The best mobile processor is...

Intel and AMD are constantly developing processors, both for notebooks and desktops. To test their mettle of competing mobile processors, they were required to perform typical data processing tasks from word processing to encoding music to creating movies.

This review round-up compares the processing power of 19 mobile CPUs including Intel's previous generation Celeron and Pentium 4 based processors, the new Core 2 processors and AMD's Turion range of processors.

Test procedure
Five test rigs were used with all the notebooks running Windows Vista and 1GB RAM, at a screen resolution of 1024x768. All tests were run three times with the median value taken as the result. If scores varied by more than 3 per cent, the system configuration was checked and the test rerun to achieve consistent results.

To test the CPU performance we used the following programs: PCMark05 (build 1.2.0), 3DMark06 (build 1.1.0), Pinnacle Studio Plus Version 11 for video file conversion, Windows Vista Ultimate Movie Maker, Apple iTunes Version 7.1.1, Adobe Photoshop Elements Version 5.0, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint in various stand-alone and multitasking processes.

Test platforms

Please note that the test rigs in this round-up are not identical. The graphics power amongst the notebooks is wide ranging from the low-end Acer TM3280 up to the IBM ThinkPad T60. However, in most tests — excluding the dedicated 3D graphics tests — the graphics processors did not play a significant role in the performance outcomes.

The best Apple iTunes (version 7.1.1) performance
Using Apple iTunes to convert 14 WAV files (77.2MB) to 160Kbps MP3 format, we measured the time taken from sending the convert instruction till the MP3 playlist was ready to play. The shortest time was achieved by the Core 2 Duo T7250 in just over two minutes; in comparison most other processors processed the music in around three minutes while the AMD Turion 64 ML-34 crunched away at the files for over five minutes.

Introduction and test procedure Best for iTunes Best for Word and PowerPoint Best for Vista Ultimate Movie Maker

Best for 3D graphics Best overall performance and verdict Summary of processor specifications

Processor	Manufacturer	Apple iTunes Conversion Speed
Celeron 530	Intel	4 min 8 sec
Celeron 540	Intel	4 min
Celeron 550	Intel	3 min 46 sec
Pentium T2060	Intel	3 min 29 sec
Pentium T2080	Intel	2 min 57 sec
Pentium T2130	Intel	2 min 41 sec
Pentium T2310	Intel	2 min 39 sec
Pentium T2330	Intel	2 min 40 sec
Core 2 Duo T5250	Intel	2 min 57 sec
Core 2 Duo T5300	Intel	2 min 36 sec
Core 2 Duo T5450	Intel	2 min 39 sec
Core 2 Duo T5500	Intel	2 min 40 sec
Core 2 Duo T5600	Intel	2 min 26 sec
Core 2 Duo T7250	Intel	2 min 14 sec
AMD Turion 64 ML-34	AMD	5 min 4 sec
AMD Turion 64 ML-37	AMD	4 min 33 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56	AMD	3 min 38 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58	AMD	3 min 28 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60	AMD	3 min 16 sec

Best Microsoft Word & PowerPoint 2007 performance
This was a multitasking test with both Word and PowerPoint executing complex tasks at the same time.

Introduction and test procedure Best for iTunes Best for Word and PowerPoint Best for Vista Ultimate Movie Maker

Best for 3D graphics Best overall performance and verdict Summary of processor specifications

Processor	Manufacturer	Word and Power Point times (shorter times are better)
Celeron 530	Intel	3 min 9 sec
Celeron 540	Intel	3 min 1 sec
Celeron 550	Intel	2 min 54 sec
Pentium T2060	Intel	2 min 8 sec
Pentium T2080	Intel	1 min 59 sec
Pentium T2130	Intel	1 min 54 sec
Pentium T2310	Intel	2 min 5 sec
Pentium T2330	Intel	1 min 56 sec
Core 2 Duo T5250	Intel	1 min 57 sec
Core 2 Duo T5300	Intel	1 min 47 sec
Core 2 Duo T5450	Intel	1 min 46 sec
Core 2 Duo T5500	Intel	1 min 47 sec
Core 2 Duo T5600	Intel	1 min 40 sec
Core 2 Duo T7250	Intel	1 min 29 sec
AMD Turion 64 ML-34	AMD	3 min 28 sec
AMD Turion 64 ML-37	AMD	3 min 15 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56	AMD	2 min 2 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58	AMD	1 min 56 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60	AMD	1 min 51 sec

Best Windows Vista Ultimate Movie Maker performer
Again we measure performance by recording the time taken to publish a movie. This time the project is editing four different clips into a single file. Total size of the four different movie clips is 69.2MB and the total length of the output is 2 minutes 24 seconds.

Introduction and test procedure Best for iTunes Best for Word and PowerPoint Best for Vista Ultimate Movie Maker

Best for 3D graphics Best overall performance and verdict Summary of processor specifications

Processor	Manufacturer	Windows Vista Ultimate Movie Maker times (shorter times are better)
Celeron 530	Intel	1 min 50 sec
Celeron 540	Intel	1 min 52 sec
Celeron 550	Intel	1 min 16 sec
Pentium T2060	Intel	1 min 45 sec
Pentium T2080	Intel	1 min 37 sec
Pentium T2130	Intel	1 min 36 sec
Pentium T2310	Intel	1 min 29 sec
Pentium T2330	Intel	1 min 27 sec
Core 2 Duo T5250	Intel	1 min 34 sec
Core 2 Duo T5300	Intel	1 min 15 sec
Core 2 Duo T5450	Intel	1 min 21 sec
Core 2 Duo T5500	Intel	1 min 19 sec
Core 2 Duo T5600	Intel	1 min 13 sec
Core 2 Duo T7250	Intel	1 min 6 sec
AMD Turion 64 ML-34	AMD	2 min 58 sec
AMD Turion 64 ML-37	AMD	2 min 19 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56	AMD	1 min 27 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58	AMD	1 min 19 sec
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60	AMD	1 min 15 sec

Best FutureMark 3DMark06 (build 1.1.0) performance
3DMark is a benchmarking tool for measuring 3D gaming performance.

