Mobile Battle: AMD Turion vs. Intel Core Duo

[billsbury]

This is a quicky. I have studied the desktop CPUs, but I'm very behind in the mobile world. Could someone explain to me which they think is better or are they not in the same class? I'm looking to buy a new laptop and I'm trying to decide what type of CPU'd laptop I should buy.
Should I buy a laptop with a Turion or a Core Duo?
Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!
-Bill

 

[dexvx]

Core Duo takes less power, performs better, and since its more widespread you get a lot better options choosing laptops. No brainer here.

 

[billsbury]

Ahh ok. Thanks. Any particular laptops in mind?

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: dexvx
Core Duo takes less power, performs better, and since its more widespread you get a lot better options choosing laptops. No brainer here.

Not to mention, the good possibility of upgrading to Merom with nothing but a bios update.

 

[imported_inspire]

Originally posted by: billsbury
Ahh ok. Thanks. Any particular laptops in mind?

Just brands - Acer makes a pretty decent laptop for the money.

 

[pardasaniman]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
Not to mention, the good possibility of upgrading to Merom with nothing but a bios update.

Whao! Upgrading a laptop CPU? How do-able is this?

 

[NewBlackDak]

Originally posted by: pardasaniman

Originally posted by: stevty2889
Not to mention, the good possibility of upgrading to Merom with nothing but a bios update.

Whao! Upgrading a laptop CPU? How do-able is this?

It's easy if the manufacturer uses standard mobile socketed CPUs.

 

[kknd1967]

yeah. You can even upgrade video card for certain models, if they are not soldered on

the choices, however, are usually very limited and will cost you a lot

 

[BitByBit]

Originally posted by: billsbury
Ahh ok. Thanks. Any particular laptops in mind?

From personal experience, I'd have to recommend Dell.
I bought an Inspiron 6400 Core Duo a couple of months back, and it's simply fantastic, especially for the price.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: BitByBit

Originally posted by: billsbury
Ahh ok. Thanks. Any particular laptops in mind?

From personal experience, I'd have to recommend Dell.
I bought an Inspiron 6400 Core Duo a couple of months back, and it's simply fantastic, especially for the price.

Dell lappy's are pretty good. And Dell does offer tier 1 tech support. I like Toshiba for those same reasons. STAY AWAY FROM SONY (VAIO). Their support is comparable to buying from Vinnie Goombatz out of the back of a van. You're lucky if you ever see him again.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: dexvx
Core Duo takes less power, performs better, and since its more widespread you get a lot better options choosing laptops. No brainer here.

I wouldn't say that. If you don't need the power savings(not gigantic, but sizable) or the performance, Turion is a great option. My son got his Turion64 laptop for $750, and its all he can use. The closest Pentium-M at the time was $300 more. To somebody making minimum wage and going to college, money is a BIG deal.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: Markfw900

Originally posted by: dexvx
Core Duo takes less power, performs better, and since its more widespread you get a lot better options choosing laptops. No brainer here.

I wouldn't say that. If you don't need the power savings(not gigantic, but sizable) or the performance, Turion is a great option. My son got his Turion64 laptop for $750, and its all he can use. The closest Pentium-M at the time was $300 more. To somebody making minimum wage and going to college, money is a BIG deal.

Things change a crapload since your son bought his laptop. Here are some of the deals from the Hot Deals forum, they've been popping every week:

Inspiron E1505 Core Duo 1.83 GHz, 1GB, DVDRW, WIFI, ATI X1300, 15.4" WXGA TrueLife $631

Inspiron E1705 Core Duo 1.73, 1GB DDR2, 60GB, DVDRW, WIFI, nVidia 7900 GS, WUXGA+ TrueLife $1070

 

[Blain]

Core Duo @ 3GHz = SWEET

 

[thescreensavers]

I love turion thats it turion for me.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Core Duo Seem to be the better option at the moment. Dell is pretty good as long as you get a decent warranty.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Markfw900

Originally posted by: dexvx
Core Duo takes less power, performs better, and since its more widespread you get a lot better options choosing laptops. No brainer here.

I wouldn't say that. If you don't need the power savings(not gigantic, but sizable) or the performance, Turion is a great option. My son got his Turion64 laptop for $750, and its all he can use. The closest Pentium-M at the time was $300 more. To somebody making minimum wage and going to college, money is a BIG deal.

What the? Mark, this past year, I don't know anyone else on this board putting more importance on power saving than you have. You could say you were talking about servers only, but that would not jive because this was going on when you were bashing the 820 you bought for being a power hog and electric bills would make people shudder.. Thats a desktop chip.

Are things different since the discussion has gone mobile?

 

[n7]

Core Duo is obviously more powerful than a Turion.

If you meant Turion X2, then still, Core Duo is still more powerful clock for clock.

However, in Canada, one can get a Turion X2 laptop for $150 less than Core Duos, so if price is important, then a Turion X2 might be an option.

 

[billsbury]

Well I'm buying the laptop for a friend who is a lawyer, so he wants the laptop for a good deal, but at the same time, he isn't exactly poor. So you guys think dell then? Inspiron?

 

[billsbury]

So of Intel's mobile CPUs, which is more powerful? The Pentium M or the Core Duo? Are the Pentium M CPUs even dual-core?

 

[Ayah]

Originally posted by: billsbury
So of Intel's mobile CPUs, which is more powerful? The Pentium M or the Core Duo? Are the Pentium M CPUs even dual-core?

Core Duo = Two Pentium Ms

 

[Zebo]

Get a dell hot deal for best value. There are a couple sites you will find most valueable in finding regular laptop screamers Dell has: gottadeal.com and slickdeals.net

If you need just any ole laptop for basic tasks 90nm semprons is the way to go. HP/compaq has deals on them for ~ $400 and $350 for students. That's all I have and it works great and battery lasts about 4 hours. No laptop you can seriously game on so it does everything I want in a portable...Microsoft navigation, word &web, moving watching etc.

 

[billsbury]

Awesome, thanks guys.

 

[davidrools]

Originally posted by: n7
If you meant Turion X2, then still, Core Duo is still more powerful clock for clock.

Although Pentium M CPUs have reduced clock speeds to save energy (like AMD always has), it's still not necessarily the best comparison even for different mobile CPUs. There's a basic but decent comparison between the two from CNet UK where the Intel Centrino Duo w/ 2GB of ram slightly edges out the Turion 64 with half as much memory.

If you're planning to run Vista or the latest Linux kernel, go with the Turion and take advantage of 64 bit computing. Go with the AMD also if you want to save a few bucks; you won't be sacrificing much.

Best plan (IMO) wait for a laptop with Intel's new Core 2 Duo. It's pretty awesome. It'll be 64bit built on 65nm technology with gobs of power and light on the electrical juice. It'll probably start out a little pricey but it's top of the line. Or wait for those to come out and score a deal on the older Turions and Centrinos

in the end: AMD or Intel...you won't lose with either.