802.11g - Centrino v Add in card?

[Gus]

Technical question. Is there any real performance or reliability issue between a Centrino WiFi laptop and a standard laptop enabled with a 802.11g PCMIA card? Are there any guide recommended minimum specifications for a laptop (would like to get an AMD based machine if poss.)

[ChrisA]

Technical question. Is there any real performance or reliability issue between a Centrino WiFi laptop and a standard laptop enabled with a 802.11g PCMIA card?

I would have thought that the main reliability issue is that with the PCMCIA version you are MUCH more likely to bang the bloody card on something, cos it's sticking out the side rather annoyingly, whereas of course the internal one isn't.

Also, of course, unless your laptop has two or more slots, once your wireless card is in there that's about it.


Are there any guide recommended minimum specifications for a laptop

No. It depends a lot on what you want to do with it and how much you want to spend. Do you want it as a physically small desktop replacement, or to take about with you? It certainly used to be the case that some of the more powerful ones generated so much heat they'd burn your legs if you used them as an actual laptop, and also had awful battery lives.



(would like to get an AMD based machine if poss.)
Why? For most applications, AMD desktop CPUs have proved themselves extremely well in price/performance terms, but I'm not sure it's the same with their mobile CPUs. Again, look carefully at your actual requirements.

HTH :flower:

[David Franklin]

Why? For most applications, AMD desktop CPUs have proved themselves extremely well in price/performance terms, but I'm not sure it's the same with their mobile CPUs. Again, look carefully at your actual requirements.
My impression is that if you want a high performance laptop, AMD wins for similar reasons to the desktop scenario, plus they use a lot less power (and run cooler) than a high-end P4 (especially now nearly all P4s use the very hot running Prescott core). But those kinds of laptops tend to be large, heavy, and best connected to the mains. Conversely, Intel have some of the best solutions if you don't need high performance and value battery life. I think they do tend to work out a little more expensive though.

Totally agree that you need to work out what you actually need. Outside of games and video editing/encoding, I'm unconvinced there are many applications where the performance of any modern CPU will be a problem. (My 5 year old PC does DVD playback with only 40% CPU utilisation).

Dave

[ChrisA]

Totally agree that you need to work out what you actually need. Outside of games and video editing/encoding, I'm unconvinced there are many applications where the performance of any modern CPU will be a problem.
A little specialised, maybe, but if you're recompiling a large application dozens of times a day, it makes a BIG difference to how stressed you feel.

I went up from an old Athlon 1.2 to an XP2500+ and it made a big difference. I no longer have time to read one of Gadget's posts between compiles, for instance :innocent:

[Gus]

Thanks for the comments so far.

Dont think I was clear as to the spec requirement .... was referring specifically to the system requirements for running WiFi effectively. Most of the real cheap laptops (sub-£700) don't seem to be Centrino.

The mian application will be Office 97 so any PC will be able to cope wit that. The only testing app will be Outlook over WiFi .... and maybe running iTunes and PC DJ software, neither of which seem to be resource intensive (or am I wrong on that?).

Main issue is cost ... its just a glorified e-mail access point on which I would like to be able to write reports on the go.

[ChrisA]

Main issue is cost ... its just a glorified e-mail access point on which I would like to be able to write reports on the go.
Well get a cheapish Centrino then, with a nice screen, a touch-sensitive mouse pad rather than one of those infernal Thinkpad joystick efforts, and a proper keyboard with decent-feeling, full sized keys. And maybe one that supports two batteries, if you're likely to be away from the mains for a while.

You'll want to connect things to it eventually, despite the wireless, so two USB2 sockets would be good as well. Maybe take a look at Bluetooth and Firewire, but that starts to push the price up a bit.

Any of these will turn out to be far more of an important issue for you than raw CPU speed, I'd suggest.

Even the fact that you don't have to keep plugging/unplugging the damn PCMCIA card is probably reason enough to go that way. Guess how I know? :sad:

[David Franklin]

A little specialised, maybe, but if you're recompiling a large application dozens of times a day, it makes a BIG difference to how stressed you feel.True, but I take the view that in those circumstances you know what your bottlenecks are. (Upgrading my HD in similar circumstances made a surprising difference as well). Question is, with less time waiting for your machines, are you more or less stressed?


I went up from an old Athlon 1.2 to an XP2500+ and it made a big difference. I no longer have time to read one of Gadget's posts between compiles, for instance :innocent:Guess that answers my question! :wink:


Dont think I was clear as to the spec requirement .... was referring specifically to the system requirements for running WiFi effectively. Most of the real cheap laptops (sub-£700) don't seem to be Centrino.
The CPU is pretty irrelevant I think - you might use a noticeable amount of CPU handling WiFi encryption, but it's not going to be enough to matter - I can play full quality video over WiFi with no problems. For throughput, it's much more important making sure you have decent reception etc.

