Core 2 Duo vs Turion x2 vs Pentium Dual Core

You have probably been asked this question before. I have looked around on forums for an answer but have never been able to find a definitive one. I have pretty much read at most places that the Core 2 Duo is the best processor of the three. How do the other two compare? I have also read that the Core 2 Duo gives you better battery life, but I don't know how much more. Is it like 5 minutes or a half an hour? This notebook will mainly be used for the internet, and I am wanting a good combination of battery life, price, and pretty good power. Thanks for the help.

 

Some of the newer Dual Cores actually beat many of the older Core 2 Duo. So saying Core 2 Duo is better than Dual Core is inaccurate.

This list is a good reference: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

At the moment AMD CPUs aren't very interesting to me. They tend to getter hotter and use more power than Intel CPUs.

 

Thanks for the info. I was looking at a Toshiba Satellite L305. Cnet got considerably better battery life out of the Pentium Dual core than the Turion X2 (148 vs 116 minutes). On a Gateway MD series with a Turion, they observed 117 minutes but, with a Core 2 Duo the observed 252 minutes. That is a rather large difference. Consumer reports observed similar results. Do the Turions typically use more power than the other two, or is this due to something else?

 

You won't notice a difference in terms of performance for internet for all 3. Internet with a single core is already as smooth as it gets >.>

Battery life gain is only really applicable to the Perryn Core 2 Duos moreso than the other ones(the ones starting with a 'P') and it's really not so much battery life gain as much as CPU efficiency. It's simply that those CPUs tend to return better yield for less input power and output less heat. yes you will get better battery life out of a Core 2 Duo than an AMD, but it also depends on the other parts.

And as Phil said, some modern Pentium Dual cores are better than previous generation Core 2 Duos.

AMD CPUs perform fine for most daily tasks, but they tend to output more heat and draw more power as well.

 

Please post the exact numbers of the CPUs you are considering. Then we can comment.

 

Though.. if you take account into the graphics, then AMD platform suddenly seems a lot better than with amd processor alone.

Generally, if you're buying a low to medium end laptop, get amd.
If you're buying a high end laptop, get intel.

AMD will save you money and intel will give you the top performance.

 

Personally I don't agree with this advice. Intel Dual Core's will often outperform equally priced AMD CPUs, while staying cooler and providing better battery life.

 

In laptops its closer to true its further from in the desktop lineups as the current best athlon is only 69 bucks (Phenom Based 7850 black edition).

Personally i regret getting The turion last round. Glad i went intel will do it again when the new i5 architecture hits mobile.

 

Do you have the prices per 1k tray for both amd cpus and intel pentium dualcore? From those prices, AMD should be cheaper in the low to mid end range. Intel has no competition in the high end range.

Typically, you can buy a low end AMD dual core laptop for the price of a single core intel celeron laptop. AMD usualy has better graphics thus makes Windows Aero a tad more smoother Intel x3100 compared to something like thus give some user impression of being faster.

AMD also has some cooler processor such as those low end ones. They run just as cool as those pentium dual cores. But those high power ussage AMD Turion x2 Ultra Z series with clock speed of more than 2.2ghz will produce considerable amount of heat. So not all MAD processor are hot.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Most of the laptops I have been looking at have either a T-3200 or T-3400 Pentium Dual Core, T-6400 for the Core 2 Duo, and a RM-70 or RM-72 in the Turion X2. I think all of these processers would be fine for my usage. I currently have a Core 2 Duo T-5750 on a laptop, and it's been fine. I am now looking at battery life, which I know has a lot of variables. I am just wondering why for example on the Toshiba L305, Consumer Reports and CNet both noticed a considerable difference between the Pentium Dual core and the Turion. I am now looking at a Gateway MD7818u, which seems to have a good battery life and a Core 2 Duo processor.

 

What is your budget and what do you use your notebook for?

 

Well, this is actually for my dad. It will mainly be used for the internet, email, etc. It won't ever be used for gaming. He was wanting to spend no more than $500, but he was looking at the Gateway MD7818u, which is closer to $600.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146534 This looks like a pretty good deal. Has anyone had any experience with the G530 series?

 

Read the review for the G530 which was published a few weeks ago. It was an editors choice for a budget notebooks...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=381114

 

I think I have narrowed it down to a few different choices.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4636887&CatId=17

This received very high ratings and has good battery life, but is somewhat heavy, bulky, a little overkill, and a little more than I wanted to spend originally.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4545452&sku=G180-14101

This one is a good deal, since it is new, but I would prefer a 15.4". It has an ok battery life.

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=434956

This one is the cheapest, but has the worst battery life of the bunch.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146534

The Lenovo looks like a possible good compromise. It has very good battery life and is a very good deal. It is also new rather than refurbished.

Anyone have any thoughts on these?

 

I opened all 4 in tabs and the first two to go where the AMD Powered Toshiba and then the Lenovo fell due to the cpu its hdd was also lacking.

Not a gateway fan but those two are whats left on my page. The refurb is more expensive but does have a nice hard drive, both with the same cpu.

My pick is the T-6859 it meets the budget, has a Nice T6400, 4gb of ram, 320 gb hdd and its a nice light size - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4545452&sku=G180-14101