2.53 Ghz Dual Core vs. 2.4 Ghz i5

Is one processor better than the other? or are they about the same

Thanks.

 

"2.53GHz Dual Core" is ambiguous, it could refer to a Core 2 Duo or a Core i5 - which one are you referring to?

The Core i3 and i5 processors are the replacements for Intel's Core 2 Duo processor. The bottom line is that they are faster and more efficient. However, the outright majority of people will be fine with either.

Could you provide a link to the computer(s) you are looking at?

 

Oh, Core 2 Duo, I am looking at macbooks.

 

The Core i5 is the better of the two, depends on what your use is and your budget though.

 

Ok. What do you do on a computer? Specific programs you run, etc.

 

Well, I am mainly going to play warcraft 3, starcraft, heroes of newerth. older games and just normal use.

Im looking at the basic 13 inch
Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB Memory
250GB hard drive1
SD card slot
Built-in battery (10 hours)
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics

vs.

the 15 inch
Intel Core i5
4GB Memory
320GB hard drive
SD card slot
Built-in 8- to 9-hour battery
Intel HD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB

 

2.4GHz on the Core i5 is not the whole story, since it (I'd have to assume it's the i5-520M) has Turbo Boost, giving it an additional 266MHz on 2 cores or 533MHz on one.
The Core i5 is definitely faster overall, but like Charles said most people will be fine with either.

For gaming, though, that won't matter; it's the difference in video cards that will. Since you're looking at older games, both would probably be fine, but the 330M is a much faster card.

 

For your usage, either will be just fine. The Core i5 2.4 GHz processor would be faster though. The 330M and Core i5 in the 15" MBP probably won't make much of a difference for your gaming needs.

 

If you want to play games on battery, the 320M should eat a lot less power than the GT 330M, being an integrated chip. Of course, your selection of games also goes down a lot.

 

Oh, hey lackofcheese, you posted on my older post lol. Over the past 3 hours my heads been juggling around what I want more, preformance vs. portability and battery life... im leaning towards getting a more portable laptop until one day a good "jack of all trades" shows up in the market which will probably be never.

 

If you're interested in 13" you should still look into the Sony VAIO Z and the Acer TimelineX as well.

 

the bottomline is that the i5's r much faster and efficient than the c2d's
about the gaming performance 330 is obviously a better card than the 320.

 

of course, if you consider how many games were made BEFORE the current bleeding edge.... your selection probably goes down about 5%

 

Which do you need more, gaming power or battery life?

While you will pay more for the I5, it will have a higher resale value. However, do not let this fool you. In the end it will balance out.

Considering how long the claimed battery life is, if you can afford it, I would go I5, not because of the processor though, I would because of the video card. If you look up the actual performance numbers for the processor difference in most situations it won't do much for you. The video card however will.

 

The OP said "Well, I am mainly going to play warcraft 3, starcraft, heroes of newerth. older games and just normal use.", though. However, for that kind of minimal use, the ASUS UL30Vt would be sufficient, and give better battery life.
Otherwise, since the OP has expressed some interest elsewhere in playing newer games, I still wouldn't recommend the 330M as there are better alternatives.

 

Do consider that the battery life given by apple for 15 and 17 MBP is based on you not using the 330M discrete, but the intel integrated in the arandale, if you would to use the 330M discrete most of the time, I suspect the battery life won't be much better than most 330M notebooks out there.

 

Well before, I guess i kind of popped my wallet. now im trying to think more conservative considering im almost paying for a 1700$ (600$ more than the 13) 15 inch for performance increase that some may or may not be significant :\

 

The 15" is worth more at least.
Its using current gen Intel cpu and the latest rebrand of Nvidia.

Where i live, they sell the cheapest MBP with Intel i5 for 2555 USD*.

*14.990 NOK

 

A lot of manufacturers are going with 5400 RPM drives in their long battery life computers, actually. I think it's more a question of power consumption than cost. ASUS' U30JC and UL series, and the Acer TimelineX models, all seem to have 5400 RPM drives by default.

I'll say it again, though: if all you want to do is play older games like that, the ASUS UL30Vt will do the job and save you some money. Otherwise, if you're considering newer games, the TimelineX is a solid option.

 

Does anyone want to compare a GT320M, 2.53 ghz core 2 duo, 4 gig ram vs my pc desktop with a 7800 GT, Pentium D 3.0 Ghz, 2 gig ram on gaming preformance?

 

Your desktop will be better at gaming.

 

Can someone do a comparison between a C2D and i5?

like i540m = ?

i620m = ?

 

In general, an i5 compared with a latest gen Core 2, will perform 20-30% better in most applications, same with IPC, 20-30% more.

 

Keep in mind that 20% may not equate to 20% faster running programs.
Other components create a buffer on big increases and also the video system is more important in gaming.