Centrino with 802.11b or P4 with 802.11g??

[lobster]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I'm researching a new notebook purchase, for which decent WiFi
connectivity is going to be important. I've been learning about
Centrino, Pentium-M, 802.11b/g etc and think I have got my head round
it, but have a few queries.

If long battery life is not absolutely crucial, am I better going for
a cheaper P4-based machine rather than Centrino?

If I do go for a centrino-based machine then I need to choose between
802.11b capability and g (faster network transfer but more expensive).
I think 802.11g would be too expensive, so if Centrino it would most
likely have to be 802.11b. But can this be upgraded to g in the
future, or is this capability built-in? Would a P4-based machine with
a separate 802.11b card be a safer bet for future upgrading?

Thanks
David

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Lobster <davidlobsterpot601@hotmail.com> wrote:
: I'm researching a new notebook purchase, for which decent WiFi
: connectivity is going to be important. I've been learning about
: Centrino, Pentium-M, 802.11b/g etc and think I have got my head round
: it, but have a few queries.

: If long battery life is not absolutely crucial, am I better going for
: a cheaper P4-based machine rather than Centrino?

: If I do go for a centrino-based machine then I need to choose between
: 802.11b capability and g (faster network transfer but more expensive).
: I think 802.11g would be too expensive, so if Centrino it would most
: likely have to be 802.11b. But can this be upgraded to g in the
: future, or is this capability built-in? Would a P4-based machine with
: a separate 802.11b card be a safer bet for future upgrading?

Any Centrino laptop that you'd buy with only 802.11b is most likely a
close-out model; I think all the new ones are 802.11b/g now, and that
goes for P4 models also.

I would definitely go for 802.11g if buying a laptop now, even though
if you use public "Hotspots" 99% of them will be 802.11b anyway. But
g is a little faster and you may want that in the future.

Both P4 and Centrino models use an internal mini-PCI card for the
802.11b/g card. I am assuming no laptop solders them in, but I can't
be sure. Just find out on your specific model whether the internal
card can be removed and replaced. Might be as simple as one screw to
pull off a back panel and see. You have to remove not only the card
but disconnect the antenna, which might be tricky (my mini-PCI WiFi
card came with a little tool to remove the antenna).

You'll get a little more CPU power for the buck with a P4 laptop vs. a
Centrino laptop. Some people here have been concerned about heat
issues with the P4 (a desktop CPU) in a laptop. I recently got a
Centrino for my brother because the comparable P4 machine we were
looking at seemed to be a "Prescott" P4 (3.2GHZ, 1GB cache) and they
run very hot - and he said the CPU power wasn't really that important
to him. The Centrino machine we got was only about 20% slower running
the image apps we were concerned about. I have a 2GHZ Celeron
(based on a P4) Toshiba laptop and it's been great - no heat issues or
noisy fans, but it's two years old. I wouldn't hesitate to get a 2GHZ
P4 or Celeron, but the 3.2GHZ Prescott did give me pause.

Why not list specific laptops you are considering?

Andrew
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