Eight months ago , Intel rocked the mobile processor humankind with itsfirst threefold - marrow CPUs , which boosted the speed of a notebook computer do two undertaking simultaneously by 30 percent . Now comes Core Duo ’s successor , Core 2 Duo , accompanied by Intel claims of even good functioning and support for the coming earned run average of 64 - bit computing . Should you give up yourself for buying that Core Duo laptop sooner this twelvemonth ?

PC Worldtests intimate you should n’t perspire it too much . Notebooks get only a small performance boost with Intel ’s newfangled CPU , formerly code - named Merom , and battery life appears to remain about the same .

Currently , Core 2 Duo mobile chips are only constitute in Windows - base laptops . However , Intel ’s Core Duo line powers both Apple ’s MacBook and MacBook Pro offering , and it ’s wide assumed that the Core 2 Duo will happen its way into upcoming versions of those laptop ; thus , a look at how the Core 2 Duo liken to its predecessor — even in a Windows simple machine — should give Mac users some idea of what to ask from future ironware releases .

The five Modern Core 2 Duo mobile chips ( Intel before releasedfive Core 2 duet desktop processors ) are the latest descendants of Intel ’s Centrino - brand name processor and wireless check congeal combo .

Core Duo vs. Core 2

The Core 2 duet micro chip has many of the same features as its Core Duo herald : a 667MHz frontside motorcoach , the 945 chip hardening , the 3945ABG wireless chip set , and exchangeable clock velocity . The two biggest improvements are the double of Level 2 memory cache to 4 MB in the T7000 line , and support for 64 - bit processing . The latter brings Intel back on equality with AMD ’s Turion 64 X2 cow dung and intend substance abuser can take reward of upcoming 64 - bit applications . Core Duo ca n’t do 64 - bit computation .

Core Duo 2 notes for all purposes

personal computer Worldtested three shipping notebook with different Core 2 Duo processors and 1 GB of memory : a $ 1,906 Dell M1210 with a 2GHz T7200 chip , a $ 2,059 Gateway M685 - due east with a 2.16GHz T7400 chip , and a $ 1,499 HP Pavilion dv6000 t with a 1.83GHz T5600 chipping .

The biggest performance increase over notebook computer outfitted with same - speed Core twain CPUs was only 7 percentage , enough to plane a few seconds off of day - to - daylight operations but not much more .

The Windows XP Media Center Edition - equipped Dell M1210 turned in aWorldBench 5score of 102 , 5 percent good than the 97 earned by the average Media Center Edition notebook computer using a 2GHz Core Duo T2500 . The Gateway M685 - E scored 109 , 7 percentage good than t 2.16GHz Core Duo T2600 - equipped HP Compaq nx9420 ’s score of 101 . The HP Pavilion dv6000 t scored 101 , 6 per centum safe than a 1.83GHz Core Duo T2400 - equipped Toshiba Satellite P105 - S921 ’s 95 with the same 2 MB of Level 2 memory cache .

In sum , Core 2 Duo system are a shade quicker than Core Duo notebook at handling everything from mainstream coating such as spreadsheets and Es - ring mail to watching DVD movies . And they are just as impressive ( and significantly faster than Pentium - Ms ) at juggling multiple tasks , like ripping a atomic number 48 while surfing the Net , for case .

Battery life a washout

Core 2 does n’t appear to importantly affect battery life story . The Dell M1210 , a 12.1 - inch multimedia encompassing - covert model , lasted the foresightful : 4 hours and 23 minute with its 9 - prison cell barrage fire upgrade . The Gateway M685 - E , a bulky 17 - column inch all-inclusive - CRT screen , lasted 3 hours and 41 minutes thanks to a 12 - cubicle battery upgrade . That ’s upright than the 2.3 hours we got with a 2GHz Core Duo T2500 edition of the M685 - E tested earlier this year , but the older unit had a less powerful 8 - cell battery upgrade .

The HP Pavilion dv6000 t , a 15.4 - column inch multimedia wide of the mark - screen unit of measurement and the only one in the group equipped with a stock six - cellular telephone battery , run out of juice after only 2 60 minutes and 10 minutes . An HP Pavilion dv2000 t equipped with a 2.16GHz Core Duo T2600 that we also tested this month hold up over 7 hour — but that notebook had a 14.1 - inch spacious - screen display and its battery was twice as solid as the dv6000 t ’s .

Intel is pricing the Core 2 duad the same as Core Duo chips , which means the new processor wo n’t get up overall notebook prices .

Get a deal on older duos

In fact , shoppers can soon have a bun in the oven a fire cut-rate sale on Core Duo notebooks , said Samir Bhavnani , director of inquiry forCurrent Analysisin San Diego . “ It ’s pop off to be hard for masses to recite the difference between retail Core Duo and Core 2 Duo because the name and the processor speeds look so likewise , so you ’re fit to see Intel get very aggressive with Core Duo pricing . ”

give also that Core 2 pair ’s support for 64 - bit applications wo n’t be important for at least another yr , consumers should conceive farsighted and hard about paying a premium to get a Core 2 notebook or else of a Core Duo . “ buy a 64 - second capable Core 2 Duo notebook decently now is like buying a Playstation 3 when there wo n’t be any games for another two years , ” Bhavnani said .