Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Here is one of the specs on the Laptop I am looking at


Acer Extensa 14.1" AMD Turion 2.0GHz Notebook

Processor
Model Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core
Brand AMD
Speed 2.0GHz
System bus 1600MHz
Memory
Type DDR2
RAM 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Cache 2 x 512KB L2
Memory card reader 5-in-1 card reader
Compatible with Secure Digital, xD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Multimedia Card
Hard Drive
Size/speed 250GB / 5400RPM
Optical Drives
Optical Drive 1 DVD-RW
Ports
USB 4
Firewire 1
Audio 1 audio out jack, 1 microphone jack
Video 1 S-Video
Monitor 1 VGA
Internet/Network
Modem 56Kbps modem
Network Card Integrated LAN adaptor(RJ-45 port) and built-in Acer InviLink 802.11b/g wireless LAN compatible w/ LAN data transfers of 10/100/1000 Mbps; WAN data transfer rates of 54Mbps, compatible with 802.11b/g protocols.
Additional Features
Graphics/Video ATI Radeon X1250 graphics card; up to 896MB of HyperMemory
Audio Integrated audio
Accessories Included
Keyboard Integrated
Mouse Two-button touchpad
Printer Details
Brand HP
Type Deskjet D1520
Printer resolution Up to 4800 x 1200 DPI (Color), Up to 1200 x 1200 DPI (Black)
Black/white print speed Up to 11 PPM
Camera Details
Brand Built-in
Power Specifications
Battery Type 6-cell lithium ion battery
AC Adapter Included
Warranty
Parts 36 months (1 year from Acer, 2 year extended)
Labor 36 months (1 year from Acer, 2 year extended)
Software
Operating system Windows Vista Home Premium

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LETS BEGIN IN 2010

Here is A Laptop with intel CPU



Toshiba 15.4" Intel Pentium Dual-Core 1.86GHz Notebook

Processor
Model Pentium Dual-Core
Brand Intel
Speed 1.86GHz
System bus 533MHz
Memory
RAM 2GB
RAM expandable to 4GB
Compatible with 5-in-1 Bridge Media Adapter (Memory Card)
Hard Drive
Type Serial ATA Hard Disk Drive
Size/speed 160GB / 5400RPM
Optical Drives
Optical Drive 1 DVD SuperMulti Drive supporting 11 formats
Ports
USB 4
USB Type 2.0
Firewire i.LINK IEEE-1394
Audio Microphone in, Headphone out
Video RGB out, S-Video out
Internet/Network
Modem RJ-11
Network Card RJ-45, 10/100 Ethernet, Atheros 802.11b/g wireless-LAN, Integrated Wi-Fi
Additional Features
Graphics/Video Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 with 8MB-256M
Audio Sound volume control dial
Accessories Included
Speakers Built-in stereo speakers,
Printer Details
Brand Epson
Type Stylus C120 Ink jet; 4-color CMYK
Printer resolution 5760 x 1400 optimized dpi
Color print speed 20 ppm (draft), 11 ppm (laser quality)
Black/white print speed 37 ppm (draft), 25 ppm (laser quality)
Power Specifications
Battery Type 4000mAh Lithium Ion battery pack
AC Adapter Included
Warranty
Parts 1 year
Labor 1 year
Weight
CPU 6.05 lbs.
Printer 10.14 lbs.
Software
Operating system Windows Vista Home Premium

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LETS BEGIN IN 2010

In my experience the AMD laptops tend to run pretty hot. My core duo (last generation chip) laptop runs pretty cool even crunching 24/7.

Both of those are Vista and have at least 2gb so you're okay there, make sure that any laptop you get that runs Vista has at LEAST 2gb RAM.

---

Daniel

Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Hi Matthew,

The Turion is already somewhat outdated, but there are still a lot of laptops sold with this processor. It is not very fast (but more than fast enough for 'normal' applications like spreadsheets, word processing etc.) but it has the advantage that it is relatively low in power usage, so your battery will probably last longer than with the more modern high-end cpu's.

It is not very clear what processor the laptop in your second message (Intel processor) uses. 'Intel dual core' can be anything from the 'old' dual cores (a la Pentium D) to a core 2 duo. The old Intel dual cores are relatively power hungry, resulting in short battery life.

Regards,
John.

