Advice on laptop processor

[jhbwolverine]

My fiancee is going to buy a new laptop soon. After doing some shopping, it became quite obvious that the laptops with AMD processors are considerably cheaper than those with Intel processors. I did some research online, and most of what I've read indicates that for the same speed processor, the Intel processors perform better overall (and are more efficient) than the AMD processors. Neither of these things is a huge deal to her, since she won't be doing anything really processor intensive, and she won't be away from a power source for long periods of time either. The one thing I wasn't able to find information on was reliability. Is there a difference in long-term reliability of the AMD vs. Intel processors?

 

[jimmysmitty]

Both AMD and Intel CPUs have great longevity records. I still have a 4 year old P4 EE 3.4GHz, actually 5 years now.

The one thing that will show more longevity though would probably be efficiency as the less power used means less power(heat) dissipated thus a longer life.

 

[Shadow703793]

In terms of power usage/performance Intel is generally better (C2Ds). Thank Intel for SpeedStep (for laptop users at least)

 

[jimmysmitty]

In terms of power usage/performance Intel is generally better (C2Ds). Thank Intel for SpeedStep (for laptop users at least)

I think the SpeedStep for the mobile CPUs from Intel is deeper than Desktop right? They go into a more lower power usage state than ours do.

 

[Shadow703793]

^Not 100% but I would say yes.

 

[jimmysmitty]

^Not 100% but I would say yes.

And I think the mobile version of Nehalem will come out where it will turn off cores individually and the desktop ull underclock other cores and OC one core for better single threaded performance.

 

[Nik_I]

i don't think long-term performance is really much of an issue. my P4 machine has been on about 9 hours a day for the past 5 years with no problems whatsoever. As long as the cpu remains within reasonable temperatures, the thing will last more than long enough (by that i mean way beyond the useful life of the computer)

 

[boner]

INTEL!!!

 

[rodney_ws]

Plenty of other things will go wrong with the laptop long before the processor dies. Intel or AMD.. .take your pick. The hard drive will die, the screen will go dark, it will be obsolete, it'll get stolen/dropped... and through it all the processor will be fine.

That said... I would look for ones that have the lowest rated TDP values... less heat means it won't burn you when it's sitting in your lap and the fan can run on the lower settings more frequently. Nothing worse than a laptop with its fan on full blast while you're running MS Office (or Open Office if you're so inclined)

 

[lostandwandering]

I think the SpeedStep for the mobile CPUs from Intel is deeper than Desktop right? They go into a more lower power usage state than ours do.

I can't say for certain on desktops, but speedstep seems to cut the core speed in half on my T7200. From ~2ghz to ~1ghz.

 

[Mathos]

Actually if you want to, I'd wait for the Phenom x4 9100e, it's supposed to be the low power laptop energy efficient k10. And it they have the bios working properly it should be able to do the core shut down thing like they're suppose to.

 

[Just_An_Engineer]

Don't worry about performance in a laptop. You're generally not going to be playing 3D games on one or encoding DVD's too often so the choice of processor is really inconsequential. Your best bet is to find one that is light enough that you can carry it around, has a screen big enough that you can read off it easily, and is built sturdy enough that it won't break the first time you look at it funny.

 

[lunyone]