Introduction and test procedure Best for iTunes Best for Word and PowerPoint Best for Vista Ultimate Movie Maker

Best for 3D graphics Best overall performance and verdict Summary of processor specifications

Processor	Manufacturer	3DMark06 Scores Overall (higher scores are better)
Celeron 530	Intel	760
Celeron 540	Intel	810
Celeron 550	Intel	869
Pentium T2060	Intel	1,180
Pentium T2080	Intel	1,269
Pentium T2130	Intel	1,349
Pentium T2310	Intel	1,171
Pentium T2330	Intel	1,271
Core 2 Duo T5250	Intel	1,230
Core 2 Duo T5300	Intel	1,425
Core 2 Duo T5450	Intel	1,348
Core 2 Duo T5500	Intel	1,380
Core 2 Duo T5600	Intel	1,436
Core 2 Duo T7250	Intel	1,628
AMD Turion 64 ML-34	AMD	698
AMD Turion 64 ML-37	AMD	771
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56	AMD	1,301
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58	AMD	1,353
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60	AMD	1,438

Best overall performance
This score is an amalgamation of tests including, PCMark05 (build 1.2.0), 3DMark06 (build 1.1.0), Pinnacle Studio Plus Version 11 for video file conversion, Windows Vista Ultimate Movie Maker, Apple iTunes Version 7.1.1, Adobe Photoshop Elements Version 5.0, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint in various stand-alone and multitasking processes. Scores were standardised, averaged and then transformed into a percentage score.

Introduction and test procedure Best for iTunes Best for Word and PowerPoint Best for Vista Ultimate Movie Maker

Best for 3D graphics Best overall performance and verdict Summary of processor specifications

Processor	Manufacturer	Overall grade as a percentage
Celeron 530	Intel	45% Pass conceded
Celeron 540	Intel	47% Pass conceded
Celeron 550	Intel	55% Pass
Pentium T2060	Intel	59% Pass
Pentium T2080	Intel	62% Pass
Pentium T2130	Intel	65% Credit
Pentium T2310	Intel	66% Credit
Pentium T2330	Intel	69% Credit
Core 2 Duo T5250	Intel	70% Credit
Core 2 Duo T5300	Intel	78% Distinction
Core 2 Duo T5450	Intel	76% Distinction
Core 2 Duo T5500	Intel	74% Credit
Core 2 Duo T5600	Intel	79% Distinction
Core 2 Duo T7250	Intel	87% High Distinction
AMD Turion 64 ML-34	AMD	46% Pass Conceded
AMD Turion 64 ML-37	AMD	52% Pass
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56	AMD	59% Pass
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58	AMD	62% Pass
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60	AMD	66% Pass

Verdict
Even using disparate notebook hardware it is clear that the Intel Core 2 architecture is a superior performer to the previous generation processors. The Intel's Core 2 Duo T7250 comes out a clear winner across the board.

The older Celeron and Pentium derived processors still hold their own quite well, and in many of the benchmarks the single core Celerons outperform the single core AMD Turion processors. The Pentium derived dual-core processors are at least a match for the Turion dual cores, but both are soundly outperformed by the Core 2 Duo processors.

The winners:

• First place: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250
• Second place: Intel Core 2 Duo T5600
• Third place: Intel Core 2 Duo T5300

The losers:

Third last: Intel Celeron 540
Second last: AMD Turion 64 ML-34
Last: Intel Celeron 530

Summary of processor specifications

Introduction and test procedure Best for iTunes Best for Word and PowerPoint Best for Vista Ultimate Movie Maker

Best for 3D graphics Best overall performance and verdict Summary of processor specifications

Processor	Manufacturer	Number of cores	Clock rate: GHz	Cache (MB)	Bus (MHz)	Socket
Celeron 530	Intel	Single	1.73	1	533	Socket M
Celeron 540	Intel	Single	1.86	1	533	Socket P
Celeron 550	Intel	Single	2.0	1	533	Socket P
Pentium T2060	Intel	Dual	1.6	1	533	Socket M
Pentium T2080	Intel	Dual	1.73	1	533	Socket M
Pentium T2130	Intel	Dual	1.86	1	533	Socket M
Pentium T2330	Intel	Dual	1.46	1	533	Socket P
Core 2 Duo T5250	Intel	Dual	1.6	2	667	Socket P
Core 2 Duo T5300	Intel	Dual	1.5	2	533	Socket M
Core 2 Duo T5450	Intel	Dual	1.73	2	667	Socket P
Core 2 Duo T5500	Intel	Dual	1.66	2	667	Socket M
Core 2 Duo T5600	Intel	Dual	1.66	2	667	Socket M
Core 2 Duo T7250	Intel	Dual	1.83	2	800	Socket P
AMD Turion 64 ML-34	AMD	Single	1.83	1	800MHz (Bi-directional)	754
AMD Turion 64 ML-37	AMD	Single	2	1	800MHz (Bi-directional)	754
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56	AMD	Dual	1.8	1	800MHz (Bi-directional)	S1
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58	AMD	Dual	1.9	1	800MHz (Bi-directional)	S2
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60	AMD	Dual	2	1	800MHz (Bi-directional)	S3