Basically, the CPU is really unlikely to be a deciding factor, so make sure you like the machine in other ways like keyboard, mouse etc. To agree with Chris again: USB2 is pretty much a requirement these days - and if you have that, you can plug most things in if you need them. Don't forget to equip with anti-virus and firewall as well.

Dave

[azande]

Humble suggestion:

iBOOK 12" 1.2Ghz G4, £699.00 Ready to ship: Within 24hrs Free Shipping

1.2GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache (at 1.2GHz)
12-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
256MB DDR266 SDRAM
30GB Ultra ATA drive
DVD/CD-RW drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
AirPort Extreme built-in
AirPort Extreme 54Mbps IEEE 802.11g wireless standard, it delivers data rates nearly five times faster than the 802.11b standard.

[David Franklin]

On the PC side, here's an idea of what you can get:

Acer Aspire £565 inc Vat

CPU: AMD Sempron 2800+
512MB 333Mhz DDR RAM
40GB HD
15.4" TFT display (1280x800)
DVD-R/W drive
Nvidia Mobile Graphics (64MB DDR)
Fax Modem
Ethernet, 54g Wireless
4xUSB, Firewire, InfraRed

(Have no idea if that's a particularly good deal - was first laptop I saw @ Ebuyer with wireless built in).

[TheTramp]

So. Lessee. On a quick comparison on the above examples. You can pay over £150 more to get a slower machine, with a smaller hard drive, less memory and a smaller viewing screen. I'm sold... :whistle:

[azande]

So. Lessee. On a quick comparison on the above examples. You can pay over £150 more to get a slower machine, with a smaller hard drive, less memory and a smaller viewing screen. I'm sold... :whistle:

And a lot less hassle with virus, firewalls, maintenance, spyware, drivers......

And can you point me to the benchmark comparison of the two please?

[El Salsero Gringo]

So. Lessee. On a quick comparison on the above examples. You can pay over £150 more to get a slower machine, with a smaller hard drive, less memory and a smaller viewing screen. I'm sold... :whistle:

Well, a Triumph Roadster probably goes slower than a Mini Metro and uses more petrol, but I know which I'd rather have. To anyone with style, the Mac is more than worth the difference.

[David Franklin]

And a lot less hassle with virus, firewalls, maintenance, spyware, drivers......Agreed, though it's not that much hassle unless you're stupid about what you install.

And can you point me to the benchmark comparison of the two please?Perhaps surprisingly, I can't find any on the Spec website. From personal experience with the software I work on, the G4 is maybe 40% faster than a P4 at the same mhz (i.e. a 1.2Ghz G4 might equal a 1.7Ghz P4). As the laptop PC is rated as 2800+, however...
To anyone with style, the Mac is more than worth the difference.Sorry, but if I want something with style, I'll buy a sculpture...

[Dreadful Scathe]

I have an iBook for sale, excellent condition - nearly new, with a slightly better spec than the one Azande mentioned for a mere £500.

For PCs - ebuyer.co.uk has laptops starting at £500. I would agree with Chris about WiFi - pcmcia cards have sticky out bits - internal wireless is much better in that regard and in my experience gives you a better signal because the aerial travels round the inside of the whole case. Also, practically any laptop you could buy will work wth WiFi. (Wifi cards are £8 too)

Processor I wouldnt even worry about, you are not going to notice with the kind of things you're looking at doing on it. Usb should be standard. Go for colour and price ;) (and possibly whether it has a CD/DVD writer or not if you need it)

[DavidY]

TDont think I was clear as to the spec requirement .... was referring specifically to the system requirements for running WiFi effectively. Most of the real cheap laptops (sub-£700) don't seem to be CentrinoAria components have a Fujitsu laptop on special offer here (http://www.aria.co.uk/specials.asp) (only 3 left!) for just over £700 including VAT. I'm pretty sure this model is Centrino and includes a DVD writer & 512 MB, and firewire (but not bluetooth). :)

However I bought a similar model Fujitsu from another company a few months ago. Since then it's needed a new mother board and the DVD/CD seems to stick (it doesn't always eject properly). :(

[Andreas]

Technical question. Is there any real performance or reliability issue between a Centrino WiFi laptop and a standard laptop enabled with a 802.11g PCMIA card? Are there any guide recommended minimum specifications for a laptop (would like to get an AMD based machine if poss.)


Centrino has the pro that in most cases the stuff 'just works' because Intel have put up relatively tight rules. Some PCMCIA cards have driver issues but to my knowledge non of the WiFi cards; different story with G3 cards. Apart from the 'banging' issue you also have wear and tear with the card.

However, why not get an AMD laptop with built-in WiFi? Buying AMD does not mean you have to get an add-on card.

You could, of course, always get a Mac laptop :whistle: