Category: Geeks r Us
Hi guys, I'm think ing about getting a Windows 7 laptop soon, and I'm looking for suggestions on what brand I should get. I do not want a netbook, simply because they'd be a little to slow for me. Perhaps at least a 320 gb hard drive would suit m well. I'm just wondering which brand I should get. Also, which processor is the best, the AMD processors or Intel?
And of course I might not follow some of these suggestions, but I'm I want to see which laptops you all like best.
I have used both AMD and Intel, and I think Intel is slightly better, dunno, just is. But AMD is good too. All my laptops that I ahve had are Dells, I've heard that Toshiba is pretty good, sony is good. Check out ztsystems, they make really good computers, -my latest desktop is by them. All their parts are made in America. My desktop has a 500 GB Sata HDD at 5400 RPM, 4 gigs of ram, AMD Athlon turian 2x64 bit processor or what ever it is,4 USB ports, card readers. Can't remember all the specs.
I'm running a desktop with XP on it, a 2.21 ghz AMD processor, and a 250-gb hard drive. That'll be out of this house pretty soon because our state commission for the blind is giving me a new desktop. But Intel processors seem to be more powerful than AMD, from what I've seen. Those new Intel processors can run as fast as 3.33 ghz. And my laptop will take the place of the stupid piece of technology I have, known as the PAC Mate. Anyway, I've seen how powerful those Intel processors can get, but I wasn't sure if they were any better than AMD.
Ah, the classic AMD VS Intel question.
I have, too, used intel and amd machines. AMD is my current CPU, a 3.2 GHz Phenom 955 quad core. It cost me $160, so a lot more down from the $300 Intel asks for their quad core processors.
There are slight drawbacks to AMD machines. One, is that the current CPUs aren't the best with energy consumption. They heat up easily and this is why I have 3 fans in my desktop, including heatsink, back fan, and top fan. When Idle, this machine runs really quiet-AMD makes a technology called coolnQuiet which tries to keep the CPU's power usage low.
This is why you might get a worse battery life out of an AMD laptop.
Intel, however, while offering more efficient power, is expensive and in desktops, require the purchase of a new motherboard every 2-3 years. This is because the socket your processor goes into changes often. For example, current quad-core desktops won't see an upgrade to the 6-core processors because of a new socket design.
This isn't such a big deal when talking about laptops. You might see that an AMD-based quad core 3 ghz laptop might be les expensive than an Intel one at that speed. Again, this is due to AMD being less expensive as far as performance goes.
AMD systems are great overclockers. Overclocking is where you change your processor speed in the bios, e.g. you can overclock a 3 GHZ CPU to 4 and even 5 GHz. This is of course not supported by manufacturers, but the right techies due it often to build a powerhouse computer cheaply. You would need extrea fans for that though-an overclocked processor will generate more heat at peak performance because it is on a higher speed.
I think that's about it. AMD is cheaper, but less battery efficient, while Intel is more expensive but in laptops give better battery life and less heat.
All the best,
Tomi
p.s: There are AMD processors above 3.33 GHz. The Phenom 2x 965, a CPU one above myne, is clocked in at 3.4 GHz.
Totally agree with Tommie, -have never looked at the prices. What is that socket thing about? Is that where the memory is or something?
for laptops i'd seriously check out tosheba, i've had one of those myself and even though it's about 3 years old it still runs really quickly, even with vista. with win 7 i bet it would be even faster. it has an Intel chip, think most laptops do now.