Pentium M Vs. Core Duo
Intel greatly changed its mobile CPU product offerings with the launch of the Core Duo line in 2006. The Core Duo brought a new level of power to mobile computing by putting two processors into one package, where the Pentium M had only one. However, this increased power is not without its compromises.
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One Core vs. Two
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As the name implies, the Core Duo has two processor cores, while the Pentium M has only one. Having two processor cores greatly benefits multitasking. Even if you are only actively working on one project, your computer is often doing many things at a time; it might be downloading a movie, playing music, and scanning for viruses all while you are browsing the web. These tasks are intelligently distributed between the two processor cores, allowing the overall operation of the computer to feel more smooth. Additionally, some power hungry applications such as Photoshop are multi-threaded, allowing them to utilize both processor cores simultaneously for added speed.
Bus Speeds
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While the maximum bus speed supported by Pentium M processors is 533MB/sec, Core Duo processors can handle a maximum bus speed of 667 MB/sec. In a computer, the bus speed influences the rate at which information can be moved from one device to another (from the hard drive, to the RAM, to the CPU, for example). This increases the overall speed of the computer, no matter what it is being used for.
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Heat
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The fastest Pentium M processor, the Pentium M 780, has a maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 27 watts, while the fastest Core Duo, the Core Duo T2700, has a maximum TDP of 31 watts. The TDP of a processor is the amount of energy that must be dissipated by the processor's heat sink and fan, and these numbers illustrate that the Core Duo can be up to 14 percent hotter than the Pentium M. In practice, you are not likely to notice a difference this small.
Battery Life
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Both the Pentium M and Core Duo are available in Low Voltage (LV) and Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) configurations, but both are rare. The standard configurations are more common, and if you do not see an LV or ULV in your processor's model number, you should assume that you have the standard version. The standard Core Duo and Pentium M both require a maximum of approximately 1.3 volts of power, making their draw on a laptop's battery roughly equal.
Real World Performance
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Although the dual-processor nature of the Core Duo results in faster performance during multitasking, its performance in any single application will be roughly equal to a similarly-clocked Pentium M unless the application is multi-threaded. In a multi-threaded application, which uses both processor cores simultaneously, the Core Duo is faster. For example, when encoding music files in the Windows Media format, the Core Duo is approximately 60 percent faster than the Pentium M.
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References
- Photo Credit nDevilTV: Flickr.com
