laptop - better chip?

Centrino is a technology not a CPU:
http://www.intel.com/products/mobiletechnology/centrino/index.htm?iid=ipp_dlc_pentiumm+cmt&

 

does that make your decision any easier?

 

yes they are.. but I believe the Centrino Technology was geared for M and I do believe I read someplace that the Pentium M's w/ Centrino outpaced the P4M's .. remember..MHz is not a factor.

 

http://www.intel.com/products/benchmarks/notebook/index.htm?iid=ipp_perf+compare&

 

Agreed..

 

Random topic....

Centrino is three technologies combined:
1. Pentium M processor
2. Specific Intel chipset whose name I don't remember that works well with the Pentium M's power-saving
3. On-board wireless ethernet adapter (I believe it is a 802.11b, although I know they were going to update the spec to be 802.11b/g eventually).

If you see Centrino, you're getting all three of those.

Additionally, do not be scared off by the Pentium M's lower clock speed. The P4M's throttle themselves to keep from eating batteries like a 5-year-old eats cookies and burning a hole through the base of the laptop in a literal meltdown. Don't expect them to run more than half their rated clock speed. For a P4, that's a really, really bad thing. I've seen reviews where P3 laptops outperform P4M laptops.

Remember: The fastest P4's consume upwards of 80 Watts in a desktop, and most of that is given of as pure heat. The new s775 Pentium M's consume around 20-25 Watts, and the forthcoming extra low power Pentium M's only consume 5 to 7 Watts, while still have a clock speed over 1GHz!

Pentium M Dothan review

 

in my opinion, its better to get a p4m system with external wifi, because the wifi on the centrino is apparently really weak.

 

my neighbors centrino based laptop can see my network and connect at 5Mbs-10Mbs from across the street.
Wi-B protocol .. in my experience, it worked fine.

 

I know.. mr.gaychico..

 

That's pretty sweet range

 

yes it is.. our other neighbor was wide open and he hooked into him from his basement at about 8Mbps.. don't know who's saying centrino is weak..

 

It is, at the moment. Intel went with a compromise on the WiFi card to get Centrino out at the same time as the Pentium M. What I've noticed is that a lot of Centrino laptops have two WiFi cards. The B from Centrino, and an A/B/G for actual use.

Basically:
Mobility: Pentium M
Desktop Replacement (but seldom runs on batteries): AMD64 or P4M
Portable Grill: P4