If you google intel core 2 duo you would get hundreds of pages relating to core 2 duo articles and probably not find the answer you are looking for. I will now attempt to demystify the core 2 duo mystery. Since this blog is laptop / notebook related I will be only referring to notebook processors.
Firstly I would like to define the term 'CENTRINO' or' CENTRINO2'
Just what the hell is Centrino? Many laptop has got that Centrino or Centrino2 sticker pasted somewhere near the Core i3 / i5 / i7 / Core 2 Duo.
Ripped off shamelessly from wikipedia:
The Centrino brand represents Intel Wi-Fi and WiMAX adapters. It was formerly a platform-marketing initiative from Intel until January 7, 2010.
Previously, CENTRINO covered a particular combination of mainboard chipset, mobile CPU and wireless network interface in the design of a laptop. Intel claims systems equipped with these technologies deliver better performance, longer battery life and broad wireless network interoperability. ( obviously all made by intel )
Now that we got that out of the way lets get down to business.
We will leave the Core Duos / Solos behind as they are 32 bit processors and cannot run the latest 64 bit Operating systems ( 2006 and earlier ). Any Core 2 Duo with 2 GB and above can run the newest Windows 8 64bit OS.
To simplify things I will divide the core 2 duos in two generations:
____________________________Early Core2Duo_________________________________
2006 - centrino codename NAPA - Intel Core 2 Duo processor codename YONAH
2007 - centrino codename SANTA ROSA - - Intel Core 2 Duo processor codename MEROM
___________________________________________________________________________
We will call this Core2duo First generation
This includes the T7100, T7200, T7300 and some other variants like the T2xxxx and the T5xxxx processors.
Speeds are mainly 1.6GHz to 2.2GHz
Maximum ram supported by a 64bit OS is 4GB
___________________________Late Core2Duo__________________________________
2008
2009 - centrino codename MONTEVINA - Intel Core 2 Duo processor codename PENRYN
_________________________________________________________________________
We call this the Core2Duo Second generation
Processors include the P8,9xxx (P series perform cooler using 25W vs the normal 35W) and the T6,8,9xxxx series, which are all faster at over 2-3GHz
Maximum ram supported by a 64bit OS is 8GB
( Apple was still selling their Core2Duo Pxxxx series 2010 Macbook White into early 2011 )
After this came the Core i7 in 2009 which started the Core i3 / i5 / i7 generation, which I will cover in my next article.
While the Intel processor has grown more powerful, the battery technology has not. Intel has resorted to overclocking tricks and variable frequency to save power thus lengthening battery life. In the technology world, it is said that processor power doubles every 18 months but in the case of the mobile processor, this is not true due to limitation of the battery technology.
A first Gen Core 2 Duo at 1.8 GHz Geekbench scores at 2850 (2007)
A first Gen Core i5 at 2.53 GHz Geekbench acores at 5600 (2010) less than double
Speedup should be 4 times but it is not.
So what can I do with a 1.8Ghz Core 2 duo machine wigh 2GB of memory?
A LOT.
Web browsing
Flash games
Full HD 1080p movies ( older Intel Atom processors cannot do this )
Compiling MP3 songs
Word Processing
Photoshop your mobile phone images
Backup your mobilephone
itunes to sync your iphone
Updating Android phone
Email
Creating powerpoint slideshow
Preparing govt tender documents
Hook to printer for printing / scanning images
Hook to projector for corporate presentations
Working with Microsoft Excel
Online stocks trading
Online banking
transferring media to friends
viewing and tagging and cataloging all your digital camera photos
720x576 SD ( non-HD ) video editing
Video chatting ( with USB camera or built in camera )
Typing or blogging long articles.
Social media
Network administration
Programming
Tasks below takes more time but still doable ( upgrading to 4GB ram helps):
Video / movie conversion
music conversion
720p video editing and conversion
High resolution Photo editing
In conclusion, the core 2 duo processor is still very powerful and a laptop with this processor coupled with proper keyboard and good quality trackpad with good buttons still provides enough oomph for most your daily needs, especially with speed and responsiveness of the new Windows 8 OS. Your old machine will feel new and fast again. Unless you are an avid gamer playing the latest games, The core 2 duo will be the best bang for your buck.
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