Confusion with Processors

[Paschendale]

I'm thinking bout buying a new laptop. I noticed the new i5 and i7 intel chipsets and I've heard good things about them. I am a bit confused about the processors though. For example, I often see Intel processors on laptops with an Intel Core Duo 2.2 ghz being cheaper than a laptop that has lets say a 1.8 ghz i7 processor that says up to 2.8GHz with Turbo Boost Technology. Does the Core Duo mean that you multiply the 2.2 ghz by 2 if its a duo? I mean doesn't that make it 4.4 ghz and obviously faster and overperform the one that is 1.8 ghz in the i7 chipset which supposedly overclocks itself to 2.8...which would still be less than 4.4 ghz?

 

[Yami]

While the GHz has a large effect on the speed of the processor, there are many other factors which decide it's total speed, such as architecture and design.
And no, for dual/quad/etc. CPUs, you don't add the GHz together.

The i7 is a quad-core, and while slower (or about the same speed) as the Core 2 Duo when it's at 1.8GHz, it increases when there's real processing to be done, so it's not only faster GHz-wise, it's also a quad-core meaning there's twice as much in the way of resources.

A surprisingly non-technical answer, but I hope it helps

 

[Muffin Man]

i think he might have been getting confused by theological power

 

[b1gapl]

For example, I often see Intel processors on laptops with an Intel Core Duo 2.2 ghz being cheaper than a laptop that has lets say a 1.8 ghz i7 processor that says up to 2.8GHz with Turbo Boost Technology.

Core Duo (there is also Core 2 Duo) is an older generation processor. They were released in 2006. That is why it's cheaper then an i3, i5, and i7 processor which were released from 2008 to this year.

Does the Core Duo mean that you multiply the 2.2 ghz by 2 if its a duo?

The word "Duo" just means that the processor has two cores within a single CPU. There is also "Solo" for one core and "Quad" for four cores. And as Yamikotai said before, you do not add or multiply the speeds of each core to get the final speed. It just simply means that each core runs at that specified speed.

I mean doesn't that make it 4.4 ghz and obviously faster and overperform the one that is 1.8 ghz in the i7 chipset which supposedly overclocks itself to 2.8...which would still be less than 4.4 ghz?

With the i7 using the newest architecture, it is faster per clock than a Core Duo, as well as a similarly clocked Core 2 Duo.

The i7 is a quad-core, and while slower (or about the same speed) as the Core 2 Duo when it's at 1.8GHz, it increases when there's real processing to be done, so it's not only faster GHz-wise, it's also a quad-core meaning there's twice as much in the way of resources.

In addition there is a dual core version of the i7 for mobile/laptop processors, which would still be faster per clock than a similarly clocked C2D or Core Duo.