TM 8200 vs. Ferrari 4006: X1600 vs x700

The Ferrari 4006 with the Turion ML-40 and the TravelMate 8200 will be released in the next month an I am going to get one of the two. I have a couple questions before I make a decision:

Ferrari 4006
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional; AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology ML-40 (1MB L2 cache, 2.2GHz ); 1GB (512/512) DDR333 SDRAM; 100GB hard drive; integrated DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive; 5-in-1 card reader; 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) TFT display; ATI® MOBILITY™ RADEON® X700 graphics; 802.11b/g WLAN, gigabit LAN, V.92 modem

TravelMate 8204
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional; Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2MB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 667MHz FSB); 2GB (1/1) DDR2 667 SDRAM; 120GB SATA hard drive, 5400RPM; modular Super-Multi (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM) drive; 5-in-1 card reader; 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) TFT display; ATI® MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1600 graphics, 256MB DDR; 802.11a/b/g WLAN, Bluetooth™, gigabit LAN, V.92 modem


1. Core Duo vs. Turion ML-40: I really like the idea of the 64-bit processor for the upcoming Vista OS and other 64-bit apps that will start coming out in the summer. Will the Duo be noticably faster for signle tasks versus the ML-40? I rarely have two CPU-intensive apps running at the same time, which makes me think that 64bit would be better.

2. X1600 vs. X700: How much faster is the X1600? I am a casual gamer, but I would play the latest and greatest when I am gaming. How many FPS will I gain on average with the same settings?

3. I will upgrade the Ferrari to 2GB RAM anyway, but the 8200 has much better RAM - will I see the difference?

Price is not a factor at all...

Any other feedback is apprecated.

I am almost certain I will get the 8200, but I want to clarify a couple things before finalizing the decision.

 

There's another thread here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=36103
That ends with this from Wiz33:
"...having used it first hand, the X1600 in the TM8204 beats the crap out of the X700 in my TM8104. HL2 runs at about 40% faster and the hardware shader 3.0 finally let me run COH/COV at over 40fps (never above 30 with the X700)."

The more apples to apples comparison would probably be with the next generation Ferrari, which I would guess (only guess) will have a dual core turion and at least the X1600. But this would not be until probably this summer since the Ferrari 4000 was released I believe last May.

 

Good 'nuff for me. Just have to wait for the 8204 to show up on NewEgg or Buy.com....

 

I don't think there will be a better notebook for the next few months than the 8204. The price is amazing.

 

And the 8204 has shown up on Buy.com:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.a...66276&Type=PE&Category=Comp&Gad=0&dcaid=17379

 

I think you are right. The 4006 is a small upgrade.

Acer might also launch a new unit when the Grand Prix season starts. I would like to see HD audio added and also Expresscard.

I am wondering what AMD is going to come out with to combat the Core Duo. Turion X2 maybe?

I son't think the 4006 comes with a Ferrari mouse - can anyone verify? I think the 8204's BT VoIP handset is much cooler.

 

I am wondering what AMD is going to come out with to combat the Core Duo. Turion X2 maybe?

I son't think the 4006 comes with a Ferrari mouse - can anyone verify? I think the 8204's BT VoIP handset is much cooler.[/QUOTE]


From what I've read the Turion X2 will be based on the new AM2 chipset and get DDR2 memory. Since AMD has yet to move to 65nm, it will be interesting to see how it compares to Core Duo in terms of power efficiency. While I would like to wait for AMD's chip, I need a new laptop now and thus will buy the 8204. I'm not sure I want to be an MS "gamma tester" when they release Vista this year, and it's not like I'm going to go out and immediately replace all my software with 64 bit versions, even if they were available.

I see this as similar to the upgrade to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray later this year. Even if I waited to buy a new Blu-Ray player, I'm still going to have 50 DVDs that I'm not going to run out and immediately replace, and they will end up looking just the same.

On the Ferarri mouse lacking on the 4006, it seems like everybody hates it anyway, so I'm not sure it would be that much of a loss...

 

AMD's Yamoto CPU dual-cores are supposed to come out sometime in Q2, or March of this year. I'd wait around and see what AMD has to offer before running out and getting a Yonah CPU. In addition the X700 is very comparable to the X1600, except for the fact that the X1600 is much faster at high settings than the X700 is.

 

From what I've read the Turion X2 will be based on the new AM2 chipset and get DDR2 memory. Since AMD has yet to move to 65nm, it will be interesting to see how it compares to Core Duo in terms of power efficiency. While I would like to wait for AMD's chip, I need a new laptop now and thus will buy the 8204. I'm not sure I want to be an MS "gamma tester" when they release Vista this year, and it's not like I'm going to go out and immediately replace all my software with 64 bit versions, even if they were available.

I see this as similar to the upgrade to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray later this year. Even if I waited to buy a new Blu-Ray player, I'm still going to have 50 DVDs that I'm not going to run out and immediately replace, and they will end up looking just the same.

On the Ferarri mouse lacking on the 4006, it seems like everybody hates it anyway, so I'm not sure it would be that much of a loss... [/QUOTE]


AM2 is just a new socket. The only thing it adds is DDR2 support. The memory comntroller on the Athlon 64 is on the CPU itself. ON the desktop side there will only be a small performance improvement.

On the notebook side things are much more intersting. The Turion uses the old socket 754. This limits it to single channel.

If the new Turion uses AM2 then we will see low latency DDR2 and dual channel. I would guess that we'll see a 20-30% improvement clock for clock if this is the case.

AMD does not make their own chipsets anymore. They rely on VIA, ATI, Nvidia and SiS for their core logic. We have to hope that AMD's partners roll out some new notebook features - I would look to ATI for that.