AMD Turion 64 or Intel Core Duo?? Which is better for my needs?

I am looking into getting a new laptop here within the next few days and I thought I had my mind set on the AMD but I'm not so sure once again.
I mainly just surf the web and things like that. I sometimes run a lot of programs at once such as: MSN Messenger, Yahoo, Limewire, listening to music, 2 or 3 internet windows open and all of this sometimes bogs down my desktop. I play a few online games such as Yahoo Pool and from miniclip.com but thats about it. I want something that is just going to keep up from day to day and be good for a couple of years down the road.

Do you think this setup will be good for my needs or should I consider the Core Duo?

Compaq v5000z
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
32MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M
1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

What are you currently using?

I don't think that you need dual core for that type of usage. Any of the faster single cores (Turion ML included) should not have trouble even when you are multi-tasking. You are not using anything too demanding.

One advise. Get a 5400RPM hard drive, it will make a difference, if it is an expensive upgrade thru compaq buy one and upgrade it yourself.

 

For your needs ML-37, Ml-40 will give super performance. Yet, as qwester said, it's not the CPU, which limits the perfromance but the HDD. If you are up to it, take the cheapeast HDD, then sell it on ebay and buy a 7200rpm HDD, thus you will get the best possible performance. Most of us however use 5400rpm HDDs and they work fine.

 

Will this still be good a couple of years down the line too?
Also who is for AMD and who Intel? I have heard good and bad about both.

 

Im a amd person but either is good, For the rather massive price difference I would get the Turion.

 

Alright thanks for the advice. A friend showed me an magazine artical where they put AMD and Intel head to head and the AMD came out on top in everything, but they didn't have the Turion or the Core Duo in any reviews so I wasn't sure.

I currently have a Compaq desktop and want a laptop to do the whole wireless internet thing.
Does anyone know of a good place I could check to read up on setting up my wireless network or what? I am getting rid of the desktop and I'm only going to have the laptop. Do I just hook the broadband router up to my cable modem and I'm good to go or what? I know I need to read up on securing it also. Any suggestions?

Its a Compaq Presario
Intel Celeron 2.9Ghz
256Mb of Ram
and a 60 Gig hard drive

 

If you are up for some reading on it. This guide is great, thanks to Nick.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=30162&page=2

 

I bet you will see a lot of improvement from your current desktop, with any fast single core that you buy. The main reason you are having slow downs with multiple applications is your RAM. 256MB is just too little for XP.

 

Is the harddrive upgrade the only thing you all suggest?
I think I am about to order it.

On the other hand. That guide is massive and almost intimidating.
Do I really need to read through all of that just to get my wireless internet up and working and secured?

 

Depends on the router you get. If you get me that info, I can find you a guide for it. If you don't have one, the instructions when you buy it are really nice. I have a netgear that is awesome and took me about 5 mins to setup and that is with the security.

 

I hear Linksys is nice and I was going to go with them because I can also get it through HP. Its the Linksys Wireless G Broadband router as seen here. This is also probably a stupid question but I just want to make sure. I do not need to have a desktop or anything for wireless internet do I? I'm going to be getting rid of my desktop as I said and the laptop is the only computer I'm going to have.

I am also open to opinions. If anyone knows of anything that might be better for my needs or more of an ease for a beginner like myself to setup and secure let me know please!

 

No, you can just plug in your internet connection to the router. I would also recommend Netgear, like the one shown here:

http://netgear.com/products/details/WGR614.php

 

Once again probably another stupid question but I happened to see this at the bottom of the page with system requirements.
I didn't think I would need anything else?It says you need a 2.4 GHz wireless adapter or Ethernet adapter and cable for each computer.
Sorry for my ingnorance for I am new to all of this.

 

Thats your wireless card and/or your ethernet port. If you are looking at the same config as the one you originally posted, you are good to go with the router.

 

Alright so here is the update of what I'm going to be ordering..Tell me what you guys think.

I'm going to be getting this for 971.26 plus a 50 dollar mail in rebate. This is with 2 day shipping, tax, and all.

Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory(TM)
1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Also now my friend is trying to talk me into getting this one..He says it would be good for a few more years down the road..I could get this for about 1150.00

Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-40 (2.2GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory(TM)
2.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x1024MB)
80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

Depends on whether you plan to upgrading in the future or not. If you are planning on upgrading then get the one with minimum RAM, as this will make the whole setup little bit more cheaper. Aftermarket RAM is usually cheaper than getting it from HP. It is also easy to upgrade and doe not void any warranties.

The cpu on the other hand is not easily upgradable and getting the ML 40 might be a good choice. But on the other hand the performance between the ML 37 and 40 will be minimal and there will hardly be any difference in daily applications.

I would suggest getting the ML 40 with 1GB RAM(or even less RAM if you plan on upgrading it by yourself).

 

Essentially for $180 plus $50 rebate = $230. So you are paying $230 bucks for the following.
1. 200mhz in clock speed
2. 1gb more of DDR SDRAM

Since your original laptop was only $920 after rebate, that means that you would be paying 25% of the entire cost of your laptop just to get the extra gig of ram and the extra clock speed on the processor.

Going from 1-2gb's of ram and adding an extra 200mhz of clock speed will not make enough of a difference to justify the 25% higher price.
So, unless money is no object, your best choice would be to get the Turion ML-37 system.

 

Well I ordered last night. Here is what I'm waiting on.

Compaq Presario V5000Z customizable Notebook PC

* – Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
* – AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-40 (2.2GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
* – 15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
* – 128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory(TM)
* – 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
* – 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
* – DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
* – 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
* – 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

I must say, loserkidjp, you have made an exellent choice! For what you're doing, dual core is just too expensive, and the Turion will work wonderfully.

I have had a v5000z myself since Wednesday, and it is near identical to yours. I run really intensive games and such (MS Flight Sim 2004) and it performs very well.

 

Hi im also thinking on get a notebook but i won't use it for gaming. I wanna use it to develope software and use programs such as Visual Studio .net im not a pro im just starting in that area but i want something that can help me in the university cause i spend the most of the time there, so i have to develope there.
i read that the AMD TURION 64 were a little better than the P-M but im not really sure. I dont know if buying a Turion cause they support 64-bits or buy an Intel Core Duo cause i read that they were the latest my budget its $1500 i will aprecciate yor helpcause i got to buy it in a week

 

I'm mainly using my laptop for development. I have an MT-37 2.0 Ghz 25 W Turion processor. I run VS(Visual Studio) Professional 2005, IIS, COM+, Oracle Enterprise 10G, and other misc tools. I also have 2 GB of RAM... it is very important when developing IMO. I got the MSI-1036, but I paid a bit extra to get the X700 ATI card. For straight development with AMD Turion processors, the HPs are great.

 

What are your specs andrew11?