5 years ago.
And while that is running, the operating system will often be spread accross both the cores.
Windows vista is optimised for dual cores. so it slows down legacy appliactions more that it would if it were run on a single processing unit.

basically, it depends on what you want your computer to do, multitasking and multimedia is often suited to dual core.
but running older programmes, ne at a time, you might want a single core.
hope this helps