Which is better: Intel 852GM or Intel GMA 900?

  • Thread starter Thread starter OM
  • Start date Start date
O

OM

I want to buy a laptop.
I'm torn between two models.
One comes with a DVD writer and one comes with a read only.

The only difference (as far as I can see) is the graphics card.

One has a Intel 852GM and the other has a Intel GMA 900.

Erm... I've tried reading up on both... but am lost. : (
Both seem to be good.

The laptops I'm considering are:

http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/TOSAT178
and
http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/TOSAT159

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

OM
 
"OM" said:
I want to buy a laptop.
I'm torn between two models.
One comes with a DVD writer and one comes with a read only.

The only difference (as far as I can see) is the graphics card.

One has a Intel 852GM and the other has a Intel GMA 900.

Erm... I've tried reading up on both... but am lost. : (
Both seem to be good.

The laptops I'm considering are:

http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/TOSAT178
and
http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/TOSAT159

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

OM
Click to expand...

The L20, according to this, uses a 915GM Northbridge and DDR2 RAM.
"GMA900" is the graphics core present inside the 915GM.

http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/product/pdf_files/detailed_specs/satellite_L20-S310TD.pdf

http://developer.intel.com/products/chipsets/915gm/index.htm

The 852GM is here. It uses older DDR memory. FSB400.
The marketing department didn't give the graphics core a
fancy name.

http://developer.intel.com/products/chipsets/852gm/index.htm

I don't see the L10 here - maybe it is an older design:

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c...tt1=&stt2=&stt3=&s=4294967002&rpp=15&ss=&so=0

The 740 processor in the L20 has FSB533, allowing faster
data transfer from the RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819111170

The 735 processor in the L10 has FSB400.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819111159

Buy an external enclosure with USB cable, a DVD-RW optical
drive for $50, and plug them into the L20 as an external device.
That would be your "I'll burn DVDs when I get home" option.
I'd take the L20 as the compute part of it is better. Unless
you're always burning DVDs while you ride on the bus :-)

Also, the 256MB it comes with is pitiful. I would put
2x256MB matched RAM in it, as 512MB total will give you a bit
more room to work. If you have the budget, 2x512MB is also
an option.

Paul
 
Back
Top