The Acer Extensa 14.1" AMD Turion 2.0GHz one you listed is nearly identical to the Dell I just got three months ago. I love mine, it does everything I ask it to, and it does it fast. Even with a 15" widescreen on it, I got the 9-cell battery and I can surf the internet with wireless on battery for just over 9 hours. Even if I pop in a DVD on battery, I get a little over 8 hours. And it runs cold enough that it doesn't feel hot sitting on my leg.

---

Linux laptop:
record uptime: 1511d 20h 19m (ended due to the power brick giving-up)

Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Hi Matthew,

The Turion is already somewhat outdated, but there are still a lot of laptops sold with this processor. It is not very fast (but more than fast enough for 'normal' applications like spreadsheets, word processing etc.) but it has the advantage that it is relatively low in power usage, so your battery will probably last longer than with the more modern high-end cpu's.

It is not very clear what processor the laptop in your second message (Intel processor) uses. 'Intel dual core' can be anything from the 'old' dual cores (a la Pentium D) to a core 2 duo. The old Intel dual cores are relatively power hungry, resulting in short battery life.

Regards,
John.

Processor
Model Pentium Dual-Core
Brand Intel
Speed 1.86GHz
System bus 533MHz
Memory

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LETS BEGIN IN 2010

Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Depends a lot on what you want to do with it.

If you want something to carry around and use to check mail and etc. I'd look really hard at the current "Netbook" machines. These frequently use an Intel Atom or a Via C7 processor, run Linux, and weigh very little. Current draw is vanishingly small, so you don't need big batteries and they'll last a long time.

If it's really a desktop replacement, then you aren't as worried about battery life, current draw, or weight.

-- Ned

---

Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Depends a lot on what you want to do with it.

If you want something to carry around and use to check mail and etc. I'd look really hard at the current "Netbook" machines. These frequently use an Intel Atom or a Via C7 processor, run Linux, and weigh very little. Current draw is vanishingly small, so you don't need big batteries and they'll last a long time.

If it's really a desktop replacement, then you aren't as worried about battery life, current draw, or weight.

-- Ned

Some gaming, Video editing, e-mail, media apps etc.

All I see in the The Sunday Ads are Turion or Intel Core 2 Duo. Looking to spend around $899 max.

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LETS BEGIN IN 2010

Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Depends a lot on what you want to do with it.

If you want something to carry around and use to check mail and etc. I'd look really hard at the current "Netbook" machines. These frequently use an Intel Atom or a Via C7 processor, run Linux, and weigh very little. Current draw is vanishingly small, so you don't need big batteries and they'll last a long time.

If it's really a desktop replacement, then you aren't as worried about battery life, current draw, or weight.

-- Ned

Some gaming, Video editing, e-mail, media apps etc.

All I see in the The Sunday Ads are Turion or Intel Core 2 Duo. Looking to spend around $899 max.

That's a difficult combination. Gaming and video editing are CPU-intensive. "Hot" CPUs are power hungry, and that leads to short battery life.

... a laptop with a dead battery isn't much fun when you're travelling.

If you don't travel (don't need portability) then that's different.

---

Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Depends a lot on what you want to do with it.

If you want something to carry around and use to check mail and etc. I'd look really hard at the current "Netbook" machines. These frequently use an Intel Atom or a Via C7 processor, run Linux, and weigh very little. Current draw is vanishingly small, so you don't need big batteries and they'll last a long time.

If it's really a desktop replacement, then you aren't as worried about battery life, current draw, or weight.

-- Ned

Some gaming, Video editing, e-mail, media apps etc.

All I see in the The Sunday Ads are Turion or Intel Core 2 Duo. Looking to spend around $899 max.

That's a difficult combination. Gaming and video editing are CPU-intensive. "Hot" CPUs are power hungry, and that leads to short battery life.

... a laptop with a dead battery isn't much fun when you're travelling.

If you don't travel (don't need portability) then that's different.

Not so much gaming however if their is A game I would like to play I would like to know the notebook can handle it.

---

LETS BEGIN IN 2010

Hi,

I am looking to purchase A Laptop in the next month or so. Wanting to know is the Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core A good CPU for A Laptop?

Depends a lot on what you want to do with it.

If you want something to carry around and use to check mail and etc. I'd look really hard at the current "Netbook" machines. These frequently use an Intel Atom or a Via C7 processor, run Linux, and weigh very little. Current draw is vanishingly small, so you don't need big batteries and they'll last a long time.

