Intel T4400 or i3

[SE_Saga]

My girlfriend is on the verge of buying a portable within a month, and I'm thinking maybe I'll surprise her and offer it to her for Valentine's Day.

Anyway, given her needs (no games, just browsing, messaging, listening to music, watching videos, and word processing), I know it has to be something that has the "N" internet standard, a 14 or 15 inch monitor, and Windows 7 included. Everything else is not important, so I've found several models that are suitable with a T4400 processor, ranging between €379 to €470.

However, there are similar portables being released this month which only differ by having an i3 processor instead, but it's more expensive (€600).

My question is, is the price difference worth it? Is the i3 that much better in the long run? Given that it will run Windows 7, will the T4400 struggle at all, or will it run just fine?

[proxops-pete]

If your gf doesn't plan on doing a whole of intensive things (like video editing or gaming), T4400 should suffice... i3 will be better but not noticeable in most cases (like browsing and word processing and such)

[tituswolf]

I have a t4300 in my laptop and it's very fast for doing the basics like Internet, watching videos on the Internet and word processing.

[Learux]

Save the money for some flowers to go with it.

[kent1146]

For basic tasks like the ones you mentioned, the choice of a Core 2 Duo T4400 CPU or a Core i3 CPU is going to be irrelevant - get whatever is cheaper.

[mickdeed]

great thread exactly the question I am faced with;

i3-330 or t4400 (i3 is $150 more)

I do a lot of simple multi tasking IE, Word, Excel etc at the same time, some simple photoshop and audio editing.

Will I notice a speed difference? Is the i3 worth the extra cash?
What is the long term viability of each, will the t4400 still run new software in 3-4 years?

(on a side note will I notice a speed difference between a 5400rpm HDD and a 7200rpm?)


Thanks for the help :-)

[nukefault]

The i3 is only is worthwhile upgrade if 1. You want a passable light gaming experience (in which case you're better off with an Athlon II X2 M300 unless battery life and a mild CPU speed advantage are worth $100 to you) or 2. You actually do something that will push the CPU. The 4400, M300, i3, etc all perform about the same for basic use. The i3 will have some extra longevity in it, but not $100 worth. CPUs always devalue with time, and that $100 investment is likely to be worth about $50 in a few years.

Even light Photoshop runs just fine on budget chips. My M300 is slower than the T4400 and handles everything I do with Adobe CS4 Web Premium just fine. My biggest complaint is that Illustrator takes a while to load, and a better CPU won't fix that.

To answer your other question, yes, the upgrade to a 7200rpm drive is quite noticeable to me at least. I'm a cheapskate and this $500 Gateway NV53 is the most expensive computer I've ever owned, but I always get a 7200rpm drive for my lappies. I spent $60 to put a 320GB 7200rpm WD Blue in this system, sold the 320GB 5400rpm it came with on Craigslist for $50, and haven't looked back.

So, to summarize, a 4400/M300 is good for anyone who doesn't have specific tasks in mind that require a fair amount of juice. Get the 4400 if you want a bit more CPU speed and a bit more battery life; get the M300 if you want some light gaming on the side. Get the i3 if you have a specific reason for needing more CPU power and a good reason (like wanting some light gaming while keeping good battery life) for not just going with a T6700 or other midrange Core 2 that would compete on roughly even ground with the i3.

[Verneir]

Acer T4400 on sale at NewEgg right now via email promotion. Hopefully these links work for you.

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail...ail-_-E0A-_-NB

Acer laptop itself is at this URL..$399.00. Normally $499.00. Also, shipping is a whopping $9.99.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...L0A-_-34115752

15.6" LCD display.
3GB DDR2 RAM; 4GB max supported.
250GB HDD (5400 RPM).
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.
Intel Pentium T4400 (2.2GHz).
Intel GMA 4500M video.
800MHz FSB.
1MB CPU L2 cache memory.
Resolution 1366 x 768 (HD: 720).
8x DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive.
802.11 b/g/draft N
802.3 10/100Mbps


Well you can read the rest at their site I suppose.

[nukefault]

Just saw those myself. Both are great options, and it makes me all kinds of happy that even budget machines are getting 3-4GB memory and frequently Gigabit ethernet and wifi N.

Also, it's worth noting that the Pentium T4x00 series is really just a cache-disabled Core 2 Duo and oftentimes performs equivalently or near-equivalently. Wonderful budget chips crippled only by crummy Intel graphics. Ion 2 is a promising option, but the HD4200 in AMD machines is nearly as fast as Ion 2 and doesn't cost an extra $50. Same equation: if you want CPU power and battery life, get a T4x00. Want some light gaming? Add Ion 2. Willing to compromise a bit in CPU and battery life and save some money? Athlon II.