# processor question



## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

I am looking at two not too expensive computers...one has an Intel core i3 processor and the other one is an Intel Pentium 3530....they are about the same cost...which is better? both are made by Toshiba, and really about 10$ difference in cost...thanks...


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

If it were me I sure would go for the better of the two mentioned which IMO is the i3 core one. The Pentium is the lower in cost per chip and lower in performance in IMO


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## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

The CPUBoss site will allow you to compare the speeds of two CPUs if you plug in the model #s.

As AK said, the I3 will be relatively better, you're comparing an economy processor and a low end model so I'd recommend to be easily able to return what you buy if you don't like the performance.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

The i3 will out-perform a dual core Pentium, but not by a lot. You'll be a lot better off with an i7 processor.

While that may sound obvious on its face if price were no object, the fact is that i7 laptops don't have to be expensive. If you know what your needs are and what options you would like, you might be able to find an i7 laptop for not a whole lot of money that you'll be really happy with. I'm talking about something like this, for $210 delivered.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-SHIP-H...CORE-i7-160GB-4GB-WEBCAM-WIN-7-/201294766293?

Maybe we should be talking about your computer needs rather than processor technology. If you can, tell us what you intend to use the computer for and what applications you intend to use.

By the way, I'm not endorsing the product or the seller in the link, nor am I suggesting that the machine in that ad will be a good fit for your needs. The laptop at that link happens to be an ultra-portable model with a 12" display, so you may need to consider 15" or even 17" laptops in order to meet your needs. I'm just using that link to illustrate that you can get a nice laptop with an i7 processor for not a whole lot of money.


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## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

well my needs are pretty simple...I do use the dvd drive, and I of course do internet research, and email...no gaming ....some photo stuff..not a lot...I use it for sewing and embroidery software....though that is often just downloading to a thumb drive...I really don't need to take it everywhere I go...so it doesn't need to be tiny, I do not have a smart phone...reliable and of course it needs to be able to hook into the printer....the ones I have been looking at are under 400....toshiba seems to have a lot of options, but reliability is important and I am open to suggestions....


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

gwithrow said:


> well my needs are pretty simple...I do use the dvd drive, and I of course do internet research, and email...no gaming ....some photo stuff..not a lot...I use it for sewing and embroidery software....though that is often just downloading to a thumb drive...I really don't need to take it everywhere I go...so it doesn't need to be tiny, I do not have a smart phone...reliable and of course it needs to be able to hook into the printer....the ones I have been looking at are under 400....toshiba seems to have a lot of options, but reliability is important and I am open to suggestions....


Your needs are modest. $400 buys a pretty nice new laptop these days.

The advantage to new is that some laptop components have a limited life. For example, you should only expect a backlit LCD monitor panel to last 4 to 5 years under heavy use. They aren't expensive (~$50), but take time to install. You can't be sure how long a LCD panel is going to last in a used laptop.

From your point of view the new i3 machine might provide better reliability than a used i7. But just to give you an alternative you might consider this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thin...-QM-Windows-7-4GB-320GB-Webcam-/281628421851?

The 15.6" screen will be a lot easier for you to see than the 12" in the previous link.

Let us know what you decide to get.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

I haven't figured out why you can buy a really decent laptop for $400 and yet decent tablets might go for 3 to 4 times that. (??) 

Would love to have a nice tablet but I keep getting sticker shock. Maybe when the craze dies down and the world is off in a new direction...


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Bellyman said:


> I haven't figured out why you can buy a really decent laptop for $400 and yet decent tablets might go for 3 to 4 times that. (??)
> 
> Would love to have a nice tablet but I keep getting sticker shock. Maybe when the craze dies down and the world is off in a new direction...


I bought a tablet for the kid at Christmas. I got the Lenovo Miix 2 8". It's small and doesn't have the fastest processor, but it's what he wanted. I got it for around $130, with 2 gb memory. He does lots on it.