If it's really a desktop replacement, then you aren't as worried about battery life, current draw, or weight.

-- Ned

Some gaming, Video editing, e-mail, media apps etc.

All I see in the The Sunday Ads are Turion or Intel Core 2 Duo. Looking to spend around $899 max.

That's a difficult combination. Gaming and video editing are CPU-intensive. "Hot" CPUs are power hungry, and that leads to short battery life.

... a laptop with a dead battery isn't much fun when you're travelling.

If you don't travel (don't need portability) then that's different.

Not so much gaming however if their is A game I would like to play I would like to know the notebook can handle it.

... and ultimately, that is the decision. "Not so much gaming" isn't zero, and when you say "I would like to know the notebook would handle it" you are pretty much saying that this has to be a performance laptop -- a "desktop replacement" laptop.

There are basically two main compromises on laptops: size (screen size) vs. portability, and speed vs. battery life.

It seems to me that you want a big screen and a hot processor. That means less portable, and short battery life.

---

Hi Matthew.
My main SETI cruncher is a Laptop (A Dell XPS M1530), I can give a few tips if you need (on screen size):

13.3" Ultraportable - They usually are light and give good battery life, although performance is minimal.
15.4" Mainstream - In my opinion, definitely the best option. The best balance of power, battery life, and weight.
17.7" Desktop Replacement - The beasts of the laptop industry, performance is at its best, but battery life is useless and you won't be able to carry it around.

For brands, I would always go Dell. The Dell XPS M1530 is probably their sleekest looking laptop around, and has a good 3 hour battery life while still being a beast (with a Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 Processor). Dell also has good warranties available. Also I've always believed AMD laptops run slightly hotter than their Intel counterparts, or was this a few years ago?

Hope this helps...

EDIT: A good site that I recommend for choosing and buying laptops is: NoteBook Review

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- Luke.

...
For brands, I would always go Dell. The Dell XPS M1530 is probably their sleekest looking laptop around, and has a good 3 hour battery life while still being a beast (with a Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 Processor). Dell also has good warranties available. Also I've always believed AMD laptops run slightly hotter than their Intel counterparts, or was this a few years ago?
...

I second going with a Dell. I was looking all over the market at different retailers and ended up going with a custom-built Dell in the end. One brand had features I liked, but features I hated, and the next brand was the same story. Of course the Dell has an annoying point or three (no parallel port, no DVI/HDMI output, integrated graphics with shared memory), but the important things that matter, it has. 9-hour battery life, AMD TL-56, gigabit LAN.

My main criteria was AMD-based and gigabit. I ended up having to get a Latitude D531 to meet these needs.

As far as AMD being hotter than the Intel counterparts in the portable market, I think that was during the time of the Centrino's launch and AMD hadn't come up with a really good mobile processor yet. From my understanding, the Turion runs about the same wattage as the Centrino. I just know that with my TL-56, I can keep in on my lap for a while and it doesn't feel warm at all, even when doing CPU-intensive tasks.

Like I said, I ended up settling on a Dell, but I've got six or seven different Toshiba Satellite models at home that are from the 2003-era and they are all still going just fine. I wanted to get another one, but I didn't like any of the features the new ones have at all.

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Linux laptop:
record uptime: 1511d 20h 19m (ended due to the power brick giving-up)

I've got a Dell like Luke's, XPS M1530 w/T9300. Dell makes a good solid laptop in the XPS line, I also have an older Inspiron 5150 that's still chugging along. The one thing that annoys me is that Dell tends to put partial functionality in for certain things. For example, the HDMI port on my 1530 only outputs a video signal, no audio. The laptop is spec'd as having 5.1 audio, but there does not seem to be a good way to actually get that audio out of it and onto a 5.1 audio system. Also, mine has a BluRay drive, and it came with PowerDVD that does only 2.1 audio processing, I have to pay $100 more to get the 5.1 version, even though I paid quite handsomely for the system. It's the little things like that I get annoyed by. But the system itself is pretty solid and runs quite speedily.

-Dave

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Saw this sale on QVC for A Dell Laptop

Dell 17.0" Diag Ntbk w/ 4GBRAM, 320GBHD

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LETS BEGIN IN 2010

that's a great machine you can not go wrong,i have an acer extensa 5620 i got this one this past june and it has been running 24/7 with no problems.