Would you choose lappy with a Dothan or with AMD 64?

[Bbc84]

Ive been looking through researching since oh about december. Now after the debut of Dothan got pushed back (I really was gonna consider getting a laptop with that processor).

And after reading about the E-machines AMD 64 laptop. Im thinking of getting that instead.

Now IF you had a choice between a laptop that had a Dothan processor that was equipped equally as the E-machines' AMD64 laptop and price was about the same would it really be worth the wait to get the Dothan?

I heard someone got 3hrs out of a single battery on the E-machines, while centrino users are reporting atleast 4-5hrs i believe.

Would the processing power matter that much? Because i know a 1.6Ghz PentiumM is equivlant in some benchmarks as a 2.2Ghz P4 desktop. so one would only expect better results with the Dothan processor.

Now the AMD64 is i think a 3000+ which is 1.8Ghz i believe. so i dont know but because its 64 bit it might have an advangtage when WinXP 64 comes out and future programs. Because most likely thats the direction i believe computing will head to. right?


So which would you choose? Wait more for a laptop to come with a Dothan processor. Or dont wait anymore and just get the Emachines AMD64 laptop?

 

[bdunosk]

I think a large part of it depends on why you want to buy a laptop. Originally I wanted a desktop replacement and got a P4M 2.8Ghz processor. Honestly, I seriously doubt it's necessary for what I do... I don't play games on my computer anymore, so a P-M would probably have been better choice for me.

The eMachines AMD 64 is quite a beast of a system, you'd definitely be able to play games on it with the Radeon 9600... but it's big. Huge, in fact. And it's definitely a more complete system than most Centrino systems, but there again that's dependent on what the manufacturer wants to put into the laptop.

Dothan? It's not out yet... so who knows. There was a lot of hype about Prescott, but that's turned out to be quite the disappointment.

 

[Bryans]

I consider battery life, size and weight, and screen size to be the most importent features of a laptop. Processor power is secondary in a portable machine. With that said the pentium-M based chips (as dothian will be) are better suited to my idea of what a laptop should be.

 

[Bbc84]

Well i plan on using it for my college C++ class, since its getting really annoying trying to find a computer with the compiler and all that stuff on it on campus. Because usually they are full. So i kinda need a portable computer so i dont need to go to my apt just to do some prgming and then drive back to campus for my next class.


Also since my desktops are getting kinda old now, might as well get a powerful laptop that can replace it if the desktop gets too out of date.

Batery life i dont care much since all my classes and area around my campus have outlets all over the place. but 3hrs sounds fair enough.

Plan on getting a GPS thing for it too so i can use it in my car. Weight doesnt really matter.

And i dont play much games other than CS and WC3. A couple DVD movies here and there and thats about it. Just want to have a powerful enough system to last me through college and a couple years after that.

 

[Bryans]

Originally posted by: Bbc84
Well i plan on using it for my college C++ class, since its getting really annoying trying to find a computer with the compiler and all that stuff on it on campus. Because usually they are full. So i kinda need a portable computer so i dont need to go to my apt just to do some prgming and then drive back to campus for my next class.


Also since my desktops are getting kinda old now, might as well get a powerful laptop that can replace it if the desktop gets too out of date.

Batery life i dont care much since all my classes and area around my campus have outlets all over the place. but 3hrs sounds fair enough.

Plan on getting a GPS thing for it too so i can use it in my car. Weight doesnt really matter.

And i dont play much games other than CS and WC3. A couple DVD movies here and there and thats about it. Just want to have a powerful enough system to last me through college and a couple years after that.

For your needs I think the athlon64 laptop (emachines or something like it) would be perfect.

 

[Heinrich]

From a purely political position, vote with your dollars to support the American Way - support competition, support the free market, support AMD.

 

[MDE]

I'm happy with my eMachines A64 laptop, but I'll admit it's a bit heavy. Battery life is about 2.5 hours for web\word processing and about 1:45 running games or anything else that really stresses the system.

 

[Chrono]

i say get the emachine a64 laptop. great price + you get a lot for your money. that ati 9600 pro will really come in handy when you DO want to play games.
you do not want to be left with a crappy graphics card that you cannot play current games with. I have an inspiron 8600 and I love it. I use linux on it, play games, emu, watch movies, do my homework... I use it a lot everyday. I also have a desktop, so I use that quite a bit too. heh.

 

[Chrono]

think about the battery part long and hard, because, if you're not always on the go or have the option of plugging into an outlet, having a laptop that extends in battery performance is useless.

 

[Sahakiel]

Originally posted by: Chrono
think about the battery part long and hard, because, if you're not always on the go or have the option of plugging into an outlet, having a laptop that extends in battery performance is useless.

4 hrs straight of back to back lecture. no plug in sight.
From that standpoint, battery life is important.

 

[Chrono]

then take the dothan challenge and buy one.

 

[Bbc84]

Hehe, i dont have any lectures that are 4hrs long.

I either got 50 min lectures, or 75min lectures. so no worries there. looks like the Emachine is probably abetter choice. Though in the Emachines thread rumors of a 17" model with 3200+ AMD64 is comming maybe ill have to wait anyways.

 

[CruisinGT]

Originally posted by: Bbc84
Hehe, i dont have any lectures that are 4hrs long.
Though in the Emachines thread rumors of a 17" model with 3200+ AMD64 is comming maybe ill have to wait anyways.

Though by the time that model is released then some newer/better technology will be just around the corner giving you another reason to wait again. Hmmm...such as the Intel Pentium4-M (Prescott). Technology breakthroughs never stops. If you're waiting for the best thing to come out, you'll never be satisfied.

And a 17" model?!? Woah!! How much is that thing supposed to weigh?? I recently got the M6805 and although I like it, a 15.4" widescreen is really bigger than I would've preferred. It ended up being helpful when I had to present some information to a few people when I had no larger screens available at the time but those instances are so rare that it really doesn't compensate for the extra weight. But if you really feel the need for a 17" screen, I'd wait............ I'd wait for the 21" model to be released!!

 

[beyoku]

get the 64

 

[Frightcrawler]

At this rate, Dothan will never come out .
But I'm still holding out for it.

 

[bdunosk]

I'd go with the AMD64 then, too, as it probably has a lot more processing power for your compiling needs.

Maybe I'm out of touch, not being in classes anymore, but do people really use laptops during lectures (not to play around, I mean)? With how much I'd have to draw things in my notes, a laptop seems worthless to me. Then again, I majored in biology and then medicine.

 

[bdunosk]

I'd go with the AMD64 then, too, as it probably has a lot more processing power for your compiling needs.

Maybe I'm out of touch, not being in classes anymore, but do people really use laptops during lectures (not to play around, I mean)? With how much I'd have to draw things in my notes, a laptop seems worthless to me. Then again, I majored in biology and then medicine.

 

[Bbc84]

Thats where tablet laptops would of been a great choice for you.

Im going to be a Computer Science Major, so notes will all be typed, or avaliable for me online in text format or powerpoint format.

 

[XBoxLPU]

Does the eMachine have Cool N' Quiet ?

I am sure that would help battery life!