Musician in need of help, processor questions inside!!!

Hi guys, I posted here a looong time ago about getting a laptop, well I've finally saved up my money and I'm ready to buy .. but I need some clarification on some processor specs.

Here's the skinny...

On my home PC I use an AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3500+ 2.2Ghz ... now I've tried searching all over to put this processor up against other notebook processors but I can't find anything. I use a program called Reason 3.0 with my PC and it runs just perfect for my stuff .. but I don't want to get a processor that's not going to run it as well as my 3500+. Reason 3.0 doesn't have dual core support yet ... I believe that the newest version of Abelton Live [6] will be the first music program to feature Dual Core support. So my question is this:

If I get a Core Duo 2, will just one of the cores run as well as my 3500+? Or am I better off getting a laptop with a AMD Turion ML-40 or something? It seems that a dual core processor is the way to go these days .. but I don't want to get one if only one of the cores can't run my program as well.

Can you please give me some ideas about a processor that will run as well, and if not better than my 3500+ before I commit to buying? I more than likely will be buying an MSI or Asus configurable laptop.

I seriously appreciate any help you guys give me. I can't tour or play a show yet until I get this **** thing built ... so it's really driving me crazy as we are coming up on our album release and tour within a couple of months. Thanks guys!!!

 

Each core in the Core2 Duo is much more powerful than the Athlon64 3500+. The Core2 Duos even out perform the Athlon FX 64s at lower clock speeds.
The AMD Turion would most likely out perform the 3500+ as well.

 

that's exactly the info I was looking for, thanks so very much !!!!!!! now I've just got to find a badass Core 2 duo customizeable laptop. [merom] it's called right? is Asus or MSI gonna have a configureable laptop with the Core 2 Duo anytime soon?

 

Definitely. The Core2 Duo's Architecture is called Merom, although most vendors will be selling it as the Core2 Duo. Expect most laptop manufacturers to release notebooks with the new CPU in the coming month or two.

 

Asus' Z96J can support Core 2 duo(Merom) because the chipset on the mainboard is ready for this as long as the BIOS is updated. Z96J already is ready in the market and it is a customized model.

 

awesome thanks for sharing that ..... I'm gonna check it out.

UPDATE:

Do you guys know about www.geared2play.com? Are they good, they have that model ...

Asus Z96J 15.4" Reviewed Merom Tested and Compatible!

* Intel Yonah Platform up 2.13ghz Core Duo
* ATI Radeon X1600 256mb
* Intel 945gm Chipset
* 15.4" WSXGA+ 1680x1050 Display Color Shine
* Up to 2gb DDR2-667 Dual Channel Ram
* Up to 100gb 2.5" HDD SATA
* Bluetooth 2.0 & Camera
* Intel Centrino Wireless Technology 802.11ABG
* Internal dvd/rw dual layer
* Barebone @ $749

and what's a better SATA 7,200rpm harddrive .... Seagate or Hitachi? There's a choice ...