Only main concern I'd have is:
* Does the system have enough memory? (vista is memory hog, get at least 2 gb's to make things pretty smooth)
* Is the screen big enough for the intended user/purpose?
* Is the HD big enough? If your doing light work than a 5400rpm HD is fine. If your doing alot of HD stuff than a 7200rpm would be better. The only thing is that you'll hear the 7200rpm HD more than the 5400rpm one.
* Do you need a separate or dedicated numeric pad? This one is very critical if your doing alot of numerical data entries. You can buy a separate keypad if you like, but if you don't want to lug it around, than make sure you get a laptop with one built in. This is usually on standard on the bigger LCD screen ones (usually 17" or bigger).
* What are you going to be carrying the laptop in when your transporting it. Some people don't mind a backpack or something like it. Others want a handbag or briefcase sized case, so this can play a factor in how big you need.
* Are you going to need a DVD burner, or is a CD burner fine? I'd personally stick with the DVD burner option, since you'll have more data space to save on the DVD burner and you'll be able to watch DVD's when you want to.
* Which OS are you going to use/get? This can influence alot of the other parts of the system. Like I stated before, if you get Vista than get a least 2 gb's of DDR2. If your going with XP, 1 gb would be fine and 2 gb's would be optimal, IMHO.
* Does the laptop have or need wireless connection? This may sound like a stupid question, but just make sure you have at least a wireless chip (most every laptop now has it, but just double check it).
* Does the laptop have enough USB ports? If it doesn't than plan on getting a usb port, preferably one that has it's own power source (plugs into the outlet). This may sound silly, but there are numerous times that I've used a 4 port usb hub and had it faulter when I plugged in the 3rd device. This can limit what you can do. Just something to think about.
* Do you like the audio volume controls on separate buttons? This is almost a must to me. If I want to turn something down, than I just hit a button, not a function key and then another. This is just my preferance, but can make the computing experience better and more positive.
* Do you want more graphics power than the standard onboard GPU? You mentioned that this isn't a concern for you, but I prefer to have it. It allows me to play games that I'd normally not do. I can play Crysis and alot of other games on my current laptop, but the settings obviously are not going to be stellar. I like the flexibility of having it and once you order your laptop, you can't just drop in a dedicated GPU. I have a Dell e1505 w/Core Duo (not C2D) @1.66mHz, 2 gb's DDR2 667mHz, ATI x1400 256 mb GPU (they didn't have anything faster or I would've bought it), 100 gb HD @5400rpm (would've like to have had the 7200rpm, but I couldn't afford it at the time), & True Life LCD (upgraded from the basic one, which it is brighter than the standard one).

Okay I rambled on a bit, but hopefully I gave you a few things to think about. Laptops are very personal and are percieved at different levels.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Only main concern I'd have is:
* Does the system have enough memory? (vista is memory hog, get at least 2 gb's to make things pretty smooth)
* Is the screen big enough for the intended user/purpose?
* Is the HD big enough? If your doing light work than a 5400rpm HD is fine. If your doing alot of HD stuff than a 7200rpm would be better. The only thing is that you'll hear the 7200rpm HD more than the 5400rpm one.
* Do you need a separate or dedicated numeric pad? This one is very critical if your doing alot of numerical data entries. You can buy a separate keypad if you like, but if you don't want to lug it around, than make sure you get a laptop with one built in. This is usually on standard on the bigger LCD screen ones (usually 17" or bigger).
* What are you going to be carrying the laptop in when your transporting it. Some people don't mind a backpack or something like it. Others want a handbag or briefcase sized case, so this can play a factor in how big you need.
* Are you going to need a DVD burner, or is a CD burner fine? I'd personally stick with the DVD burner option, since you'll have more data space to save on the DVD burner and you'll be able to watch DVD's when you want to.
* Which OS are you going to use/get? This can influence alot of the other parts of the system. Like I stated before, if you get Vista than get a least 2 gb's of DDR2. If your going with XP, 1 gb would be fine and 2 gb's would be optimal, IMHO.
* Does the laptop have or need wireless connection? This may sound like a stupid question, but just make sure you have at least a wireless chip (most every laptop now has it, but just double check it).
* Does the laptop have enough USB ports? If it doesn't than plan on getting a usb port, preferably one that has it's own power source (plugs into the outlet). This may sound silly, but there are numerous times that I've used a 4 port usb hub and had it faulter when I plugged in the 3rd device. This can limit what you can do. Just something to think about.
* Do you like the audio volume controls on separate buttons? This is almost a must to me. If I want to turn something down, than I just hit a button, not a function key and then another. This is just my preferance, but can make the computing experience better and more positive.
* Do you want more graphics power than the standard onboard GPU? You mentioned that this isn't a concern for you, but I prefer to have it. It allows me to play games that I'd normally not do. I can play Crysis and alot of other games on my current laptop, but the settings obviously are not going to be stellar. I like the flexibility of having it and once you order your laptop, you can't just drop in a dedicated GPU. I have a Dell e1505 w/Core Duo (not C2D) @1.66mHz, 2 gb's DDR2 667mHz, ATI x1400 256 mb GPU (they didn't have anything faster or I would've bought it), 100 gb HD @5400rpm (would've like to have had the 7200rpm, but I couldn't afford it at the time), & True Life LCD (upgraded from the basic one, which it is brighter than the standard one).

