This laptop or that laptop.

[DB_Hunter]

Clock is shared, so each core clocks the specified frequency.

So that means each clock is running at the specific frequency, giving a 'total' speed of cores x clock speed if all cores are utilised?

[Buffalobiian]

So that means each clock is running at the specific frequency, giving a 'total' speed of cores x clock speed if all cores are utilised?

If I tell you this i5 is rated for 2.8GHz, it means that each of its four cores run at 2.8GHz. If you would like a "total", then that would be 2.8*4 = 11.2GHz.

Processors these days have underclocking and (the term used by Intel's processors is) Turboboosting. The i5 760 is rated at 2.8GHz, but will underclock to 1.2GHz to save power and heat when not demanded, and can Turboboost (dynamic overclocking pretty much) up to 3.3GHz given that it has the thermal headroom and other resources available.

In other words, the i5 760 (2.8GHz) is guaranteed to run between 1.2-2.8GHz. If it's not overheating, it can turboboost up to 3.33GHz (though this performance is subjective to operating conditions - heat and threads).

The newest gen of i3s/i5s have even more amazing turboboost capabilities. AMD has something similar too.

[DB_Hunter]

If I tell you this i5 is rated for 2.8GHz, it means that each of its four cores run at 2.8GHz. If you would like a "total", then that would be 2.8*4 = 11.2GHz.

Processors these days have underclocking and (the term used by Intel's processors is) Turboboosting. The i5 760 is rated at 2.8GHz, but will underclock to 1.2GHz to save power and heat when not demanded, and can Turboboost (dynamic overclocking pretty much) up to 3.3GHz given that it has the thermal headroom and other resources available.

In other words, the i5 760 (2.8GHz) is garunteed to run between 1.2-2.8GHz. If it's not overheating, it can turboboost up to 3.33GHz (though this performance is subjective to operating conditions - heat and threads).

The newest gen of i3s/i5s have even more amazing turboboost capabilities. AMD has something similar too.

Thanks, that clears up a lot of stuff.

I'm looking to get a laptop for a friend who just wants it for normal word processing, e-mail/Outlook, internet browsing and occasional use of Adobe Illustraitor. His basic request is that if he has a few windows/apss open like those mentioned above that his machine doesn't start grinding to a halt. His other request is to make the machine as 'future proof' as possible, given that he has a budget of about £400-450 max. I was originally just going to get him a Core 2 Duo machine for half the price but I'm wondering if I should get him an i3? Would it be worth going double the cost from say £200-215 to £400-450 just to get an i3 and possibly an i5?

[David75]

Thanks, that clears up a lot of stuff.

I'm looking to get a laptop for a friend who just wants it for normal word processing, e-mail/Outlook, internet browsing and occasional use of Adobe Illustraitor. His basic request is that if he has a few windows/apss open like those mentioned above that his machine doesn't start grinding to a halt. His other request is to make the machine as 'future proof' as possible, given that he has a budget of about £400-450 max. I was originally just going to get him a Core 2 Duo machine for half the price but I'm wondering if I should get him an i3? Would it be worth going double the cost from say £200-215 to £400-450 just to get an i3 and possibly an i5?

It is only possible with a SSD (assuming the system has 4Gb RAM already) because these symtoms are the sign of a HDD not able to cope with multiple random small write/reads happening at the same time.
Thing is, a SSD is expensive. So in the mentionned budget, only a 60GB or so SSD will do. Meaning you either need to find a dual HDD bay laptop, or sacrifice the optical drive bay and add an adapter, or deal with an external USB/e-sata HDD
And believe me, a good SSD is the best upgrade you can think of.
A vertex 2, a C300 or even an Intel will do the trick around US$ 100 I guess. I know this is a lot of $ for a very small storage capacity, but it really transforms a comp. Just that for a low budget you have to manage your data differently. But you can also think lower in terms of processing power. Of course in the end, the future proofness will be hard to cope with on a very tight budget, or even be impossible for gaming (hell, gaming on a laptop is already madness...)