Need opinion on best option for a computer

[gizbug]

Guy at work has two laptops, and has asked me my opinion on them:

Laptop #1
1. AMD Athlon 64 Mobile Technology (1.8 GHz)
2. One Gig of Ram
3. 160GB Hard drive
4. Current price $759

Laptop #2
1. Intel Pentium dual core (1.46 GHz)
2. Two Gig of Ram
3. 120GB Hard Drive
4. Current price $549


He bought laptop #2, but he hasn't opened the box yet. He first wants to make sure that the 1.46 GHz speed is not too slow. He's not so concerned about the size of the hard drive because he's not storing video on it.

He's going to basically use it for the Internet and some limited amount of digital pictures and of course Word documents. He's looking for speed when I'm going from one application to another. Such as closing out one window to opening another window. Loading Internet pages etc.

Will laptop #2 run as fast or faster than #1 because of the dual core processor? Is the difference between 1.46 and 1.8 that big of a deal?

 

[happy medium]

Laptop 2 with duel core and double the ram will be much faster for what your using it for.

 

[Slugbait]

Will laptop #2 run as fast or faster than #1 because of the dual core processor?

I'm going to assume the AMD machine has an X2...a dual-core processor. I don't think OEMs can purchase single-core mobile AMD procs anymore.

Is the difference between 1.46 and 1.8 that big of a deal?

As stated by AMD back in '99, megahertz doesn't matter anymore. As an example, my single-core EE proc at 3.2G beats the snot out of a Prescott running at 3.6.

If running XP, I believe laptop #1 has the edge. If running Vista, laptop #2 will spank laptop #1 due to having 2 gigs of RAM.

 

[TemjinGold]

If he's looking to open files quickly, the HD's rotation speed will also be important. Are either of those laptops equipped with 7200 rpm drives or are they both 5400 and lower?