Okay I rambled on a bit, but hopefully I gave you a few things to think about. Laptops are very personal and are percieved at different levels.

Thats an uber machine huh? LOL. Just saw that and though about how fast it was. Sure you meant 1.66GHz right?

Good info here too.

 

[lunyone]

yeah 1.66 gHz not mHz, LOL!!! I only paid just under $1k for it over 2 yrs. ago and I'm still happy with it. I can play just about any game, but of coarse not on high settings. A very solid laptop and has been very nice to have.

 

[jhbwolverine]

Thanks for all the advice. We ended up going with Intel because we found a really great deal on a Dell Vostro. 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, 160 GB hard drive, Geforce 8400 GS video card, 2 GB DDR2 667, DVD Burner, Built in wireless, and pre-installed with Vista and MS Office Home Edition for ~$800. The only downside is it's fairly large and heavy, but she's not planning on traveling with it a lot.

 

[Just_An_Engineer]

Thanks for all the advice. We ended up going with Intel because we found a really great deal on a Dell Vostro. 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, 160 GB hard drive, Geforce 8400 GS video card, 2 GB DDR2 667, DVD Burner, Built in wireless, and pre-installed with Vista and MS Office Home Edition for ~$800. The only downside is it's fairly large and heavy, but she's not planning on traveling with it a lot.

Good luck with the new system. My only word of caution would be to make sure that you never block the air vents on it. Most laptops still draw in air from the bottom for some reason and it you put them down on anything other than a hard, flat surface you will likely restrict the airflow and cause the system to overheat. I'm very leery of laptops that have desktop type processors in them as their cooling systems are typically woefully inadequate. My last 2 laptops had the motherboards fail due to overheating during normal use.

 

[lunyone]

Good advice on the hard surface for cooling. If you like to have your laptop in your lap for long periods of time, I'd either invest in an additional cooler or get a flat hard surface to put the laptop on. I don't actually have to put my laptop in my lap, so I don't have the concern that Just_An_Engineer has stated.

 

[jhbwolverine]

She bought a little cooling mat for it to sit on when she puts it on her lap. Just a little hard plastic mat with a couple of small fans that gets airflow moving around the bottom of it and vents it out the back so it doesn't get too warm.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I have a Tosiba laptop that I bought in 1996....still runs
I have an IBM laptop that I bought in 2000.....still runs

But for some reason, there's some type of unwritten laptop law that the major vendors simply refuse to put together a system without at least one bottleneck. If you find a good processor, memory, video combo, it simply must come witha slow 5400 rpm hard drive......find one with a 72000 rpm HD ?....well then it has a crappy video solution. The point of these shennaningans is to "sell" the unit on the specs that are good, and make the money off the savings on the skimped components.

Since every one of these major labels is outsourcing their laptops and simply rebranding them, seems to me you can save a ton of money and avoid the otherwise inevitable bottlenecks buy having the unit custom built from teh same people the major labels buying them from. Clevo for example has been the brand behind Alienware, Sager, Voodoo, WidowPC, Cyberpower, Falcon Northwest, ABS etc. One US Distributor who is rather up front about this is Pro-Star. You can buy anything from a high end 2.93 GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM, 8800 GTX SLI, RAID 5 (3 HD) system w/ 1920 x 1200 screen and TV Tuner to a $580 budget machine. That's the route I have been taking for the last 2+ years.

 

[rockbyter]

i buy thinkpad t21s for well under $200 refurbished on ebay. P3 733-1000 with 512 mb of ram are solid.

T5000 series or 7000 series at any speed is good performance. I have a T5200 at 1.6 GHz, 2 GB of ram, and its absolutely fast, no complaints for any applications.

Cyberpower.com does a cheap laptop you can get down to $400 because you can order it with no OS if you have something like XP you can take from a retired system *cough pirate cough*

 

[rockbyter]

http://www.intel.com/products/centrino/compare.htm

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Cyberpower.com does a cheap laptop you can get down to $400 because you can order it with no OS if you have something like XP you can take from a retired system *cough pirate cough*

Cyberpower's laptops are Clevo's.

 

[lostandwandering]

^And Compal.