MaximumPC 2007 01

E

veryone not living in a cave knows that Intel’s desktop Core

2 Duo rocked the Pentium D and Athlon 64’s world. But what

about the mobile CPU of the same lineage? We wanted to find out

how the Core 2 Duo mobile compares to its predecessor, the Core

Duo. Would the difference be as dramatic as on the desktop? The

comparison is somewhat complicated by the fact that the mobile-

only Core Duo and Core 2 Duo are both descended from the original

Pentium M chip, with the deuce sporting a more parallel design and

some other minor enhancements.

To see which of the siblings is better, we pitted a 2.16GHz Core

Duo T2600 against a Core 2 Duo T7400 using the exact same note-

book PC, an iBuyPower HEL-80. This portable supports both CPUs,

so it’s the perfect way to get an apples-to-apple comparison of the

two. The winner gets the performance inheritance while the loser gets

to live in a van down by the river.

Intel Core Duo vs. Intel Core 2 Duo

Pricing

Both procs sport the

same clock speed and are priced the

same at $423 (when purchased in lots of

1,000). We found the Core 2 Duo T

available for $423 and the Core Duo

T2600 for $406 at their lowest. However,

most vendors price both processors at

about $480. Overall, this category is a

wash. Winner: Tie

Core Duo T

$423, http://www.intel.com

noTebook and chiPseT suPPorT

Normally we rap Intel on its knuckles for the nasty habit of always

requiring a new chipset to run a new CPU, but Intel did the right thing with the new

Core 2 Duo CPUs. Notebooks that use the 945PM and 945GM are technically “drop-

in compatible” with either the Core Duo or Core 2 Duo CPUs—after you update the

BIOS, natch. Of course, in order to take advantage of the new CPUs, your notebook

maker must have planned ahead for the thermal and power differences. Most did, but

you should make sure your notebook chassis works before you shell out for an upgrade

CPU. Winner: Tie

head 2 head Two Technologies enTer, one Technology leaves

round 1 round 2

By GORDON M ah ung

16 MAXIMUMPC january 2007

Mobile cPus

iBuyPower HEL-

$1,695, http://www.ibuypower.com