AMD Athlon(TM) 64 X2 1.9GHz vs. Intel Core 2 Duo 1.50GHz????

Ok im in a bit of a dilema here and need some advice from some notebook guru's...



I started looking for a laptop yesterday and then i went to best buy and jumped the gun on a "HP - Pavilion TK-57 dv6704nr" from Best Buy for $729.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...=product&tab=2&id=1196470439442#productdetail

Processor - AMD Athlon(TM) 64 X2 1.9GHz
Cache Memory - 512KB on die Level 2
RAM - 2GB DDR2
HDD – 160GB (SATA 5400 RPM)
Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M
System Bus - 1600MHz
Video Memory - Up to 799MB
WireLess - 802.11b/g

Now from my little experience with laptops, i think this laptop will suit my needs admirably.



With all that said, I did a little research today. I found that AMD Athlon 64 X2 were mainly used for desktops but recently made it to laptops but they suck the life out of laptop battery's compared to intel core 2 duo. Also, i heard Cache memory is actually important and 512kb isnt to much.
So just recently, i was looking for a laptop online with the same price but with intel processor and more cache and i saw this laptop from Circuit city that has close to the same price/specs except for a couple differences...

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-P...92557/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo 1.50 GHz
Cache Memory - 2MB level 2 cache
RAM - 2GB DDR2
HDD – 250GB (SATA 5400 RPM)
Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M
System Bus - 667MHz
Video Memory - 384MB
WireLess - 802.11a/g/ n


I am not going to be gaming, just using it for photos, videos, web etc.
Im not familar with all those specs so can someone shed some light on which laptop has the better spec for each of those?

And is it true that Athlon x2 will suck my battery alot more than a intel core 2 duo? which is the btter processor and why?
Is 512kb cache bad? and what is 802.11 n?

 

the AMD relies much less on the cache size, and 512mb is an appropriate cache size. The intel core 2 duo you're looking at is half the cache size I would recommend for it. Unless you dont plan on doing anything cpu intensive and just want a longer lasting battery, in which case go with the intel.

 

Hi there,

a few weeks back someone was kind enough to post an indepth comparison of a Turion running at 1.9 ghz versus a Core 2 Duo at 1.5 ghz. I can't find the specific post at the moment, but the end result was that Core 2 Duo was more energy efficient and on average a little faster than the Turion, which is a better equipped version of the Athlon listed above. So the Core 2 Duo is currently the better bet for a CPU.

Now on a separate note, they noted that the Geforce Go 7150M (an integrated GPU) has been handicapped in Vista to operate at a lower level than normal to save energy. This resulted in choppy Vista performance. My suggestion would be to go and try it out and see how the computer handles Vista Aero, then decide.

 

but as solidus said, the core 2 duo relies on cache more and he didnt think 2mb of cache for the core 2 duo was enough.

But you both agree that the intel will be better on the battery?

 

The Athlon X2 is basically a desktop CPU ported over for use in laptops. The Core 2 Duo would offer superior performance, power consumption as well as a lower heat output. If you can get the Core 2 Duo, I would strongly recommend it.

But, don't get me wrong. 512kb of cache is not bad; where Intel has more cache, the AMD has an integrated memory controller. Its just a difference in design. The Athlon is still a CPU that is more than capable of handling the tasks you mention; in fact, CPUs nowadays are more than powerful to deal with the most demanding applications.

 

Take a look at this review by Pulp:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=200203
It pits the T5250 1.5GHz Intel vs. the AMD dual-core. The Intel chip is more efficient and gives better battery life all at about the same performance as the faster-clocked AMD. However the AMD is cheaper. Personally I'd spend a bit more and get an Intel laptop.

 

Hmmm thats a pretty good comparison/review by Pulp. So basically after reading that review, i came away with the impression that the Intel core 2 Duo was better than the Turion processor when it came to battery life, etc. except for gaming. The laptop i have has an Athlon with triple the bus speed than the two that pulp compared. Can i use that comparison since his laptop had a turion? Would an Athlon be better on the battery?

 

The Turion & the Athlon are similar architecturally. The only differnece being that the Athlons have 512K cache instead of 1024k and they lack hardware virtualization support. Not a big loss in terms of performance but still will be slightly slower than a equivalent Turion. As for as battery life goes, again being based on the same architecture they will be similar but the Athlons do run at a bit higher voltage. I haven't noticed anyone complain about the battery life in these systems. So, I presume they would be quite similar given how closely related they are.

 

i see.

In Pulp's comparisons, the intel core 2 duo had an hour longer battery life than the AMD Turion. That is a pretty big difference. I might have to send my Athlon laptop back to best buy and pay the 15 percent restocking fee, then purchase the intel core 2 duo laptop since i value battery life.

The intel also has 100 more GB's of disk space. But it has almost 1000 less MHz in bus speed than the Ahtlon i have now. How important is Bus Speed?

The intel has 800MHz while the Athlon has 1600Mhz

 

i was in the same situation as you when i want to get a laptop. after doing research i found the intel was more effeicnet and in most cases faster or equal to the amd so i went to intel and im happy.

 

hmmm well basically i care about "system" performace and battery life. and since the intel wil be better for both of those, i will be getting it.

if i was going to be gaming with my laptop, i would stay with the AMD

 

Even if u are Gaming... I would tell u to Avoid Athlon for Notebook.. If it was Turion it would have been the best thing.... So u go for Intel 1.5... its not fast for Vista Aero (Your graphic Card speed will depend on Processor here) but Better than buying a Too Fast Too Furious Processor...which will torture your Notebook & suck out Battery life like a Leech

 

That alone is worth some extra money

You can't compare. Both have 200Mhz system bus's, Not like the old days when you could talk FSB and have it mean something. The system bus's are the same, Intel "quad pumps", the AMD has the onboard "Hyper Transport" memory controller. Those two are the best out there so it is not like the Intel is behind the AMD (I own AMD) it does different but gets it done. I would not return and pay 15%, the Intel does have better batt life but performance wise the AMD is as good or better and GPU's are better on AMD IGP's.

 

Well i just got the intel core 2 duo hp pavillion now. i have both of the AMD and the Intel now and have been comparing. the intel does have a bit more battery life to it and has slightly better speed/performance for the things i normally do.

The only thing that really sucks for the intel one(and it plays a pretty big factor into whether im going to keep it or not), is the loud noise it makes every 60 seconds. It will blow out air and make a loud fan sounding noise for about 10 seconds, every minute or so. it is ridiculous how often this happens and how annoying this is. is this the fan? The AMD Athlon laptop never gets that loud but the intel one does every 60 seconds. what could be causing this?


Oh yea and can anybody answer this one for me? i brought this new intel laptop home tonight and i open the box, turn it on and everything was installed already and norton antivirus had 321 days left of subscription. Has this been used before? it was packaged in an hp box and sealed but it came pre installed with the OS and a subscription to Norton? Circuit city said it was the last one they had and they said it wasnt open boxed. i dont see any pictures/documents/files from anyone else. how can i check when the OS was installed and if this is a used laptop? maybe thats the reason it is so loud

 

@nocturnal310
what do you mean by "torture my laptop"? will there be more things tortured than just the battery?

in my comparison of the intel vs athlon, the battery was better on the intel but not by too much. i ran a picture slideshow at the same time on both, popped in a movie on both at the same time. i didnt just let them sit idle, and the intel won by about 25 minutes.

It sucks that the intel is an annoying noise maker. that might be the deal breaker