Intel Celeron vs Dual Core vs Core 2 Duo
If you are just an average computer user like me, then I think you will agree that Intel processors name are becoming too confusing. These days, when you shop for a notebook, most of them will have either Celeron, Dual Core or Core 2 Duo processor.
While most people are aware that Celeron is somewhat different with Dual Core and Core 2 Duo, but many like me will not know whether Dual Core and Core 2 Duo are actually different.
Without going to describe in detail the technical spec differences, I just want to share that basically now Intel has 3 processor families, namely :
- Intel Celeron: Celeron, Celeron M, Celeron D, Celeron Dual Core
- Intel Pentium : Pentium M, Pentium Dual Core
- Intel Core : Core Solo, Core 2 Solo, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Duo Extreme
Celeron Family

Pentium Family

Core Family

Which one to choose?
Well, if money is not an issue then off course you should opt for the top end processor like Core 2 Duo. However, since the price gap is quite significant, then my suggestions is to think about what you need. If you ask a computer salesmen, surely he or she will persuade you to buy the most expensive items as possible to give him or her the highest commission, but this is not wise, right?
So if you are a light user, with browsing, chatting, blogging kind of activities, then Celeron is suitable for you. If you need to do serious work, big spread sheets with lots of pivot table, databases, then you should at least consider Pentium processor. However, if you are a graphic 3D animation designer, or a maniac PC gamer, or an engineer with CAD, prototyping, mathematical modeling, then Core 2 Duo is for you.