My problem with tablets is that they aren't upgradable, since you can't do anything to expand memory or drive space. You're stuck with what you have. About the only thing you can do is swap the battery.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Ya I don't understand that high a price for a tablet. Heck even the iPad mini at 16 gig. is under 400.
And as far as that goes, so is the iPad Air at 16 gigs, which has almost a 10 inch screen is under 400. That is what I have running Safari as a good way to get on the net for that price it is WiFi only but add another 130 and go with cellular connection plus Wifi for just over 500. Which is the one I have.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Bellyman said:


> I haven't figured out why you can buy a really decent laptop for $400...


You can't buy a really decent laptop for $400. What you can buy for $400 is a laptop made for the consumer market with "really decent" bells, whistles, and other features. They can sell them for $400 because they're junk, made as cheaply as possible while still managing to get most of them to outlive the warranty period. This is why...



Nevada said:


> ...you should only expect a backlit LCD monitor panel to last 4 to 5 years under heavy use.


That's only true if you buy junk machines.

On a desk next to me is a laptop that was made in 2001. I bought it for a friend in 2005 for about $300. He gave it back to me maybe 3 years ago, and most of the time since then it's been sitting here doing a certain lightweight task and a little web browsing, running a reasonably lightweight Linux configuration (Debian with TDE desktop, if anyone's interested). Aside from the battery, it's in perfect operating condition. Across the room at the moment is a 3-year-old laptop of the $400 variety, running Windows 7 with not quite enough CPU & memory, that's here for a tune-up. The apparent performance of these two machines, from the user's point of view, is very close to the same.

This 14-year-old machine hasn't survived that long by accident. It's survived because it's not junk. You can now buy reconditioned quad-core laptops of the not-junk variety with everything you need for $200 or less, and dual-cores for well under $200. Look for any HP with a model number ending in "p". Chances are very good that they'll outlast by a wide margin anything you can buy new for $400.

Most new computers are bought not because they're needed, but because someone has their heart set on a shiny new computer and they're determined to get one at any cost, and even those who could easily find a dozen better things to do with $400-$800 are determined to spend it on a computer.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

backwoodsman7 said:


> Nevada said:
> 
> 
> > you should only expect a backlit LCD monitor panel to last 4 to 5 years under heavy use.
> ...


It's my understanding that it's a quirk of backlit LCD monitor technology, and that even backlight TVs have a limited age. They're not going to last the way CRTs did. When the backlight gets weak or burns out then that's the end of the panel.

That said, I've changed-out a number of laptop monitor panels. It's a hassle, but it's not rocket science. New replacement LCD panels are typically $50. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used laptop because the monitor might not last. If it goes out then it goes out, and I'll just swap the LCD panel for a new one.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Nevada said:


> ... New replacement LCD panels are typically $50. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used laptop because the monitor might not last. If it goes out then it goes out, and I'll just swap the LCD panel for a new one.


That's interesting! I have an old laptop (maybe 3 or 4 years old) that my wife dropped and broke the screen on. I think it was an HP, not an expensive model, but when I was pricing screen replacements, I don't remember of finding one for under $100. 

Sounds like I need to have another look and see whether I might find a replacement cheaper now than when it happened. I've used the computer since on a couple of occasions with an external monitor and it works fine that way. Hate to throw away something that works...


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Bellyman said:


> That's interesting! I have an old laptop (maybe 3 or 4 years old) that my wife dropped and broke the screen on. I think it was an HP, not an expensive model, but when I was pricing screen replacements, I don't remember of finding one for under $100.
> 
> Sounds like I need to have another look and see whether I might find a replacement cheaper now than when it happened. I've used the computer since on a couple of occasions with an external monitor and it works fine that way. Hate to throw away something that works...


I buy replacement LCD panels from ebay sales. Sometimes they're a little more, say more like $70 for 17" laptops.

I'm restoring a 15" laptop now that will cost about $60 for the LCD panel, but I'll do really well on the machine. The previous owner screwed-up a bios update and bricked the machine, so he sold it at eBay for $200 with a bad monitor and no hard drive. I'll flash the bios, spend $100 on the LCD panel & hard drive, then sell it for $800. I don't usually restore laptops, but for $500 in profit on a single machine I can't hardly pass it up. It's a Lenovo Y580 with a i7 3rd Generation (Ivy Bridge) processor.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231486057236

I'd keep it for myself but a lot of the value of that machine is in the gaming video adapter, which I can't justify for my uses. I can find i7 laptops that I can restore for myself for under $200.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Nevada said:


> It's my understanding that it's a quirk of backlit LCD monitor technology, and that even backlight TVs have a limited age. They're not going to last the way CRTs did. When the backlight gets weak or burns out then that's the end of the panel.


