which laptop processor is best for battery life?

[unclescrooge]

ok...i've given up on a refurbed laptop. mostly because of the added cost of the battery. for $200 more i get can get a new one.

here's where i'm stuck...

i know the centrinos give better battery life but the centrino seems to be more of a reference to the underlying technology than the processor used.

so which has the best battery life?

amd mobile athlon
intel celeron M
intel P4 (i know it's not the best but had to add it)
intel mobile P4
intel pentium M
amd sempron

the one i want is a sony with a pentium M but i'm having a hard time justifying the extra cost of the centrino chip.

[mynameis]

When a laptop says Centrino it means it has a Pentium M processor, an intel chipset, and an intel wireless adapter. It is a marketing campaign.

IMO, Out of those processors the best would be the Pentium M or the Celeron M, they are very similar so they would be about the same.

[SkyDog]

"Centrino" is a marketing name for systems that include a Pentium M processor along with an Intel 855 or 915 Express chipset and an Intel wireless NIC. If you see a laptop listed as having a Pentium M CPU, but without the Centrino name, that almost always means it simply doesn't have an Intel wireless NIC.

As far as I know, the Pentium M still gives the longest battery life from a decent-performing CPU.

[hongsc]

Originally posted by mynameis
When a laptop says Centrino it means it has a Pentium M processor, an intel chipset, and an intel wireless adapter. It is a marketing campaign.

IMO, Out of those processors the best would be the Pentium M or the Celeron M, they are very similar so they would be about the same.

Intel also makes ULV versions, which have longer battery life but slower processor speeds.

[kent1146]

Even the ULV versions are Pentium-M technology.

If you really want some info on processor comparison and battery life, check out http://www.notebookforums.com.

But the reader's digest version is that the Pentium-M is the king of battery life and portability. Pentium 4's and Athlon64s were designed from the ground up as desktop chips, that people crammed into laptops. Because of this, they will draw more power and generate more heat than Pentium-M. This not only means poorer battery life, but also bigger, bulkier laptops to accomodate large batteries and cooling systems.

[unclescrooge]

excellent info. thanks.

i suspected that centrino was more of a buzzword than the chip.

thanks for confirming that.

so now i know to look for ULV chips because clock speed isn't all that important to me.

i'm more interested in battery life. i mean i'm using it for word processing, email/web and the occassional in-flight dvd

[kent1146]

Don't limit your search to ULV chips. ULV chips are designed for light weight devices, not long battery life. Because they draw so little power, they can be paired with small batteries.

If you want battery life, then look for battery life ratings. A Dell Inspiron 700m or an Asus S5200N are ultraportable laptops that will last around 8 hours with extended batteries installed.

[coolqf]

Pentium M all the way. I recommend you specifically get a Pentium M that features the 533mhz FSB.