Like anything else, they can be made cheap, or they can be made good. If you buy a cheap laptop or TV, you get a cheap LCD that has a high probability of dying in a few years. If you buy a good laptop or TV, you get a good LCD that will probably work as long as you want to use it. Needless to say, most people buy cheap laptops and TVs because they're cheap, and end up spending a lot more in the long run.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

backwoodsman7 said:


> Like anything else, they can be made cheap, or they can be made good. If you buy a cheap laptop or TV, you get a cheap LCD that has a high probability of dying in a few years. If you buy a good laptop or TV, you get a good LCD that will probably work as long as you want to use it. Needless to say, most people buy cheap laptops and TVs because they're cheap, and end up spending a lot more in the long run.


Speaking about name brand laptops like Lenovo, HP, Toshiba, ACER, Dell, Samsung, Sony, Gateway, and so on, the units I've worked on have basically the same parts. You see, none of those laptop makers make a hard drive, optical drive, memory, keyboard, touchpad, processor, or any other fundamental component. They all source parts from the same manufacturers and then design the laptop around the parts.

Of course there are differences on what they buy. Higher performance laptops will have 7200 rpm hard drives instead of 5400. There are faster graphics adapters and higher resolution LCD panels. Of course processor and memory speeds vary also. All those features can cost more.

But you would be hard pressed to convince me that the service records for Lenovo's $200 laptops are any better than the service records for their $1000 laptops. The difference is in the performance of faster components, not the quality of components.

Case in point -- my laptop is a Lenovo g530 that I bought over 5 years ago for $275. It's not the fastest, but has an Intel, dual core, 2 GHz processor (T4200). It suits my needs. I've addad memory, replaced the battery, and replaced the LCD panel. I also replaced the keyboard, but that was my fault (enough said). By preference I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7. Since I use this laptop all day, every day, I can't complain about its service record.


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## Savrens (Jun 23, 2007)

I just updated my Adobe flash player. It said it requires a 2.33 GHZ processor. Something to keep in mind.

Which ever computer you select, make sure it has a HDMI connection to connect it to your TV. 

Surfing the internet or watching videos on my 52" TV from the recliner is great. You will need a wireless keyboard and mouse. 

For those with broken laptop screens check into connecting to a stand alone monitor or your TV.

Another feature to look for is USB 3. Not critical, but it has much faster transfer of data


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Savrens said:


> I just updated my Adobe flash player. It said it requires a 2.33 GHZ processor. Something to keep in mind.


That's true, but the 2.33 GHz requirement is only for single core processors. Dual core processors of 1.6 GHz or better are fine.

_2.33GHz or faster x86-compatible processor, or IntelÂ® Atomâ¢ 1.6GHz or faster processor for netbooks_
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/tech-specs.html

But you really shouldn't consider a single core processor today anyway. You'll need a multi-core processor to run any 64-bit operating system, and even the Intel Core 2 Duo processors are 64-bit capable. Core 2 Duo processor machines are about the low-end priced processor today, so there's no reason to go lower. Let's face it, we're entering a 64-bit computer world now.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Savrens said:


> I just updated my Adobe flash player. It said it requires a 2.33 GHZ processor. Something to keep in mind.
> 
> Which ever computer you select, make sure it has a HDMI connection to connect it to your TV.
> 
> Surfing the internet or watching videos on my 52" TV from the recliner is great. You will need a wireless keyboard and mouse.


 I just ordered a Apple TV so I will be able to do that not only with my iMac but also my iPad. And do it Wirelessly. Course the Apple TV is connected to the TY via a HDMI cable. But the signal is sent wirelessly. via Apples what they call AirPlay. LOL Apple has it on sale for 69.00 but I got it off Amazon for 63.


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